I can’t help begin by stealing a bit from the new Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon. He has a routine called “Thank you notes” where he holds his pen high in the air, swoops down and we hear his mind recite the note as he writes.

So here is a personal thank you note to the Orcas Island Public Library in Jimmy Fallon fashion.

Thank you Orcas Library for having so many books I want to read and for being able to find ones for me that you don’t have on hand. Thank you for having a subscription to Ancestry.com and shelves full of cool books about history (San Juan County and beyond).

Thank you for having story time and a summer reading program (my kids loved both), and for having computers that I can use when Century Link is uncooperative at my house. Thank you for having terrific speakers like Richard Bach and workshops on all kinds of topics.  And, thank you for continuing to stay abreast of current and future community needs.

My thank you note has been sealed and sent but here is a P.S.

I have loved teaching Ancestry.com classes at our library and participating in memoir and writing classes facilitated by JoEllen Moldoff and others. The community drop-off shelf is helpful, and once, I got a writing job after participating in a multi-island meeting via electronic conferencing in our library meeting room.

As a child my family went to the Mt. Vernon library every two weeks, and we each used our own cards to check out our books. Then, in the summer, I enjoyed the competition during the summer reading program “make the longest caterpillar with the name of every book you read this summer” contest, and in high school I actually did enjoy going to the library to study in the evening.

The more we can offer our young adults and children through the library, the greater their capabilities will become.

I believe that a public library is truly the beating heart of a community, large or small. Our library has offerings for everyone no matter what their age, health, financial means, belief systems, or capacities. The proposed expansion of space and services will keep us moving into the future as the times change and evolve.

Kathi Ciskowski

Orcas Island