By Mark Bialczak
LPL Communications Specialist
There’s a new Community Engagement Coordinator at the Liverpool Public Library, and Maggie Foster is excited about getting out among the patrons.
In fact, Foster will be behind the LPL table this Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, at Liverpool’s Craft Extravaganza, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Washington Park.
“Kim (Sherman, event director) tells me Sunday is always the busier one,” said Foster.
The librarian will bring a cart full of books and a table of brochures that will help illustrate what the LPL is all about. Those at the fair can also look for the LPL’s colorful community outreach van parked outside the park and book bike cart on the grassy field. And once at the table, they’ll be able to use their library card to check out books they find there, thanks to a hotspot and laptop at Foster’s disposal.
Yes, the veteran of several positions for the Onondaga County Public Library system is excited about coming to the LPL.
“I want to bring more Liverpool Public Library awareness to the community,” Foster said. “I want us to be out there in the far-reaching places of our community. I want people to know how important the library can be to their lives. I don’t want anybody to be able to say, ‘I never thought about the library.’ That’s what I want to be in the community.“
Foster already has lined up a summer-long commitment to a local Girl Scout troop to help with their project about library sustainability and several visits to Liverpool Central School District Elementary Schools.
And she only started at the LPL toward the end of April.
“My philosophy is that everybody can inherently learn,” Foster said. “Everybody can find the information they need. The library remains sustainable by helping people through their search.”
Other outreach programs bringing information to the community in the next week include “America’s Holocaust Refugee Camp at Fort Ontario,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at Runnings of Clay, 3949 Route 31, Liverpool, and “The Civil War Union Soldier Experience,” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May21, at Parkrose Estates, 7251 Janus Park Drive, Liverpool. The events are free.
Foster says anybody who’d like to talk to her about the library’s role in the community can call her at (315) 470-0310 ext. 124 or contact her by email at [email protected].
“Leave a message,” she said. “Whatever works best.”
