Where to begin? Companionship is a good place. The characters in books were my earliest friends, as our neighborhood was short on children. Some of these literary friends were animals, which was fun. Books brought adventure and magic like houses made of candy and carpets that flew. You could time-travel back to ancient Egypt or China. You could learn to draw, to make things, to read a foreign language. The library was a Treasure House!
When I was a child we didn’t yet have television, and Johnson County didn’t yet have a public library. If my mother couldn’t drive me, I thought nothing about walking from Old Mission Hills to the Kansas City public library in Southwest High School. I have always had a love of libraries.
Books provided such joy and education that it was an easy decision to choose librarianship as an occupation. I got a Master of Library Science from Simmons College in Boston and later spent many happy years as the reference librarian at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO. I loved learning something new every day. A reference librarian doesn’t necessarily know the answers but sure knows where to find them.
Today I live in Cambridge, MA, and most of my family still lives in Kansas City, so I’m back to visit three times a year. I always visit the library and am grateful for all the cookbooks I’ve borrowed and for the online databases I use like ValueLine. It’s impressive how many wonderful community outreach programs the Library provides. It’s amazing all the new ideas that come through libraries!
Why do I give to the Johnson County Library Foundation?
As libraries evolve and grow, I believe it’s more important now than ever that the community gives back to support these services. One of my favorite quotes is on the Boston Public Library building: “The Commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty.” A strong democracy is dependent on an educated citizenry.
- Josephine Foote
Note: Your charitable contribution supports the JCL Foundation mission so your dollars will directly fund Johnson County Library programs, services, and the growth of the collection of more than 1 million items. Your donation changes lives. Thank you!