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SAN JUAN ISLAND LIBRARY

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MORE COLUMNS

The Importance of History

Lately I have found myself thinking about history. More precisely I've been thinking about our history here on the island. This hasn't happened for just any reason; it keeps coming up in different ways.

In preparation for the recent library conference I attended with our library trustees, I prepared a fact sheet that included a timeline of the library. Librarians and Trustees often find it useful to know a little of the history of a particular library when sharing strategies and methods.

I've been involved in the Town's Centennial Committee and planning for our centennial in 2009. Obviously we have been looking at our past 100 years in planning a year-long community celebration.

I've been discussing a project to digitize historical documents through the Washington State Library with individuals from the Historical Museum and the Town. The project goal is to establish a statewide repository of historically unique collections from small and rural communities. We are currently discussing what documents we would contribute to this initiative by determining which people and events in our history are truly distinctive.

And as we approach the "go live" date of our new online catalog system, I have been digging through the history of our catalog and technology in the library (more to come about this starting next week!).

Why does it feel as though all roads are leading me to our past? Maybe we are just never very far from our past. Or to share who we are we must also share who we were. Or in planning our future we necessarily start by looking at our past. Any way you look at it, our history tells something important about us.

For a short history of our library check out our website at: www.sjlib.org/atl/history.html.

For more information about Friday Harbor’s centennial plans contact Town Clerk, Amy Taylor, at 378-2810 or go to the town website at: http://www.fridayharbor.org/centennial/centennial.htm.

Laura Tretter, Director
San Juan Island Library
360.378.2798
ltretter@sjlib.org

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