Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library

2 - Summer 2001 - Volume 2, Number 4

Library Now!

[continued from page 1]

MEET YOUR LIBRARY STAFF

Marshia Walker and her family moved to Jacksonville from Dallas.

How long have you worked at the Library?

Since February 1, 2001

In what area do you usually work?

Technical services

What are you currently reading?

A mystery by Mary Higgins Clark

What book do you recommend?

I would not recommend a specific book. As long as someone reads, it doesn't matter what the book is. That is what I would recommend: any book that encourages reading is a good book.

What web sites do you recommend?

Bluemountain.com is one of my favorites. I would also suggest the website of the Century 21 Action Team, since that it how we found our home here.

What do you do in life beside work at the library?

I love to garden, both flowers and vegetables. I enjoy swimming, reading, and remodeling houses. In the past, I have done much volunteer work as PTA president, Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, and political campaigner. In other cities, I have been vice president of the main Friends of the Library and a president of the Friends at a branch library.

What do you find satisfying about working at the Library?

Fixing broken books.

What is your Adream wish@ for the Library?

Modern, up-to-date equipment and new carpet. On another level, I wish everyone would realize what a great library is available and participate by making use of the Library.

THOUGHTS FOR 2001'a INDEPENDENCE DAY

In a June 1944 issue of the magazine The New Yorker, writer Philip Hamburger wrote of attending ceremonies in Central Park of New York City called "I Am an American Day."

The essay was republished in 1999 in Hamburger's collection entitled Friends Talking in the Night: Sixty Years of Writing for the New Yorker.

In 1944 Hamburger heard remarks by Judge Learned Hand, at that time senior judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. So impressed was the writer that he went to Judge Hand=s chambers the next day and asked for a copy of the speech.

From the speech Hamburger quoted:

Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution no law, no court can even do much to help it.
The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right;
The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women;
The spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias;
The spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded;

The spirit of liberty is the spirit of he who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned but has never quite forgotten: that there may be a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.

And, writing about Judge Hand's family background, Hamburger related:

"He [Judge Learned Hand] had little traffic with Fourth of July speeches when he was young, concentrating instead of firecrackers, but his cousin, Judge Augustus Hand, who is also a colleague on the bench, took a more serious attitude toward Independence Day. He [Judge Augustus Hand] would go out in the fields with his sisters, and together they would read aloud the Declaration of Independence."

What will you and your family do to mark the Fourth of July, 2001?

Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library ("Friends"), a Texas non-profit corporation, exists to support the mission of the Jacksonville Public Library, which is to assemble, organize, preserve, and make easily available significant books and other enriching materials that will provide information, stimulation, education, and recreation for every resident of the community.

Information published in Library Now! is offered for the benefit of members of Friends. Nothing stated herein is intended to, nor does it, express policy of the Jacksonville Public Library, its board of directors, or the City of Jacksonville, Texas. While contributions are welcome, Friends reserves the right to edit contributions based on space and relevance to activities of Friends.

Friends has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service for nonprofit status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Contributions to Friends may therefore be tax deductible to the donor. Each person should consult his or her tax advisor concerning this issue.