You may have noticed things are changing around the Orcas Island Library. But not really.

On Nov. 10, 1731 ten men plunked down 40 shillings (about $10 today) on a table in Nicholas Scull’s Bear Tavern, Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin, share No. 3, had proposed the idea of a library company to settle scholarly disputes while he and his buddies sat around having high-minded debates over a pint of ale. Kind-of like having an encyclopedia behind the bar. Better than a brawl.

Early libraries housed not only collections of books but of biological specimens and inventions, and provided space for meetings and experimental scientific demonstrations. Think Bang! And Zap!!

Today, due to inflation we would like about 60 shillings ($15) to cover your membership and grant you access to the upper rooms of our library, where we are making stuff happen.

Okay, we need to haul a lot of books around sometimes, but we also need cooks and inventors and geeks, book lovers and bookkeepers. We also lift a pint of ale – or glass of wine – from time to time.

And we funded $16,849 worth of books, speakers, reading programs and clubs, not to mention handling over $1.5 million in donations this year. (We make Phil beg for it.) And we’ve hosted a few parties.

Ben did not know about Google, but you would have found him at a monitor researching his latest invention, or brushing up on his Cicero, writing a proposal to build a hospital … or spellchecking the Declaration. Who knows.

Join us. We don’t want your shillings (only), we need you.

We meet at the library the second Tuesday of the month, usually. We also have a page on the library website.