News from Seattle

Greetings from balmy Seattle where flowers still bloom and a sweater is sufficient. But enough rubbing it in...
The ALA Midwinter Conference is underway and I am here to bask in a series of programs called Symposium on the Future of Libraries. Melinda Gates wowed us last night with an impassioned speech on raising the status of women and girls throughout the world. Her new book talks about her experience through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with some especially poignant stories that will stun the reader. The story that stuck with me was her relating of meeting a woman in Africa who was so very devoted to her tiny baby boy. She loved the baby so much that she asked Melinda to take him home with her, because she knew that once she was done breastfeeding she would not be able to feed him and even if he survived he would never receive an education. The series of similar stories demonstrates that across the world we all want the very best for our children and that uniting factor should be the understanding that creates peace in the world.

Now I'm sitting in a program called Social Innovation where Seattle-based social innovators will tell us how they leverage programs to address social problems and improve the lives of their communities. This is my passion as a librarian. I believe in the power of the public library to improve lives because I believe that lifelong education is the foundation of social change. Every day I wonder how we can do better in reaching people who need us. I'll check in with you later today to share what I've learned.
Barb