It recently fell to our County Administrator, Mindy Moran, to select an accomplishment by the community of Mathews to highlight for an achievement award submission to the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo). Not surprisingly, Ms. Moran selected the recently completed library expansion project as presenting the optimum opportunity to be recognized by VACo in 2014.
Her skillfully written and poignant presentation, "Meeting the Needs and Expectations of 21st Century Patrons," should guarantee serious consideration by the selection committee. She effectively captures the long history of community support for the public library and highlights the numerous challenges and victories faced by community leaders, whose goal has been to ensure that all citizens of Mathews have access to the unique resources offered by a public library. Ms. Moran placed particular emphasis on the success of the most recent expansion undertaken by the Friends of the Mathews Memorial Library. She attributes the overwhelming financial support for the project to the confidence that the community holds that their donation "supported an expansion that would address community needs and the knowledge that the Mathews Memorial Library meets needs that are not traditional library roles."
Regardless of the success of Ms. Moran's efforts, the library stands ready to make real her assertion that "Mathews Memorial Library is truly a community engagement oasis on the front line of protecting the right to learn."