by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION (Beachburg) — A familiar person is returning to Beachburg Public School, but not as a member of the school’s team.
Laurie Patterson is the new librarian for the Beachburg Public Library, which is located in the school. She retired in June as a teacher, her final position as the Grade one/two teacher at Beachburg Public School. She had been there for six years.
She did a few hours of training with librarian Marilyn Labow in December 2017, who was retiring at year’s end, before tackling the job on her own as of January 2018.
The librarian’s position is perfect for Ms. Patterson, as she describes herself as a “lifelong learner” and a “lover of books.” As a teacher she was always learning. She began her teaching career in Cobden, went to Eganville and then Highview, ending in Beachburg.
“I still have an angel on my (Christmas) tree that was given to me by a child in a class in Cobden,” Ms. Patterson said with a smile.
A special moment she recalled as a teacher was teaching a former student’s child. She was a temporary teacher in Beachburg in 1988 and in 2012/13, she taught that student’s child.
While she will have many things to do as the librarian, Ms. Patterson said she will be searching for new literary adventures for the patrons of the library.
She sees the value of reading print while holding onto it because it’s softer on the eyes and there’s nothing better than the weight of a book in your hands.
“The only thing better than holding a book in your hands is holding your child on your lap while they hold a book in their hands,” she said. “I hope parents continue to model that love of reading in their children.”
The library is a great opportunity to get more than books for people of all ages, Ms. Patterson said. It has magazines, movies, puzzles, games, the internet and it loans out walking poles.
While the library is located within the school, she said she is not the school’s librarian. The students can access the library whenever they need to with a teacher, or on their own with a teacher’s permission.
The library is open Monday and Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m.; Tuesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to noon.
While it’s hard to gauge how busy she will be, Ms. Patterson said there’s always something to do, whether it’s filing books on the shelves or searching for new authors or helping patrons.
Ms. Patterson is married to Geoff and the couple has two adult children – Rob is a musician in Toronto and Jane is finishing her final year in the kinesiology/phys ed program at the University of Toronto.
She is looking forward to cooking new recipes for her husband and friends to enjoy.
“Cookbooks are my favourite books,” she said. “I love to cook and bake. You might say I’m a baking freak,” she laughed.
When she retired, Ms. Patterson said she had a list of things she wanted to do, including volunteer, enjoy more reading and exercising.
She encourages everyone to attend the open house at the Beachburg Public Library on Saturday, Jan. 20, 10 a.m. to noon, to say hello to her and good-bye to Ms. Labow.
