Round Valley Public Library Awarded "Best Small Library in America" from Library Journal Magazine

September 10, 2024 — Last week it was announced that the Round Valley Public Library had received the 2024 Best Small library in America award from Library Journal magazine. I spoke with Vice President of the Friends of the Round Valley Public Library, Lew Chichester to learn more about this exciting recognition. Well, I'm here with Lew Chichester with the Friends of the Round Valley Public Library. The Round Valley Public Library is the recipient of the best small library in America, in America, right? It's right here at the end of the road, far, far away, and we were recognized recently as Jenn said, we are the best small library in America. And I have so many questions I want to ask you about this award. Could you tell our listeners a little about the library journal? Library Journal is, uh, it's, it's the trade publication for librarians, libraries, it's a national publication. We've known about in Round Valley uh Library Journal or librarian subscribe to it, um, this is a yearly award every year they designate some kind of, you know, wonderful small library
10, 12, 15 years ago It was this competition, I suppose there is an award, you get $5000 besides bragging grant rights. It was financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So at that time, it seems as if the slant was how quickly are you adopting all of this, you know, internet world. Well, Round Valley had like quickly around here like steam powered internet back in those days. So consequently, no, we're not gonna be recognized, but it seems like what we've done with our
County library branch and some of the activities of the friends we've become a lot more engaged with how our library and how our friends group can help our greater community have more understanding with resilience and sustainability, and we do a lot of things related to disaster preparedness, our own little building has a big backup generator. We have solar panels. We help people get reflective address signs, we have a radio station that when there's a disaster sort of event we get on the air and provide legitimate information to people. Libraries are beginning to assume much more awareness of their role in society or in, in our culture rather than just being a repository for books in a clean, well-lighted place to go. A lot of libraries are taking more action, sort of involvement in their community.
Anyway, and this year's application for being recognized as the best small library, we wrote all of that up. This is all the stuff that we do, plus, we finally got really good internet. Thanks to the county library, we have fiber optic internet into our building, which is in for C below, it's the first time ever any place has had any good that's thanks to the, the county library. It was obvious there's this collaboration.
Between the county library system, county government, nonprofits help from the US Department of Agriculture. They bought the generator for all of these things are going on, so we just wrote that up and sent it in, and how are we to know that their focus this year was community resilience and sustainability. So we punched all their buttons this year and they got back to us. You guys are the best. What they were trying to do was encourage other small libraries to get on this program and they're like, you guys been doing this for like 15 years. We have a beautiful library, really it is gorgeous and wonderful collections and they're relevant to the local area.
Plus, we got a prize. Do you want to tell our listeners about the celebration that is planned? This coming Saturday, which would be Saturday the 14th of September.
We're having at our library facility here in Round Valley, a reception in an open house where we are inviting we've sent out perhaps already 200 postcards to um the public we're attempting to contact the press and the politicians to tell everybody, come up here that afternoon, we'll be able to show off what we've got and hopefully we'll keep like the little speeches or whatever to a minimum. It's mostly just to get people together so that they can appreciate what, what a collaborative effort with a really clear vision and adequate funding. What you can actually accomplish.
It's, it's definitely worth celebrating. That Saturday, 14th of September 1 o'clock at 3 o'clock where if you've never been here, we're just like a block off the highway.
You know, you'll drive into town and you'll start seeing, oh boy, there's a lot of like abandoned lots and a burnt up old, you know, Greek building. Just keep going, keep going, right? Turn left on Howard Street and then you'll be there, right? We're on the corner of Howard and Maine.