Ruth Breipohl was unaware that the city of Bombay is no longer called Bombay &045;&045; until she happened to meet a former resident of that country.

The city is now called Mumbai, named for the local deity, Mumba Devi. The reason for the name change, Breipohl found out, is that the citizens of India wanted to get rid of as much of the British influence on their country as possible.

Breipohl is a reference librarian at the Selma-Dallas Public Library, but she did not find out this information in a book. Instead, she discovered it when talking to a former Indian resident who happened to be visiting the library.

It’s just one example of how the library serves as a focal point for the community.

Fellow reference librarian Mary Morrow recently started taking a poll of people from different nations and states who visit the library. They’ve come from places as far as the Czech Republic and as close as Sprott.

In June, there were visitors from Canada and the Czech Republic. There were also visitors from Arizona, California, Michigan, New York and even Las Vegas &045;&045; as well as Anniston, Montgomery and, of course, Sprott.

Many of these people are here on work-related or family-related business. But others pass through Selma as part of a tour group and stop by to check their e-mail.

Morrow said they’ve all had the same opinion about one thing:

Breiphol enjoys the fact that she is able to learn something new about different cultures and people she has never known before.