By BECKY NICHOLS | Selma-Dallas County Public Library director

We have a display of Thanksgiving books in the Children’s Department. Many titles have gone home for the holidays and will be enjoyed by families. There is a bright orange sign above the display that says “The library is thankful for you!”

And perhaps that is the topic of this article today — to let you know how very much we are thankful for you, the community we serve.

Every day more than 200 people come to the library. They walk in for a book, a program, a computer or many other reasons. Each one of these people bring a new idea, or a thought or a project and each visit brings a new definition of purpose for the library.

Over the last 20 years we have seen that purpose change as we have entered the world of technology, which has made so many new resources available to so many. Although we are a great respecter of the digital world, we have made sure that the basic enjoyment of the print volume is still maintained here.

In fact, last year more than 65,000 books and resources traveled to Selma and Dallas County homes and shared their story or information with a reader. And according to our annual report, over 100,000 adults visited the library and around 35,000 children attended a program or a checked out books. This means that we are a community where people are coming together to read and learn and grow together.

But above and beyond the technology and resources of your library are the people who make it work so well. The staff of this library is top notch, excellent and totally committed to the daily service that support the numbers shared above. It is a daily honor to work with them and be a part of this staff.

And as difficult as it is to believe that another year is almost over is there realization that we have occupied this building for over 20 years. In 1995, we opened the new part of the library to a grand crowd of people on a cold February morning. It was a day of celebration for the entire community and the years that have followed have simply proved that those rooms added, those departments created and those spaces that were expanded have been used and enjoyed by so many people.

Our thanks go to the families who have given to support us and have believed in the work and fellowship of the library. Even now as we plan for the future we see the new directions that the library has grown and is growing and we as always are challenged to plan for those changes.

Many of these gifts — large and small — have been made in honor of friends and loved ones and we are particularly grateful for those lives that have gone before us and have blazed trails of determinations and belief in this town and area.

I write these cards every day to family members whose loved one has been remembered here at the library and every time I am honored to have known many of them. Those gifts have built into one of the library greatest support incomes.

A good library grows with its community, and it is our hope and prayer that we can continually seek new ways to serve each of you.

We are thankful for each of you and from our library to your house, “Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!”