Several activities take place each day in the meeting room behind this window at Sunbury’s Community Library.
Gary Budzak | The Gazette
SUNBURY — Quick, try to name a place where one can get a passport, garden, code, play chess and make a bottle of liquid cleaner.
The Community Library is currently the closest thing the city of Sunbury has to a community center. Like many local libraries, it offers a range of activities for cardholders and those seeking continuing education through programs held away from the stacks of books.
Like the Delaware County District Library and the Westerville Public Library in Franklin County, the Community Library has a meeting room separate from its collections.
Mornings in the Community Library’s meeting room often features adults taking a yoga or Tai Chi class. Afterwards, adults lead babies and toddlers in reading and singing or playing music.
On some afternoons after school, patrons will find teens and tweens in the meeting room, playing chess or participating in an Anime Club.
Not everything takes place in the meeting room — knitting and crocheting takes place in the new book area. Bring your own project and supplies.
There are even classes in American Sign Language being taught on Zoom through the library.
Some events are simply drop-in, others require registration. Visit www.yourcl.org to find out for sure. For some services, such as notary and passport, call the library at 740-965-3901.
“Community Library’s mission is to provide welcoming environments for all to pursue knowledge and cultivate interests,” said its website. “In addition to our collection of books, databases, and multimedia materials, we offer a variety of additional services that enhance the lives of Big Walnut area residents.”
As many Gazette readers know, American founding father and Franklin County namesake Benjamin Franklin was a friend of libraries. The website libraryhistorybuff.com said he founded America’s first lending library, the Library Company of Philadelphia, in 1731. He also assisted establishing several other libraries in Pennsylvania, as well as donating volumes to Harvard and Yale.
A number of historical sources say that as a young man, Franklin and a dozen friends frequented a Philadelphia alehouse on Friday nights. They called themselves the Junto Club, and had spirited debates where books were referred to. Franklin thought, instead of bringing their expensive books back and forth to these events, why not have them stored all together in a quieter setting for consultation as needed?
“By thus clubbing our books to a common library, we should, while we liked to keep them together, have each of us the advantage of using the books of all the other members, which would be nearly as beneficial as if each owned the whole,” he wrote in his autobiography, as quoted from the Benjamin Franklin History website. “It was liked and agreed to, and we filled one end of the room with such books as we could best spare.”
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].
