What Really Counts

I often think of when I was a little girl growing up in a small town. The library was open two days a week and my life was scheduled around those days.  I remember riding my bike or walking to that brick building with anticipation.  I learned to count as I accumulated twenty-five books on the checkout desk.  I treasure the greatness and the simplicity of this experience.  I think of my independence, the skills I practiced, and the abilities I gained.  I’m sure this is why books are still part of my life today.  But there is one piece of the picture that continues to amaze me.

Esther Helt.  This sweet, town librarian was the key to the whole library experience.  Without her loving spirit, it was a tiny building with a bunch of old books.  I remember her quiet, calm smile as she filled the library with her essence.  I still feel the guiding support from when she would get down on her knees with me to look for books with pretty covers on the bottom shelves.  I can see her setting aside her own library work to help me write each book title in the notebook.  Her gentle corrections helped me understand the satisfaction of a well-done, important job.  She is the biggest reason I love books today.

Enough time has passed that I can reminisce about this experience. Times and libraries have certainly changed, yet my childhood library experiences still exist.  Now our family calls this magic “Neill Public Library”.

I rediscovered my childhood thrills just five years ago.  We first experienced Mrs. Helt’s love and compassion through Baby Storytime when we came to meet and thank a kind librarian for the book she had sent to our tiny newborn son.  We came week after week and our storytime circle extended to include other staff members, playmates, and another son.   It seems Mrs. Helt’s spirit has always been at Neill Public Library, too.

The boys grew and needed library cards of their own.   Now we see various staff members regularly as we request and check out a host of library materials.  Just like Mrs. Helt they work to place those items into the library collection and into our lives. And when we bring back our goods and see those same faces waiting on the other side of the drop box to say hello and return our items to the shelves, including the bottom ones, I appreciate that there are people who choose to exercise their knees the same way Mrs. Helt did for many years.  Today’s library world has been changed by computers and a great deal of data.  Thank goodness that Mrs. Helt always appears to be sitting at the information desk with whoever is there for their turn at the game called “Can You Please Help Me.....?”.

And, when the Temporary Library Services Manager sets aside the library budget or other important work for a moment because the boys have barged through her non-existent door to share some random news about their books or their lives, I know that Mrs. Helt’s focused and gracious spirit is leading the charge at the library.

    My small childhood library was a strong, one-woman show.  The strength of my current hometown library is a team.  For our boys and our town, each staff member is “Mrs. Helt”.  Without their love and care the library would be just another aging building with books.  Instead it is alive with an energy that matches, and do I dare say rivals, Mrs. Helt’s.  As they courteously take the time to help us, and kindly model working with and for others, our boys are watching and learning from every encounter. Aren’t we all?  I know many others agree that our library team enriches our lives.  Possibly more important, I think Mrs. Helt would be proud. Thank you, Neill Public Library Staff.  As we teach our boys to count library books, it’s nice to know that we’re also teaching them about what really counts.

by “Jayme” Marie Reiber, 

Friends of the Neill Public Library Board Member

published in Moscow-Pullman Daily News

May 22, 2010