Mrs. Amie is one of the many seniors who have retired to the coastal area of Brunswick County. She is a widow and lives alone. English is not her first language, but she visits the library frequently for large print books and to have a brief chat with the staff.
She came in recently in great distress. Her home telephone was out of order, her neighbors were away, and she could not reach the phone company. “I did not know what else to do,” she said, “except come to the Library.”
Of course, a library assistant called the phone company to report the problem and arrange a time for the repairman to come to the house. Another staff member suggested that Mrs. Amie really should consider getting a cell phone, just for emergencies. Mrs. Amie said she did not know how to use one; she did not know where to get one; they were too expensive. The employees told her how to find a simple, inexpensive pre-paid phone and referred her to several stores in the neighborhood.
The next time Mrs. Amie came to the library, she was fairly glowing. Her home phone was working again (a problem with squirrels in the wiring), and she proudly displayed her new cell phone with emergency numbers programmed in. “The Library saved my life,” she declared.
Libraries change lives!
North Carolina Library Advocacy 