Congratulations to the library for putting together a vibrant group of people to think about the future of Easton and the library's role in the community. The goal of the group, which I've blogged about before, is to simply help the library create a new goals statement. Not surprisingly the group had a lot of positive things to say about our library which has suddenly emerged as a lively community center. Without any prodding from the library staff, the group identified community connections as the library's biggest contribution to the town. Surprisingly, this group of talented people representing multiple ages and interests found their own connections, and hope to stay together after the goal setting is over.
This could be a positive for the town because the library went well beyond "rounding up the usual suspects" for the group, or more precisely the usual suspects were asked and chose to absent themselves from what turned out to be an exciting process. Instead of getting people who are linked into the political scene or unlinked and griping about it, the library group has a bunch of mostly fresh faces with new ideas or new spins on old ideas. Rather then the staid, but positive, visioning process sponsored by the town, the library group had enthusiasm and excitement. Interestingly, the main insight of the library group was the importance of community building in an age that tends to pull communities apart. While the town's visioning was much more focused on projects and processes, its proposals were also directed towards building a more cohesive community in the face of daunting challenges like diminished resources, the arrival of the train, and climate change. It's nice to know that the many of the ideas that bubbled up at the library meeting are already in process.
Using the library as a hub for all Eastoners to communicate and generate innovations is a low cost and effective way to meet the challenges of the future. Strangely, this is an idea that harkens back to the Great Library of Alexandria, the first library, which became a think tank for connection and innovation in the ancient world.
Welcome
A curiosity shop is a place of odds and ends in a wide range of categories. One never knows what one will find on any visit, and that is the goal of this blog. Here you'll find postings on doings around Easton, the world's environment, history, recipes, fly fishing, books, music, and movies with many other things thrown in as well. Hope you enjoy it and keep coming back.
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