Written by Hello all!
I was absolutely honored as a member of the Elk Rapids District Library Board to attend our groundbreaking last Tuesday and also say a few words about what the new library will offer to our community. I will share below my remarks. I went off script a couple of times, as I do. At one point I said: “I have worked in libraries since 1991, and this is one of the coolest things I have ever been a part of.”
Here’s the full text of my remarks during the speeches inside of the soon-to-be new library with 130 or so members of the community gathered for interest.
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It is a real joy to stand here with you today at this moment of beginning. It is about a community saying, together, “We believe in what comes next.” And that feels especially true when the building we are beginning is a library.
For a long time, people have thought of libraries as places that hold books. And of course, they still are. Books still matter. Reading matters. Stories matter. But the library of today is also something larger, more active, and more alive.
It is a learning center. A place where a child discovers a favorite story, where a student finds the quiet and support they need, where someone learns a new skill, asks a new question, or follows a curiosity that might change the direction of their life.
It is a technology hub. A place where access is not limited by what someone can afford at home. A place where people connect, create, apply for jobs, learn new tools, and participate more fully in the world around them.
It is a gathering place. And I think that may be one of the most important things a library can be right now. In a time when people can feel disconnected, the library says: come in – you are welcome here. Bring your questions. Bring your whole self.
And it is an innovation space, not only because of equipment or technology, but because of possibility. Innovation happens when people have room to think, room to try, room to make, room to talk, and room to imagine something better.
That is what this new library promises.
The community room will be more than a room. It will be a place for civic life, celebration, conversation, and learning together. And during the day, when it may not be scheduled for a program or meeting, it can become something else our community needs: a co-working space, a place where remote workers, entrepreneurs, and neighbors can bring a laptop, settle in, and feel connected while they work.
These flexible learning spaces will allow the library to change as the community changes. What serves us today may not be exactly what serves the next generation, and that is the beauty of thoughtful library design. It does not lock us into one version of the future. It gives us the capacity to meet the future with openness and care.
I can already picture it. Children coming through the doors for storytime. Families finding a place that belongs to them. Seniors gathering for programs and connection. Students working together after school. Neighbors finding a meeting, a class, a conversation, or simply a quiet corner on a hard day.
That is the heart of this project. Not just brick and glass and furniture, but belonging. Not just a new building, but a new invitation.
The best libraries are built for what we know people need now, and for what we cannot yet imagine they will need later. They are promises we make to one another: that learning matters, access matters, community matters, and every person deserves a place to grow.
And so today we celebrate more than construction. We celebrate care. We celebrate vision. We celebrate the people who worked so hard to bring us to this moment, and the people who will walk through these doors for years to come.
