08/26/2026
I don't normally share my newsletter column prior to when it is sent out. However, this day feels like it needs to be shared. đź’”
As I write this, the world is mourning Dolly Parton. Tributes from around the globe are being shared on socials, on regular media, and with family, friends, and strangers. To say that she touched all of us is not hyperbole or understatement. We all have a Dolly story. I was in a meeting this morning with other Library Directors and several of us shared ours. It was a bonding moment beyond our shared profession.
It’s hard right now, knowing that this thing that brought us together is a shared loss. A shared sadness over someone who many of us never met, but has been part of our lives for 60 years. IVPL put up a display, but it feels meager to the life we’re mourning and celebrating. But it’s also apt for what Libraries do and are.
We are places that you come and we know your name, the things you like to read, the subjects you’re interested in for programs. We ask nothing from you, and give you everything we can. We are places that you explore the windows and doors of the world - opening up worlds that you may not have even dreamed of. We are the places where your imagination can soar, your curiosity can be both sated and expanded, your connection to things and people you may never meet or see in person can strengthen. We are the places you come when you don’t know where else to go.
Dolly gave away over 300 million books through her Imagination Library, creating a joy of reading for countless children. IVPL loans far fewer, but the result is the same, no matter what age. We create joy. Whether it’s because of a program you attended, an article you read through our eResources, a CD you borrowed and played, or something from our Library of Things or Museum Pass, you learned something, enjoyed something, or at the very least, tried something new. That’s something to celebrate.
That’s something I celebrate every day. I do what I do, and have done for decades, so those that use the Library (I almost wrote my library. It’s not my library. It’s yours.) can find just those things.
So, on this day that we all mourn a giving, generous, glittering, global heart, I celebrate every one of you. Thank you for all the joy you bring to my world just by using your Library. I can never tell you how much that means.
-Tracey
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