Montgomery County Celebrates National Snapshot Day

Ike Leggett Photo by Aileen Klein

This morning County Executive Ike Leggett kicked off Snapshot Day for the Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) at the Rockville Memorial Library. Snapshot Day is an American Library Association initiative to give libraries a way to show what happens in a single day by taking photos.

Throughout the day, customers have been photographing programs and services to document the variety of activities that take place. The photos will be uploaded to Flickr on the Maryland Library Association’s site.

Snapshot Day gives advocates the chance to prove how their libraries are appreciated and used. In addition to taking photos, the staff is collecting statistics by actually counting people. Today our Rockville Memorial Library will highlight how many books were checked out, but they’ll also be asking people what they are doing in the library to find out if they are seeking a job or doing their homework, etc.

Laura Berthieume Photo by Aileen Klein

Children from the kindergarten class at Beall Elementary and first grade of Christ Episcopal attended the event and they were treated to stories read by Mr. Leggett, Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger, Past President of the Friends of the Library, Rockville Chapter and School Board Member Laura Berthiaume, and District 17 Senator Jennie Forehand. Mr. Leggett in particular knew how to interact with the kids and was just as good as any first grade teacher would have been. To show their appreciation for Mr. Leggett’s efforts, the Friends of the Library (FOLMC) presented him with his very own READ poster.

Jennie Forehand, Tom Mangers & Laura Berthieume while Ike Leggett reads. The children reacted to his storytelling. Photo by Aileen Klein.

Aileen Klein from the Friends of the Library thanked Mr. Leggett and Senator Forehand for all they have done to keep our county libraries among the best in the country. She also expressed appreciation for the expert guidance of library director Parker Hamilton. During her remarks, Ms. Klein explained how FOLMC will be helping during the county’s budget shortfall:

The Friends of the Library has been adjusting to its budget cuts and just recently voted to step up – on an emergency basis – money designated for collections. Even though we cannot come close to making up for the $3M collections budget cut, we will be helping to lessen the gap and our chapters will be helping too. Even though this may mean a temporary reduction in new technologies, programs, and other projects that we have traditionally bought for MCPL, we realize these are unusual times, and both staff and patrons have been telling us that collections are the area that is feeling particularly squeezed, so we will be trying to respond as best we can.

Ari Brooks (FOLMC), Parker Hamilton, and Irene Padilla (State Libraries). Photo by Aileen Klein

The 16 champters of FOLMC want to do everything possible to help. Today’s snapshots should encourage their efforts by demonstrating how loved and utilized these community hubs are in our County.

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