Over the past six months, the Friends of the Monterey Public Library and the Monterey Public Library Endowment Committee have presented several inspiring programs in a new lecture series, Next Chapter: Designing Your Ideal Life, which includes presentations on health and well-being, planning for the future, following one's spirit and other interesting topics for the second half of life. One speaker was Integrative Pharmacist Consultant, Brian J. Ellinoy, Pharm.D., who gave a talk on approaches to wellness and healing by blending therapies.  Dr. Ellinoy also gave another talk on the common second-half-of-life problem of insomnia, and provided tips on getting a good night's sleep.  Another popular speaker was artist and author, Elizabeth Murray who spoke about ways to live a rich life using imagination and creativity to connect to what has heart and meaning.  For more information about the inspirational programs offered at the Library through the Friends of the Library and the Monterey Public Library Endowment Committee, please contact Sirie Thongchua.

Stories for Adults is  a tradition at the Library which has delighted full-house audiences (ages 16-up) for twenty-three years.  One of the mainstays of this award-winning program is Donald Davis, a teacher, writer and nationally-renowned storyteller for whom storytelling is a way of life.  He was born into a southern Appalachian Mountain region rich in stories.  "I didn't learn stories, I just absorbed them," he says as he recounts tales learned from a family of traditional tellers who have lived on the same land since 1787.  "I discovered that in story I could safely dream my dream, hope any hope, go anywhere I pleased anytime I pleased," said Davis.  "My stories created a safe, experimental learning place."  Davis will be at the Library once again to share his delightful and often hilarious stories for ages 16-up, on Tuesday, July 12, at 6:30.  Tickets sell out quickly, so get them in advance!   The following morning he will lead a Storytelling Workshop.  The Stories for Adults series is sponsored in full by the Friends of the Monterey Public Library.   

Summer's here and at the Library that means it's time again for the annual Summer Reading Program.  Traditionally, summer reading programs have been organized to keep children engaged in reading during the long summer break from school.  But at Monterey Public Library, the Summer Reading Program is not for kids only.  There will be special activities and prizes for reading, and all ages are invited to participate!  This year Summer Reading has international travel and world story themes, so be prepared to learn about the people and cultures or many lands! More information about the Summer Reading Programs for kids, teens and adults on the Library's Web site and remember, ALL are welcome to participate!

At the Monterey Public Library, summer is almost here. We can recognize it in the energy rising from teens pouring through our doors after school, the lull from the month of May Storytime break that we take every year, the fun ideas for Summer Reading for all ages being planned by staff at the Library, and on the Bookmobile.

But for students of all ages, before summer comes finals, last papers due, and the sense of a school year winding down.  Libraries are for lifelong learners, whether babies leaning against their parents, feeling the alphabet's rhythm through their hands, feet and  toes, young children tasting each vowel and sounding each word, groups of wide-eyed college students from many countries immersed in the riches of a community public library, or retired folk gleaning the latest from daily newspapers, then passing them along.  Library staff see these interactions each and every day.

And yet, we sometimes forget to notice what a "miracle" daily life in the Library can be. That's the term a customer used in conversation with me the other day - a miracle.  With all the cuts to public service and discouraging news in the world, she wanted to note that each time she arrives at the Library to find it open, staffed and brimming with resources, she felt how miraculous that was. 

Recently, a long-time Library volunteer, Bea Siegel, was gracious enough to share a paper she had written for a class about her impressions of the Monterey Public Library. I wish I could reprint it entirely here; instead I will highlight some of the special ways that Bea sees the Monterey Public Library.  We are grateful for the hundreds of hours she has given to the Library and our community, and her wise words.

 "The library is a home away from home, for so many, whether old, young or in between. It is one place where individual differences are irrelevant...I am constantly astounded at how everybody has become computer literate in a relatively short time. I still remember card catalogs that were cards, not a computer program...Libraries were places for books, period...If a librarian helped find a book, the entire atmosphere was quiet and reverent with voices kept to whisper level so as not to disturb the other patrons.  The atmosphere today is dynamic and busy, and all are able to enjoy the library without feeling intimidated by its specialness. It is foremost a gathering place for the mind.

Whether browsing alone or conversing with the staff, people leave the library feeling better than when they came. Everyone has achieved something from the visit. Moreover the experience can be repeated over and over again. It's just a nice place to be and a wonderful counter to loneliness." Thank you, Bea. Your paper made me smile with recognition, and with pride. Together, we - customers and staff, young and old, volunteers and supporters, neighbors and Friends - are creating community and a bright future for California's first public library in the 21st century. And welcome back, Summer, we missed you!