Last Meeting’s Program (5.21.24)
Andrew Vickers, executive director of the Franklin County Library System, discussed the mission and programs of the system. Vickers, who grew up in south Georgia, said growing up on a farm taught him valuable lessons about hard work and the importance of education. He said he had welcoming and empowering experiences at libraries as a child and that his middle school library became his “home away from home.”
Although libraries have changed over the years, Vickers said he still considered Andrew Carnegie’s four tenets for a successful library to be valuable. They are: 1) free access to knowledge 2) promotion of self-education 3) empowerment of the working class, and 4) community building.
Recent improvements to the system’s website have made it easier to find and utilize materials, Vickers said. The system offers a wide variety of programs and collections, including arts and crafts, story times, book clubs, STEM programs, language instruction, household items to borrow, and many more. The Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library is not a member of the system, but they do share IT and youth services, Vickers said.
