0032. Becoming local

We're back in Ithaca and in the thick of getting settled. Of finding a home and forming some semblance of a routine. Looking at apartments and jobs, figuring out bus routes, where the best grocery and bulk deals are, and my personal favorite first step: getting a library card.

I've mentioned my love for libraries before and usually my focus is on the books, all the marvelous books, free to be taken home, cozied up with and read. Seriously, how exciting! With that tremendous shadow I often forget that libraries offer so many other wonderful things: CDs, DVDs, classes, workshops, headphones when you rush out of the house and forget your own. Seriously, the list goes on - one of my happy places for sure.

As I signed up for my card a kind patron informed me that they have a free landline should I need it and that got me thinking of all the opportunities it offers to people who might not have access to them. The one place that gives without receiving anything in return, truly a community boon.

Before settling in to work I checked out the shelves and other offerings.

Programs I'm hoping to take advantage of:

+ Writing workshops

+ Makerspace open hours

+ Business Leaders of Color office hours

+ A variety of volunteer opportunities

Books to borrow (I'm on a non-fiction kick):

+ Just Kids by Patti Smith

+ Educated by Tara Westover

+ My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem*

+ The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau (free pdf)

+ Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harrari

+ Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKweon*

+ Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by Adrianne Maree Brown

+ Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land

+ Making it: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World by Kelly Coyne & Erik Knutzen

+ As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

+ We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina L. Love

Hoping this post inspires you to head to your local library. Check out what they have to offer, donate, suggest programs, volunteer your time, etc.

What have you been reading lately? Any cool programs at your library?

*I tend to not re-read books but these two are really great. I read them the summer before quitting my job and there were so many lightbulb moments/quotes I wanted to write down but never did.


PS. Still have a couple to go from this list.