What is a community center to you? Is it your local coffee shop? School? Your workplace? For us, it is the Library, "A community center in action" as Martin Engel states about the La Selva Beach Branch. The Library is a space for EVERYONE with a variety of opportunities for the community, where we can be together in a creative learning environment.
Martin Engel tells his Library story, expressing his love for his new Library Branch!
"We live right across the street from the La Selva Beach Clubhouse and Library. The library was a super-bonus we did not expect when we bought this place. While, admittedly, it’s not the Library of Congress, it is a neighborhood library. BUT it is also much, much more than that.
Confession. We do not have a DSL line in our house. So Judith and I carry our lap-tops across the street and log on the Library network, which is open to the public. That means, we both spend a great deal of time in the library, and that permits us the opportunity to act like amateur anthropologists, studying our community in action. (It also means that this library is our communication center for reaching the rest of the world.) In short, libraries can be, should be, and in this case libraries are, more than a collection of books.
Our anthropological study has become a love affair. We see our neighbors, their neighbors, their children, and their dogs almost every day. Wonderful. To gather and socialize in a room of books is so highly symbolic. It means that the La Selva Beach community has a place for being the social and literate species that we are. It means that we care about the world, as well as care for our children and their development.
People bring books of their own that they no longer need for the “free circulation” box. Children come for readings, Lego activities, and computer opportunities. The children's section of this library is dedicated not only to children, but it is also used for presentations, talks, lectures and other thought-provoking activities. We see kids of all ages flowing through the doors constantly, many knowing exactly where they wish to go, perhaps to play on some of the easily accessible toys, or to work as a group on crafts activities. The flow of books, both children’s and adults’, is also continuous.
All of this is in addition to the standard library circulation of books and DVDs, heavily used newspaper and magazine racks, several computers and a printer for public use. If it’s not on the shelves, Galina, the Branch Manager, will order it for you.
There is little shooshing. Conversations are constant. People meet and greet. It is a community center in action. As I say, it may not be the Ancient Library of Alexandria (which burned down, after all), but it is the pulsing heart and soul of the LaSelva Beach community .
For its size, this little library is a giant!"
