Library 21: Brainerd Memorial Library (Danville)
Why?
Library 21! The Brainerd Memorial Library in North Danville was the 21st stop on my quest to read, write, and knit in as many of Vermont’s public libraries as I can during my sabbatical.
I read: a description of Clara Parkes' substack my new knitting friend Susannah told me about (after I read about what Substack is)
I wrote: a note to myself to subscribe to the Substack
I knit: the 1x1 rib hat I started earlier today.
This was the second library I visited this day, and I could not muster the desire for more academic reading and writing. It was also a designated knitting hour, and it felt rude to interrupt that.
This library affirmed my love, true love for Vermont, which will follow me forever and ever. I often hear people say that "Vermonters support what they believe in." This adage might explain why this public library, one of *three* in this town of population 2,300, was full of people on a dark cold winter Wednesday night.
How did Danville get so lucky to have three public libraries? I learned from Susannah (a board member) that it is entirely volunteer run. To me, this says the community wants and needs this library to exist.
This building used to be a school, and is now home to a library, a community room, a gym, and a historical society. I love being in buildings that used to be schools. Maybe because like many teacher education faculty, I have been either a student or teacher every year of my life since I was four. I spend a lot of time thinking about school. My wife grew up in a former one-room school house, and I like staring at the holes in the wood floor where the desks were nailed down while we watch Jeopardy with her mom.
Remnants of the school that are still visible in this library are an original chalkboard (currently posing a very serious question), refurbished chairs that are painted by a local artist, and a trophy case. The library is in what used to be the kitchen.
A lot was happening:
Susannah was knitting a sock for Knit the Rainbow, and organization that accepts hand-knit donations for homeless LGBTQ+ youth
two other board members were filling Easter eggs with treats and sharing pictures of old slides they’d recently uncovered of their kids, who grew up together
three people were doing a puzzle
a lot of people were playing cribbage
Susannah also stamped my library passport, which is a new acquisition. Amy (Lanpher Memorial Library Librarian) dug these out from her office while saying “I might have a few left!” According to the Vermont LIbrary Association, the Passport to Vermont Libraries program is “on hiatus,” but that shall not deter me from asking for stamps. Proof I was here! A receipt.
Also spotted: a taxidermied owl wearing glasses.
This one reminds me of the cold and dark of winter, which can sometimes be challenging for me, but also how inside there is often warmth, light, coziness and community. ❤️