Library's endless possibilities as community heartbeat

As published in the Red Rock News
 
Sedona Public Library is celebrating Library Giving Day on April 27 as we again participate in this national event that highlights the importance of libraries across the U.S. We’re also celebrating Poetry Month, so please join us for festivities including all-day refreshments and pop-up poetry by local greats Mary Heyborn and Harta Dunia, and special guests of all ages including Library staff and Board Members.
 
This day gives us the opportunity to spread the word about how we’re connecting community, and it gives you the opportunity to invest in your Library while doubling your gift. Beginning on April 6, through April 27, gifts will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $20,000!
 
This year, the Polansky family, regulars at Sedona Public Library, shared their library story with us to help celebrate Library Giving Day. They think libraries truly do offer endless possibilities. In fact, for them, libraries are the heartbeat of a community. Zen, Jayson, and Harta Dunia, found a home at Sedona Public Library when they arrived here in 2015. “The Library was a social connection for us, for me as a mom, and for Zen when he was just a toddler,” Harta said.
 
Harta, a certified drumming facilitator and owner of Red Rock Drumming, teaches literacy and numeracy to young children at the Library. She engages readers, from 0 to five years old, to use all five senses via the drums and other instructional tools. “Drumming,” she explained, “reaches all sides of the brain.” She introduces sounds, beats, and the look and feel of felt letters to help children remember the letters, syllables, and ultimately words.
 
Harta and Zen have read for Verde Valley First Readers. Harta explained that when she reads to children, they might grow distracted. “But as soon as Zen begins reading, they listen.“ According to Harta, kids reading to kids is one of the best ways to learn. She calls it a superpower.
 
Both Zen and his dad Jayson seem to have the superpower of reading. Zen told me he loves to read, and he made it sound as if he devours books like some kids devour candy. “I read really fast,” he said confidently as he sat with Pi, his little stuffed sea otter, who is never far away. He explained the miracle of finding Pi, again, after he had disappeared, and he found him on National Pi Day, March 14!
 
Jayson has a very different story. He had trouble reading as a child. The Cleveland school system couldn’t help him with dyslexia, but a librarian introduced him to audio books, and the world of reading opened up for him. “It saved my life,” he said. As Harta explains it, “Audio books jolted Jayson’s reading difficulty.” Now, owner of Sedona UAS, a video and aerial cinematography company, and an Emmy-award winning audio engineer, Jayson knows that listening, and reading, go hand in hand.
 
The Polanskys are one of many families that have truly experienced the endless possibilities available at Sedona Public Library. We’re grateful for their story, and we hope they’ve inspired you to join us on Library Giving Day.
 
We love celebrating your Library at the same time hundreds of families are doing the same across the U.S. We are glad that we can again gather community in our beautiful space to listen to poetry. Please stop by on April 27, and if you’re interested in joining the fun as a reader, reach out to Jan Quisumbing, our Marketing and Program Coordinator. He’ll get you on the schedule for all day poetry fun! Remember, you don’t have to be a poet to read poetry! Call Jan at 928-282-7714, x8122.
 
Beginning April 6, please consider making a gift to Sedona Public Library for Library Giving Day. It’s as easy as visiting sedonalibrary.org/donate. You can drop a check in the mail or better yet, drop by—we’d love for you to visit. We’ll be here celebrating all day on April 27, 2022, Library Giving Day.
 
Sedona Public Library 
Column for April 1, 2022 
Written by Anne Marie Mackler, Development Director
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