For Each Chapter | Shelley Schweitzer

"First and foremost, I’m excited for more time to read. I tend to be a slower, intentional reader, so I’m looking forward to taking out a stack of books and not worrying about finishing them before a due date because Stark Library will automatically renew them for me - without late fees and embarrassing reminders.

Some of my time will be spent with 91-year-old mother, who used to encourage my brother and I to ride our bikes to the North Branch when it first opened. We recently helped her move out of her home and into an assisted living facility. Her house was filled with all sorts of family pictures - on the walls, on table tops, and in storage. I wanted her to have these memories easily accessible, so I got them all digitized and turned into a Shutterfly album which she can enjoy whenever she wants to take a trip down memory lane. I wanted to supplement this keepsake with a family tree, so I visited Stark Library’s Genealogy department to get help with research. With their assistance, I was able to identify individuals in different shots and construct a visual representation of our ancestors going back several generations. My mother finds a lot of joy in sharing all this info with her visitors.

This is also going to be a time to return to my first love of words and my dream of being a writer. My mother was a collector of sterling silver souvenir spoons that commemorated different people, events, and cultures - and these have inspired me with an idea for a series of children’s books. The research librarians at Stark Library have already - and will continue to be - so helpful. Not only do they provide resources that enable me to discover some of the history behind these spoons, but they’re also helping me analyze the publishing market. Is my idea a new one? Has anyone done it before? Will there be readers for what I’m putting out into the world? We’ve laid a wonderful groundwork together, and I can’t wait to get to work in earnest.

I’m continuing to grow and change and evolve - and I’m so grateful that Stark Library is doing the same right along with me."