2021 Person of the Year finalist: Library withstands controversy for sake of LGBTQ+ community – Williamsport Sun-Gazette

June, as many know from the rainbows on just about everything in stores that month, is LGTBQ+ Pride Month. But for the James V. Brown Library in 2021, it was not a pot of gold at the end of their rainbow display, but a controversy that they withstood, earning it a nomination for Person of the Year.

One of the lessons that we learned this summer during the public censorship challenge was that we need to create opportunities as a community to talk peacefully and respectfully with one another on important topics that affect everyone, said Barbara McGary, library executive director.

As a library, we need to create more opportunities to share the importance of why we do what we do for the community, what our core values are and what our essential role is in democracy as we provide diverse resources on a variety of viewpoints which provides opportunity for citizens in a free society to remain independent, critical thinking, responsible human beings that choose to live in peace with one another.

The library features many themes in its adult and childrens sections throughout the year, and the LGBTQ+ section has been featured for at least 10 years. This year, however, it drew the criticism of Lycoming County Commissioners Tony Mussare and Scott Metzger.

Mussare previously told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette that he asked McGary to remove the display from the childrens library. When the displays did not change, families turned to McGary to tell them how it affected them.

One of the most important educations that I received personally was knowledge of the needs of families in our community, she said. I was humbled by the stories that were shared with me by people all over this community that had young children that identify as LGBTQ+ and how much suffering they experience when others do not take the time to see them as fellow human beings worthy of respect, dignity and opportunity.

McGary listened every day for several weeks to stories from community members who were grateful for the resources, programs and services provided by the library, she said.

I stood in awe of our library and all that it does to improve the lives of people in our community, McGary said.

All children deserve to have a vibrant collection of both mirror books and window books to choose from their public library, childrens librarian Nina White said. Mirror books reflect a childs own life and culture nurturing value and respect through identification and their experiences. Window books provide opportunities for children to see into the world beyond their home, laying a foundation for an empathetic society.

For Aimee Lindauer, public service assistant, the community is made up of so many worlds.

Having a location where all of them can come together peacefully, for the sole purpose of celebrating knowledge, means everything to some of these kids and families, Lindauer said. When kids walk through the doors and the first thing out of their mouths is an exclamation of wonder, its hard not to remember what a vital role books play in our daily life. Being able to find something that represents you in this vast ocean of everybody makes the world just a little bit more manageable.

And that is just one of the reasons the James V. Brown Library was chosen as the 2021 Pennsylvania Library of the Year.

There are four points considered when choosing the winner: service to public or academic community, advancing staff development, innovation in a special project, partnership or challenge overcome and leadership in and support of Association activities, such as the Pennsylvania Library Association Academy of Leadership Studies and the PA Forward Initiative, and according to Christi Buker, executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association.

So, why was James V. Brown chosen? Buker said. The James V. Brown is a shining example of excellence in the library community. (McGary) serves as the Pennsylvania Councilor representative to the American Library Association (ALA). She is a dedicated and passionate library leader in service locally, statewide and nationally, and inspires the entire staff of the James V. Brown to be their best for both their local community and to Pennsylvania as a whole.

Recent examples of staff leadership and innovation include Dana Brigandi, development, marketing and programming director, having been elected as the West Branch Chapter 2020 Chair, and Nina White, youth services director, being selected to be a presenter at the 2021 Pennsylvania Library Association Annual Conference, she said.

Certainly the censorship challenge presented in June over a Pride display was concerning on multiple fronts, Buker said. The James V. Brown worked steadfastly to uphold the core values of libraries being a welcoming place for everyone, providing materials and access to information for the entire community, following the professional standards of intellectual freedom and ALA Library Bill of Rights, and maintaining open and respectful communications with the community.

As a PA Forward Gold Star Library, the library has maintained a consistent focus and dedication to high-quality library services with keen attention to their community, she said.

The 2021 Library of the Year Award recognizes the comprehensive and compelling achievements of the James V. Brown Library, the Board of Trustees, and staff, particularly in the face of censorship and funding challenges, Buker said. They are an inspiration to libraries across the Commonwealth, and well-deserving of this statewide recognition.

The library is more than just a collection of displays, however.

The library is an outstanding organization that makes life better for our residents, Brigandi said. The library is more than just a building downtown; we are the heart of this community, and we work hard to form partnerships and reach the greatest number of people possible to share a love of reading and establish a lifelong appreciation of learning.

It also is not just located in the brick building on East Fourth Street.

We are in the community with programs at local parks, the Lycoming County Sensory Garden, the SPCA, at the Growers Market, the Food Bank and more, Brigandi said. We bring library services where the people are in many ways, including our beloved Storymobile that visits early childhood learning facilities.

Another way the library helped the community this year is by going fine free back in January, which McGary called most joyful.

The decision to eliminate overdue fines for library materials was essential in our efforts to reduce the disparity of poverty by removing financial barriers that prevented the poorest of our community from utilizing needed resources, she said. It was a financial sacrifice for an important and essential community impact and one that we were grateful to be able to make.

That commitment to the people of the community continued in September during National Library Card Sign-Up Month when the library removed fees to borrow DVDs, so all of the librarys resources could be borrowed for free.

This decision was made working along-side our remarkable front line public service staff whose intelligence is matched only by their empathy, compassion and commitment to this community, McGary said.

The award-winning librarians serve in significant leadership roles in the state library association as well as the national one.

Our service to statewide committees, board service and national councils enables us to share professional ideas and practices outside the borders of Lycoming County, McGary said. Our professional librarians are known and recognized for their best practices and expertise throughout the state and this great nation of ours.

It is both the staff and the governance which makes an organization great, she said.

The James V. Brown Library Board of Trustees are a unique and remarkable group of people, McGary said. Each one of them is a leader in their own right.

Its board includes the Williamsport Area School district superintendent, Williamsport mayor, local business owners, the reverend of Christs Church, thought leaders, former teachers, parents and friends, she said.

Along with our board, the people behind the services our amazing staff are community members that give their creativity, imagination, hard work and ingenuity in order to connect with the families that they serve every day, McGary said. We are an organization that is committed to continuous learning by researching and developing new ways to learn about our community in order to develop programs and services where everyone, as our mission states, can go to learn, connect and grow.

And there was a lot of learning, connecting and growing this year.

The James V. Brown Library is tremendously grateful for the lessons, joys and opportunities to serve our community in 2021, McGary said.

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2021 Person of the Year finalist: Library withstands controversy for sake of LGBTQ+ community - Williamsport Sun-Gazette