At the Library

By LeAnn Kunz

What do you collect? Did you pull out that box of old watches that have been passed down in the family over holiday break? Do you have an inheritance of old teacups, plates, bottles, utensils, radios, records, tools, cameras, toys, comic books, tins, clocks, pottery, or handkerchiefs? Do you have a stockpile of historical doodads, thingamajigs, or whatchamacallits?

At the Washington Public Library we are a fan of collections. As part of our trade, we collect books but we also provide space to share the collections of the community. Individuals and groups are encouraged to inquire about using our exhibit and display spaces.

The library has a prominent, glassed-in cabinet in the front foyer as well as one on the second level. Both have shelving and can be locked. There is also the sizeable Helen Wilson Gallery on the second level, in which pieces can be hung from the wall. These spaces are available to the public for ?educational, cultural, charitable, governmental, and civic purposes and on an equitable basis? and exhibits can be on display for time not to exceed one month.

Currently the library is looking forward to a photography exhibit by Lyle Moen and Nancy Rash that will be on display in the Helen Wilson Gallery in January.

During February Mike Zahs will present a wide assortment of flour, feed, and seed sacks in the front foyer, which will tell the story of the relief work done by Herbert Hoover, to clothes and quilts in the 1950s.

And coming in March the carmina figurata (shaped poetry) of Dr. Jan D. Hodge will be on view in the Gallery, so take a moment to look around your homes and storage areas for those interesting items that you think the public might enjoy. Then consider sharing the whole kit and caboodle with your Washington Public Library!