An African proverb teaches, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  How true that is at Peninsula Community Library.  Our community built our new library.  When life turned upside down in a pandemic, we were still here for each other.     

It has been a hybrid year. Doors were closed.  Doors were open.  New services evolved and are still with us because you love them!   Curbside pickup, virtual alongside in person programming, 24/7 Wi-Fi, takeout craft bags.  Oh, those craft bags!  It started with a toilet paper pumpkin and took off from there.  From cake kits to wine bottle lights to wreaths to kites, those bags are a new favorite at PCL.  And whatever “normal” is, we have returned to much of that too.

Jane Boursaw of The Old Mission Gazette shares, “Peninsula Community Library has been a cherished part of my life since the day I was born 61 years ago!  My mom, Mary Johnson, volunteered at the library during our school years at OMPS, but was also part of the visionary board that purchased the land on which the new library sits. She always said she wanted to see it built before she died.  I’m so glad that dream came true. Thank you to everyone involved in our library’s legacy through the years, and to everyone who ensures that it will always be the heart of our OMP community.”

7th and 11th graders Emily and Lauren Stuart have grown up here!  They write, “PCL is more than just a library.   It is a welcoming place in our community.   As you walk through those doors, the staff, or family as we like to call them, have created an environment that feels more like home.  As students we want to hang out at our local library - whether it is making one of their awesome crafts, kicking back with a good book or volunteering at events.  Peninsula Community Library is the place to be! “

What makes us a community library?  You do!  A patron noticing the tall grass along the road, came back to trim it.  Volunteers weed our gardens, shelve books and prepare crafts.  The Friends of PCL support us in so many ways!  A library without people is just a warehouse.  You make us a library.  We are there for you too.  One patron put it eloquently, “Libraries always save me.  You saved me.”  

Peninsula Community Library will continue to offer everything you love.  As your library director, I am ever grateful for your support.  Peninsula Community Library is the heart of our community thanks to all of you!   YOU are family!  

Warmest Regards, Vicki

Vicki Shurly, Director