Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Stannard, a former lobbyist, who is still an author and musician. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
[Q]uestion: Five years ago where did you go in Manchester to meet up with 40 friends, hold a meeting and/or an event or spend time on your computer in a welcoming atmosphere?
Answer: Good luck
Today, however, some 60,000 visits have been paid to the Manchester Community Library. Considering there are fewer than 5,000 residents of Manchester that is an amazing number. As the years tick by you can expect this number to grow.
There are few rewards in life greater than watching Ernest and Ada, two of our grandkids, eagerly pushing open the door to the library and dashing to the back room full of kids waiting to learn, play, interact and become friends. At ages 4 and 2 these two small people are just experiencing the tip of the iceberg of knowledge that bestows their future as kids growing up in Manchester.
More and more people are discovering our library every week. You can visit the library and use the computers and free Wi-Fi service thus saving hundreds of dollars. Just last year alone, the computers were used over 6,000 times and Wi-Fi service over 10,000 times. We haven’t even talked about loaning out regular books, e-books and the multitude of other services provided by our library.
Five years ago a group of people led by Christine Miles et al. took it upon themselves to raise close to $6 million to build what is now, and forever more, one of the crown jewels of Manchester.
I had the pleasure of participating in not one, but two “Hometown Story Telling” events with Dave Quesnel and Terry Tyler. We figured maybe five or six people would come to hear us blather away (that would be including family members). As it turned out something like 160 people showed up. Were it not for the library we’d be hard-pressed to find a place for that many people to assemble comfortably and complete with microphones and a sound system for the speakers.
Recently, television icon Norman Lear — that’s right THE Norman Lear — gave a talk to an overflow capacity room that sat riveted as they listened to him speak. Most people could only dream of being in the same room with Mr. Lear, yet here he was right here at our community library.
Five years ago a group of people led by Christine Miles et al. took it upon themselves to raise close to $6 million to build what is now, and forever more, one of the crown jewels of Manchester. They did so, because the state of Vermont, sadly, offers no assistance for libraries and knew that a burden of this magnitude would be impossible for the taxpayers to carry. It was clear from the start that we would all benefit from this remarkable facility and that it would be our responsibility to keep it up.
The cost to a family of four living in a home assessed at $244,000 is less than $1 per week. That’s less than one cup of coffee per week to have what we now realize has become an invaluable asset; not just to our town, but the surrounding towns as well. I don’t wish to downplay the burden any tax has on any particular home and/or business owner. Any tax is a burden and oftentimes we barely see any benefit(s) to the tax dollars we pay.
That’s not the case with the Manchester Community Library. Any day of the week you can walk over the marble patio graciously donated by the Danby Marble Quarry, through the glass doors, and experience the wonderful world of learning. The children of Manchester will be forever transformed by our library.
Few if any other Vermont towns are as fortunate as we are in Manchester. Good fortune doesn’t just happen; you have to work hard and those who support the library know this for a fact.
Prior to three years ago you would say to a friend, “Let’s meet at your place.” Today you can gather as many friends as you like and say, “Meet you at the library.”
Please vote in support of the Manchester Community Library.
