Friends’ hearts are in the right place

Together, let’s build a library.

That’s the message on the title page of a brochure from the Friends of the Kentville Public Library. What a great way to stimulate dialogue, and that’s exactly what happened at a recent workshop.

The Friends had sent me the brochure and an invitation to participate in the public session with architects from MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple, and although I don’t know from nuthin’ about architectural drafting or design, the exercise was functional and fun.

Plenty of people have never laid a brick in their life, but over 100 were on hand at NSCC Kingstec campus late last month to help build the foundation for the proposed new library in Kentville. We didn’t use mortar and stone and there wasn’t a hammer in the house, but everyone there took up metaphoric tools and tried hard to envision what the library might be and where it could be situated.

Most want it in a green space with a variety of accoutrements, and collectively groups of people came together to identify a couple of preferred sites from a list of seven possibilities. Please see Patty Mintz’s story on NovaNewsNow.com for additional detail.

What I want explore here is a sense of the evening and the power that comes from working together.

You see, projects as sophisticated as this don’t just happen. Sure, a committee gets struck and stakeholders pool their resources to engage architects, other professionals and political entities. That’s normal.

However, the Friends understand that a public library is just that; for the people. What it offers and how it’s configured are as much a responsibility of the fine folks who surround it as those who will ultimately approve one thing or another.

A willingness to embrace the inclusive notion of togetherness to craft a brand-new 6,000-square-foot library that will excite the senses, inspire thought and promote literacy is huge, and we should commend the Friends for their foresight and vision.

The wonderful thing is there will be more opportunities for public input and I would encourage you to get the wheels turning now for future information sessions. The Friends are anxious to deliver as much as possible within the confines of their budget and the space available to the architects, and every idea is appreciated.

Together, we can build a new library that will become a focal point and showpiece not only for the Town of Kentville, but all of Kings County. What it takes is a shared interest in participating and, as I indicated at the outset, the door’s already open on that one.