By Stephen Vance, Editor
The municipal election is over, and the air outside has suddenly chilled; perhaps the lack of political hot air has caused our temperatures to plummet. As much as I enjoy elections, I am always glad when they are over.
Municipal elections can become somewhat all-consuming, occupying the minds of reporters and voters for weeks, so when those votes are finally counted and the results have been announced, it is time for a well-earned break from serious stuff like local political issues.
With the election over, some of us might wonder what to do with the extra free time. For me, it will be to get caught up on my reading.
October was National Library Month, but sadly, in the midst of a hotly contested municipal election, libraries find it difficult to compete for attention. So for me, November will be reading month, a belated nod to Library Month if you like.
Reading: such an enjoyable way to spend time – without needing to spend much if any money. In Meaford we are particularly fortunate in that we have the Net Shed in the summer months where a huge selection of previously enjoyed books are available, and payment is by donation, making reading accessible to anyone. We’ve also got our library, and our Sydenham residents have the fantastic library in Owen Sound for our reading needs.
While libraries in recent years have found themselves needing to work harder to justify their expense and relevance to increasingly cash-strapped municipalities, and with some even questioning the need for libraries at all, given the current trend toward the ‘digitization’ of just about everything in these modern times, libraries are in fact quite possibly more important than ever before.
Gone are the days when libraries were little more than a warehouse for storing books that could be borrowed by local readers. Certainly technology is changing, and the way we read today will likely be much different 30 years from now, but libraries have been, and will continue to evolve as an important, fully accessible meeting place, gathering centre and a facility that can be used for continued education of all types.
Books aren’t just an accessible item for adults in Meaford. Fantastic work is being done by Georgian Bay Secondary School’s Born to Read club, and under the direction of teacher Amy Teed-Acres has been reaching out to local youngsters for the past decade to promote the benefits of early reading, and to make books accessible to children no matter what their life circumstances. Each time I cover a story about the Born to Read club I am inspired: inspired by the work of our fine teachers, inspired by the high school students who get involved in the club, and inspired by the little ones who so enthusiastically soak up every word and picture in a story.
The Net Shed might be closed for the season, but we will have the Monday Night Book Club book reviews coming from the Friends of the Meaford Library throughout the winter offering up interesting titles for readers to consider.
I have my own stack of books that have been accumulating in my ‘to read’ pile, and there are a couple of newly released books that I would love to read, though at this time of year my spouse insists that I not pick up any new books – something to do with a gift-giving holiday on the horizon.
So for now, I will take the time when I would have been hosting a Soap Box Saturday for candidates in the election to settle in with a cup of coffee and a good book or ten. I will take some evening moments when I would have been sitting through yet another public candidate meeting listening to the same speeches spouted at the last meeting to read some fiction. Something about candidate speeches makes me crave fiction.
Congratulations to all of the successful candidates in the October 27 election. We will have plenty of time to get to know each other after you take office in December, but for the month of November my free time will be immersed in the pages of books and not in the sea of candidates’ promises.
