We Believe…

We Believe

 

We believe in the pursuit of Happiness.  We believe that every individual has the right to strive toward their fullest, possible potential while here on earth.  

 

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.  It stated:

 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. …”  

 

This statement was not accidental.  It is at the crux of what it means to be American.

 

Our founding fathers understood the inextricable connection between individual rights and community.  They understood that for a community to succeed and thrive, each individual must succeed and thrive.  They could envision how an individual given opportunities to continuously venture toward reaching their fullest potential would invariably be able to give back to the community, fortifying both the community and the common good. They realized that when one citizen could rise, the whole of the nation would rise.

 

We, too, believe in the pursuit of Happiness, and we make it our purpose to provide the assistance and resources people need on their personal journeys that are so intertwined with the prosperity of this community.  Each day we give people the agency to aspire to their fullest potential, and each day we contribute to the development of an outstanding community.

 

We believe even those who do not cross our threshold still benefit from the work we do daily.  Like our founding fathers, we know every citizen benefits each time one is raised.  We see evidence of it when a child who has had the advantage of borrowing books succeeds at graduating Pal-Mac, receives scholarships to pursue higher education and returns to the community as a contributing professional. Or it is manifested when an adult attends an Entrepreneur Workshop series and launches a business addressing a niche need in the community.  Or it is witnessed when an unemployed, single mother receives help crafting a resume and cover letter and ends up securing a job with enough earnings to support her family.  

 

Currently, our ability to fulfill our purpose is jeopardized.  Due to a structural deficit arising from chronic underfunding of the library budget for many years, we are forced to cut our hours.  We will be opening on Wednesdays from 2 pm until 8 pm beginning on February 7, 2018.  Prior to this, as a result of underfunding, we had also cut our hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

Going forward, we need to secure sustainable funding for the library.  We need enough funding to avoid any more cuts in hours. We believe the residents of Macedon deserve a library that is open all day on Wednesdays, longer on Fridays and Saturdays and at least three hours on Sundays.

 

If you believe in the pursuit of Happiness and understand the critical role your library plays in this, please let your town representatives know you want the library to receive sustainable funding in the future.  We need enough funding to support adding back the hours we have had to cut, to address the minimum wage which will continue to increase over the next few years and to eliminate the structural deficit.  

 

If you would like to be informed of civic engagement opportunities, please let us know your email address by contacting:

 

macedonlibrarydirector@owwl.org

 

We believe in the pursuit of Happiness.  Please join us!