At the Library: Thank you from Patrick Finney

By Patrick Finney

Over 19 years ago, I walked into the Washington Public Library at 120 E. Main, barely a year out of school, and became its director.

Eleven years later, I Ieft Washington a far more experienced librarian and a better person for my time in southeast Iowa. During that time, I learned how important a public library can be to the cultural life of a rural community. I learned that the assumption that small town America is in decline is sometimes completely wrong.

I saw how a community made up of generous and hard-working volunteers can come together behind a shared vision of success. I was, and continue to be, astounded by the level of volunteerism in Washington and surrounding areas. Of course, being intimately involved in the project to build the library on the square is, and will likely always be, the crowning achievement of my career.

It was a perfect storm of need, fortune and hard work that made that project a success. We owe a lot to people like David Elder and organizations like the Riverboat Foundation for the library. But we owe just as much to all of you who made small donations, volunteered your time and voted in favor of the project and all of you who continue to support the library whether or not you were around for its construction.

Washington has a beautiful building, but the library is much more than just a building! It was gratifying during my recent visit to see it and the community as a whole continue to thrive. Washington County is a special place. Not every community has the talent you have for seizing opportunity when presented nor the confidence to be so open-minded and welcoming to newcomers.

I want to thank you all for that on behalf of myself and my family. I'd also like to send a special thank you out to my former co-workers at the library, some of whom have gone onto green pastures and one of whom has passed on. Each and every one of them taught me things I value to this day. Day in and day out, we worked together to be of service to our community, to treat our patrons as people and to be responsive to the needs of Washington, Iowa.

I received my master's degree in library science in Iowa City, but I learned to be a librarian in Washington. Thank you all. You will always be in my heart!