By Faye D. Fischer
To say life has been interesting for the past few years, feels like the understatement of the century. To say it has been unprecedented perhaps goes a bit too far as we know that we are not the first humans to have dealt with a sweeping global pandemic. Maybe the right word is defining. We have had the chance to choose who we will become in the midst of upheaval.
To quote J.R.R. Tolkien, “‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live in such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.’” In addition to our own personal journey to Mordor, we have also had to voyage professionally to meet the demands of a vocation that became increasingly relevant/important during the pandemic. We have watched with pleasure as you have adapted and flourished despite it all.
The state library has also been defining new and meaningful ways to successfully do our part. One component of this redefinition has been an increased desire to connect with you. Many of you have responded positively to our amplified social media presence. It is with great excitement that we welcome you to the new blog for the Utah State Library! We are thrilled to offer this platform for communicating with library directors and all our library friends. We have so much to share, and hope that you will use our content to enrich your relationship with the Utah State Library. What can you expect to see in the coming months?
- Helpful FAQs, video tutorials and other how-to information.
- Announcements, the most up to date information on grants, statistics, technology, training, and events.
- Special features all about you and the work you are doing in your libraries.
- Stories about library collections, library staff, library programs, the history of our organization, legislation and advocacy, and all the work we do every day.
- Fun and general shenanigans!
In conjunction with the newly reimagined USL newsletter—the USL Update—we hope that this blog will become a valuable source of knowledge, correlation, and enjoyment for our one-of-a-kind Utah library community.
We want to hear from you! A significant goal of this endeavor is a blog that develops organically into something that meets your needs. If you would like to be a guest writer or offer feedback and suggestions, please contact Faye Fischer at ffischer@utah.gov.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash