Library's Giving Day and poetry readings a success

As published in the Red Rock News ​

You made our fourth annual Library Giving Day a success! Thank you for investing in Sedona Public Library during this national campaign celebrating libraries everywhere. We’re so glad you choose to support your hometown library! We believe in the community, and you believe in us. It’s a win-win. 

We celebrated Library Giving Day with poetry as we have done in the past, but this year it was in person! On April 27 we had a series of poetry readings including local poet Mary Heyborne, local magician and poet Roger Blakiston, Tucson poet Jefferson Carter, and local author Robert DeMayo, as well as a host of other poets and readers. What a great way to celebrate the Library, literacy, and literature! 

“I’m just beginning to get active in the community again,” Mary Heyborne explained. “And when Anne Marie called, she hadn’t even finished inviting me when I said, ‘Yes!’ I’m so glad to be back in the Library.” Mary read a few poems from each of her books, including her poem “On the Dedication of Sedona Library.” 

Roger Blakiston’s also read from his collection of five books of poems, and many of the poems he read celebrate Sedona’s beautiful landscape. His magic was also a hit, and you’ll see him back at the Library soon performing for Youth Services. In the meantime, Library staff is still trying to figure out how he turned one red foam ball into a handful of colored foam balls while the participating audience member held out a closed fist. It’s magic! 

Several children from Sedona Elementary Charter School made poem pockets in our annual April craft, and then they read the poems. The readers took turns reading selections from Shel Silverstein and A.A. Milne. Then, with giggles, whispers, and pride, after their first round of readings, several kids asked if they could read again! (Maybe it was all those cookies they ate! Thank you, Layla’s!)  

Many patrons tried their hand at writing poems for our Poet-tree, and many contributed haikus. Of course, there were several written about books and reading. Here’s a sample. 

“Books make me happy/They take me to distant spots/No screens, no passwords” 

“My body stays home/But my mind travels the world/On wings of a book” 

​And my favorite humorous haiku. 
“Road kill/Bloating in the sun/Death came quick” 

My favorite kids’ poem: 
“I love unicorns/because they are beautiful/I love them so much!” 

And finally, truest to our library hearts: “Home away from home/A place to study and read/Our Library rocks” 

The day closed with an author talk by Robert DeMayo, who read from his newest novel, “The King of the Coral Sea.” The group chatted in the corner of our Silent Waterfall garden, with the sun setting and sparkling on the stained glass behind them, making for a perfect ending to a lovely and fun day. Thanks, everyone!  

Library Giving Day was originally established by the Seattle Public Library Foundation as part of National Library Week, and it continues to be supported by the American Library Association and the Public Library Association. Designed to remind people that libraries are cornerstones of their communities, the notion has caught on. 

What started as an idea grew into a movement, and this year 440 library systems across the U.S. and Canada participated in April events. Sedona Public Library is thrilled to be a part of a national event to amplify libraries’ profiles in their communities, and we are thrilled with the tremendous turnout of supporters. 

​Thanks to the hundreds of donors who participated in our April campaign by making an online gift, mailing a check to us, dropping cash into one of our gift boxes, or attending our poetry readings! Gifts were matched, dollar for dollar, up to $20,000 until the Library’s Board chipped in and boosted the match to $26,000! We surpassed our goal, and with the matched gifts, we raised $55,650 towards our library programs, services, collections, exhibits, and more. 

Sedona Public Library has its roots in community generosity, from its founding by a small group of Friends of the Library, to the gift of land by Eugenia Wright and Helen Ecker for the first building on Jordan Road, and to the cash donation by Ethel M. Low to buy land for our current large facility on White Bear Road. And now that we’ve broken ground on our Courtyard, the impact of community philanthropy continues to grow. 

Thanks, again, Sedona! Your support makes a huge difference to what we can offer to the community. Sedona Public Library is an independently run, 501(c)(3), privately owned, debt-free, nonprofit organization providing public services. We receive support from the City of Sedona, property tax dollars from Yavapai and Coconino Counties, and gifts from businesses, foundations, and individuals like you, as well, of course, from the Friends of the Sedona Library. When you support them, you support us—it’s a win-win. Please visit us at sedonalibrary.org. 

Sedona Public Library  
News Column for May 13, 2022  
Written by Anne Marie Mackler, Development Director

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