By Vanessa Dauber, LeRoy Branch Library Director
Recently I have been thinking about an encounter I had with a young lady at one of the local eating establishments. She was taking my order and we were just chatting, making small talk. Suddenly, in the middle of our conversation she said “Wait a minute, your voice sounds so familiar. Did you use to come read me stories in school?” Yes ma’am, I sure did. It has probably been 7 years since I have done storytime with this young lady. What an incredibly awe-inspiring moment.
Thinking about this moment, I started thinking about all of the patrons we serve in and around Coffey County. I want to say to you; we see you, we notice you. When you are having the best day, we notice. When today might be harder than the others, we notice. We notice when you haven’t been in for a while. We notice when you have something you are celebrating. We love hearing about your families and your vacations. We hurt alongside you when you are hurting. There is not a better way to express this feeling than by using the theme song from Cheers by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart-Angelo . Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn’t you like to get away? Be glad there’s one place in the world where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came. You want to go where people know, people are all the same, you want to go where everybody knows your name.
If it has been awhile since we have seen you, please know that we miss you and would love to have you back at the Coffey County Library. If we saw you yesterday or this morning, we look forward to seeing you soon! At the library, we love being the place you can escape and take a break from your worries. We love being a place that knows your name.