Books create an opportunity to learn from each other.

On my LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter pages, I posted a photo of the Cover2Cover Book Club at the Smyrna Public Library. I wanted to remember that evening because it was so profound.

For the past few years, our book club has been predominantly white and female, but last year, more people of color and men have joined. It's been fascinating to see the conversations grow and change. We're all better because of the diversity in our group.

Thursday's book discussion was about Maya Angelou's book Why the Caged Bird Sings. I confess I did not read the entire book - I am presently about halfway through it - but I wouldn't have missed the discussion for anything.

At some point, the discussion leader asked if everyone in the room knew there was a Black American National Anthem. She said anytime the song is played in a public setting, African Americans will stand. Many people in the group were totally stunned. I myself had heard this was the case but couldn't remember the title or the refrain.

The song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," was written by a poet named James Weldon Johnson in 1900 and was set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson. Our librarian, Nadine, looked up the song on YouTube and played it for us. Here's a link.

As it played, I realized I knew the song but never knew the lyrics. As a child I had heard it played numerous times at Galilee Baptist Church in Philadelphia during services and at Vacation Bible School. I knew that it was a song that we all stood for, but never knew why. The song is proud and regal, especially when played on a pipe organ.

While the song was playing on Nadine's phone, one of our book club members stood out of respect, and the rest of us followed suit. Something clicked for me, and I got a little teared up. We're all in this together, and here and now, we know it, I thought.

Many of the books we've chosen to read and discuss in the past year have focused on racial and gender equality and other socioeconomic issues. Our club has honest discussions that are refreshing for the soul because people let down their guard and speak honestly and respectfully to one another. If only the wider world could operate with such grace.

I learn from my fellow book club members every time I have the opportunity to be in the same room with them. On April 5, we'll be discussing my own recommendation: Carol Anderson's book White Rage, a book that is sure to provoke deep discussion. If you're in the area, please join us at 6:30pm.

Dr. Annie Norman: The quiet visionary who changed my life

A few days ago, I "met" a person who (until that moment) I never knew changed my life: Dr. Annie Norman, Delaware's state librarian. Check out this blog post on her from Wilmington University, where I'm working to complete my Master's of Science in Management. Take a look here:
http://blog.wilmu.edu/magazine/updates/the-introvert-steps-out/

How did this woman whom I have never met change my life - so dramatically - for the better? I'll tell you. She created the State of Delaware's online library catalog, and integrated 59 state libraries - including those at universities, to provide Delawareans with access to the State's 2.6 million books, CDs, audiobooks, videos, DVDs, and learning materials.

Let me tell you why Dr. Annie Norman's work matters so much to me.

First, I am a voracious reader. If I had endless amounts of cash, I would certainly spend a mind-boggling amount of money on books and audio recordings to feed my addiction. But I do not have endless amounts of cash. I work a regular job and I am a woman, which means I get paid less than a male who would the same job (that's a topic for another day), and I have other problems to solve with my money, such as keeping a roof over my children's heads and making sure their bellies are full. I cannot afford the books I need (those $200 Master's degree specials that I dread to read), much less pay for the books I want.

Second, I dig deep into books to learn how I can improve the life I currently lead. My formal education at universities are important to me, but quite honestly, they do not compare to the amount of learning and self-reflection I have been able to achieve through books. I consider my formal education (Bachelor's complete, Master's in progress) simply an outward validation of the fact that I am not a blithering idiot. Instead, what really matters to me is the fact that reading has given me insight about myself, about relationships with other people, about learning itself, about writing, about leadership, and about other people's lives. And (bonus!) I get a good dose of delightfully grisly horror fiction to indulge my dark side. (It's a good thing to indulge the dark side in reading, rather than action, if one has a choice.)

The Delaware Library Catalog (www.lib.de.us) allows me to request any item of interest from the 59 participating libraries throughout the state. For no charge, library couriers will deliver my requested items to the library of my choice (Smyrna Public Library), and I get a text message and email when I've got items waiting for me. I can stop by and see my beloved librarians Ms. Nadine, Ms. Jane, Carol, and Kriss, and the items are waiting for me just behind them. Usually, I get my selections within a day or two. And *poof!* I have a copy of the book to read for two weeks, with the option to renew them for up to six weeks. All anyone needs to access this library system is a library card and access to the internet. If a person doesn't have access to the internet, they can simply call their friendly local librarian, who can make a request on their behalf.

Until reading the Wilmington University blog about Annie Norman, I never knew who was behind this beautiful, seamless system I have come to love so completely. Thanks to Dr. Norman, I have cut the barriers between myself and continued learning. The online Delaware Library Catalog has proven to be an invaluable tool for achieving my own personal and career aspirations, and anyone who does not take advantage of this system is missing out.

Thank you, Dr. Norman, for creating a program that has provided me with endless access to books about self-improvement, how to make my own jewelry, genocide, eating the right stuff, Albert Einstein, crazed axe-wielding nurses, caring for and cleaning antiques, Mahatma Ghandi, love and relationships, zombies, Canada, transgender issues, George Carlin, war, peace, death, and taxes. Thank you for helping me learn that I love sociology. Thank you for exposing me to life-changing ideas which have my own understanding of myself and others, and reduced my own ignorance. Thank you for making it possible to avoid paying $22.50 for what I think will be an amazing book, only to open it, read six pages, and decide it's for the birds. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a better person, employee, mother, friend, daughter, and partner through reading and self-discovery.

A library card truly has been my ticket to the world. Thank you, Dr. Norman, from the bottom of my heart.