Most people know that libraries provide books, magazines, movies, music, audiobooks and ebooks. What many may not realize are all the other ways libraries support their communities. Here’s a sample from the librarians of the Cheshire Public Library.

“An appreciative patron had these flowers delivered to me for helping her on the computer & with her gmail to locate and print some important personal documents. It made my day!”

“A woman came in this afternoon and wanted to print some coupons from her email. English was not her first language, she did not have computer skills, and she did not know her email provider or her password! Our technology coordinator saved the day and was able to help the woman print her coupons. The really nice thing: it was the woman’s birthday and the coupons were for free coffee and other things that she could enjoy on her special day.”

“A senior who wanted to learn how to add minutes to her flip phone came to tech help yesterday. When she left, she noted that this is the only place in town to get answers to these types of questions and that her kids yell at her when she asks for them for tech help. She said she’s going to tell all of her friends to start coming here because they also have grouchy kids/grandkids…”

“An older man approached me a few weeks ago to say how glad he was to have our library. He comes in most days to read the papers and to visit with other regulars. He said it makes him feel more connected with the community.”

Email from patron: I just saw the Positive Discipline class recently on the events calendar and am super excited about it. I’ve read some of the Positive Discipline books and would love to do a better job actually incorporating it into our lives. I’ve looked into workshops before, and it just wasn’t realistic for us financially. I already have it on my calendar to sign up when it opens.

“I had a patron come to the circ desk this week saying the last two books her book club (not associated with the library) read were duds. Since they buy their books, she wanted to be sure to pick a good book this time. I brought her over to the Reader’s Advisory bulletin board and let her peruse the content. She happily found four titles, and all were on the shelf for her to check out. She was so happy and commented that she wished she had come to the library sooner.”

“A patron whose husband recently passed away came to drop-in today. She wanted to know how to use email so she could email people in a support group she’s been attending. She never used her husband’s laptop before, and English is not her first language, so she was nervous about coming in today for help. I got her all set up, and she’s going to come back next week and report how it’s going. She was very appreciative that we’re providing this service.”

“A few weeks ago, a woman was looking for tutoring help for seven children from two families newly arrived from Saudi Arabia.  Our teen librarian had a contact in the high school for a teacher who arranges peer tutoring, so I got the teacher’s email and contacted her. She emailed to let us know that she has arranged peer tutoring for the 5 younger children (in the library!) and is arranging help for the older ones. It was great that the needed resources exist in our community. I was especially touched by the fact that the woman who made the initial contact thought of the library as a place to go for help. Yay us!”

Want to know more about the Cheshire Public library? Click here for our website.