Happy July 5th! I was off on the holiday enjoying some down time and 'stuff around the house' time. I live in a small town and enjoyed walking to our park for the fireworks display. My husband and I watched from the elementary school parking lot.

Most of my friends and colleagues have expressed a whole run of emotion about returning to work today after a long holiday weekend. My day began with a dental appointment--drill and refill old fillings. I don't have the dread of the dentist that I once had. I don't mind going to see my current dentist who is quite aware of my aversion to pain. Cleanings are a no-brainer--maintenance and upkeep, and no pain. The purpose of my appointment today was not cleaning: Rather the dentist was refreshing the material that is keeping my teeth from any additional decay. The appointment went well, no surprises and I was out the door a little over an hour after my appointment began. Before leaving for work I had to drop some things in the mailbox at the post office, and then I'd be on my way.

The post office boxes are on the street behind my town's public library. On my way to my appointment I'd passed by this way and seen the cleaning staff emptying the trashcans outside. A young boy in tow with his mother, helping her steady the bag as she replaced full with empty. I thought about what a great helper he was.

When I went past the same entrance to the library door, my clock in the car said 8:56. There were three teenagers waiting outside the door for the library to open. It was a great sight to behold. Had the kids been volunteer pages or employees, they would have been let into the library without waiting. Here, though, in front of the entrance, were three kids not sleeping in, and waiting to get to the Internet workstations, the book shelves, the video collection or some other service that the library offers on the day immediately following the holiday. They were not sleeping in after a long day of parade and picnicking, or a late night of watching fireworks explode over the park and golf course. They wanted access. They wanted information. They wanted to fill up their minds, or empty them through social networking or other online services.

I'm proud of our public library and its services. Since coming to our town in 1997 I have participated as a volunteer. I have advocated for our services and funding. I have shared thoughts with our library board and director. The board members aspire that the library will remain a center for our community. To do so we must continue to grow to meet the articulated and unstated needs for our users. We must anticipate where we as a community might need to go next. There is excitement as the board and director search for a new integrated library system. They are on the verge of selection and hope to bring a system with push technology to keep patrons informed of accounts and access within the library.

Regardless of where we are today, we do need to be cognizant of regular renewal. We cannot fix and forget, or implement and be done for always. We must continue to evaluate our services and be willing to remove anything that is past its usefulness. Indeed, taking things apart and rebuilding or restoring can help libraries preserve and extend information to users for generations to come.