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From the Director
“This spirit of gratitude and commitment to service that we doubled down on in 2020 will continue to shape the programs, collections and experiences we hope to share with you in 2021.” The Spirit of Gratitude
THE COLLECTIVE TOLL that 2020 has taken on us, is unparalleled by anything we’ve experienced in recent memory. We’ve endured a global health pandemic, lost iconic figures and have again had to confront various inequities and injustices that continue to permeate our society.
Even in the midst of this turmoil, however, 2020 has in some ways served to help bring us closer together with friends and family, given us reason to explore technology with a frequency we hadn’t before and, hopefully, it’s also caused each of us to pause at various intersections of our lives to show gratitude for the many reasons we have to be thankful.
I recently shared with all of FCPL’s staff, a “gratitude list” of specific people, places and purpose in my life that I am grateful for. The people on my list included my colleagues and immediate family, in particular my wife, my son and daughters, who inspire me daily — not unlike the artists we’ll be featuring for Black History Month who take inspiration from their own families (p. 5). The places I am thankful for include our 10 library locations, where my family (and yours) have been able to visit to gain access to technology or check out any of these popular titles (p. 16). The purpose or motivation that I’ve embraced this year has been the responsibility and opportunity I have to lead our team in service to Forsyth County, both on an ongoing basis (p. 3 & 16) and in those moments when our world is flipped upside down (p. 12).
This spirit of gratitude and commitment to service that we doubled down on in 2020 will continue to shape the programs, collections and experiences we hope to share with you in 2021. While this past year had an undeniable impact on us all, we are grateful to have made it through with you and we look forward to serving you in our libraries, online or wherever our paths may cross. I| S
