Fremont County is large, diverse, and filled with opinions, or “talk in the 10.” “Talk in the 10” is an opportunity for you, our readers, to articulate and share your thoughts about what is happening in the community with the community. Letters may have been edited for clarity and length, but generally have been published exactly as received. The views expressed in the following are solely those of the author. Send your letters to our editors by emailing opinion@county10.com
Dear Anita Marple,
This is, first of all, a letter to you. But it is also a letter to Lander, the library, the community, the children who grew into adulthood through libraries, and for the children yet to grow.
Anita, thank you for knowing what a library is meant to be. A place to read, learn, gather, and create. A celebration of the First Amendment and public access. The Lander Library was a safe haven for me in my childhood and the place where I first learned that I loved Shakespeare and Nancy Drew.
This spirit of learning and intrigue still lives through programming, collections development, and the connections we make with library staff.
Anita, thank you for listening to the needs, wants, and concerns of the community with an open mind and an open heart. You’ve created a space where citizens can hold meetings, use computers to finish projects or apply for jobs, and nonprofits can discover new grant opportunities. The library displays museum artifacts and children’s artwork, and encourages writers and readers to share stories. It has hosted Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, children’s theater, and community outreach. All are truly welcome there.
Anita, thank you for creating an environment where people want to work. Thank you for navigating through staggering budget cuts, inappropriately skewed compared to other departments, beginning in 2020 and cut deeper with each fiscal year. Your creativity and staff dedication have allowed the library to survive when all odds seemed stacked against it.
Anita, thank you for your grace and professionalism in the face of uninvited criticism and vitriol. When asked to adjust the budget, collection procedures, communication with patrons, and other tasks that violate the First Amendment, you always answer with kindness, data, and evidence. Though I feel the County Commissioners and some Library Board members don’t see the value of public libraries, you never wavered. Your love of libraries and the people of Fremont County is unmatched. I am sorry that your efforts to maintain a respectable and fully functional library have been met with disinformation, lies, anger, and impatience from the very governing bodies who are obligated (by law or policy) to support the work you do for our libraries.
Anita, thank you for everything the Fremont County Libraries represent, for holding to your values and upholding the laws of the Constitution, the guidelines of library freedom, and for going above and beyond to ensure that families and libraries can work together to create a beautiful place. Libraries all across the world should be so lucky to have a library director as knowledgeable, dedicated, and compassionate as you.
I sincerely hope that Fremont County will benefit from your leadership and guidance for many years to come, and that the Commissioners and the Library Board recognize your value and treat you and the libraries with the respect you so deeply deserve.
I am a lifelong resident of Lander, and I proudly stand with you and the Fremont County Libraries.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,
Sarah Reilley