MCC LIBRARY SYSTEM CLOSES

     Did you read that?  The Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System closes!
     Did that make you wonder if it went bankrupt?  Or that there was a fire or a sale or some other catastrophy that made it close?
     Well, if it made you wonder, then I'm glad.  And the reason I'm glad is because maybe it made you stop and think...what you might have to do if the public library in your community actually closed its doors for good.
     If you're a frequent visitor to your public library and it closed, where would you get your "free" books to read, your "free" audiobooks to listen to, your "free" DVDs and VHS movies to watch?  Where would you be able to use a "free" computer to job search or email family and friends?  Where would you go (other than McDonald's or Hardee's or someplace like that) where you could sit in the air conditioning on a hot day?  Where would you pick up the latest newspaper ("free") and sit for a little read?  Where would you take your children for storyhour or to check out 10 books to take home and look at?  And if you couldn't get to the public library, how would you be able to get those interesting books you love to read if the Bookmobile didn't come by your house on a regular route?
     Of course, we're not just a public library.  We're also a genealogical library, the Odom Genealogical Library, where you can research your family tree, find pictures of Grandma and Aunt Susie, where you can look in the archival tapes at old community newspapers, where you can learn about the Veterans History Project, and where you can use "free" computers for your research.
     Also, there's the Children's Library, where every summer you can bring your children for the Summer Reading Programs and special events by entertainers, where there are puzzles to do and coloring pages to work on and toys to play with, where the Children's Librarian goes to the schools and visits in the classrooms, and helps teachers and mothers find certain books for their children.
     And don't forget our branch library in Doerun.  If we were to close the libraries here in Moultrie, stop the Bookmobile routes, and turn out the lights and lock the doors in Doerun, where would you go?  How far away would you have to go to get to another library?
     OK, now.  Back to the MCCL System closing.  That's right, we are going to close.  But you're in luck.  It's only going to be for a little while.
     Beginning Monday, July 30, we will close our library system to do our annual inventory through Friday, August 3.  This is when we clean from top to bottom, when our force of janitors clean the ceiling fans and change the light bulbs, mop and wax and wipe down everything.  This is when all the books are inventoried, as well as the computers.  This is when old items, worn items, torn items, and displaced items are taken care of.  This is when we make sure our "home" is nice and clean and ready for you when we open again on Saturday, August 4, at 8:30 a.m.
     Now, isn't it wonderful to know that we'll be closed for only five days, that we will not be closed forever, and that you'll have the opportunity again to come back to a great library right here in your community.
     We'll be glad to see you also.  After all, you are what we're here for.  You are why we open our doors.  We're your community libraries.