In November of 2019 my husband and I packed our belongings and moved from Cherokee County North Carolina to the Northern Neck of Virginia, so that I could become the Library Director for Northumberland Public Library in Heathsville, Virginia. I have always loved the Northern Neck and for over 10 years we spent as many weekends as possible coming to our cabin and hiding from the corporate world of Northern Virginia.  Long walks, toasty fires in the woodstove and movie marathons highlighted the weekends.  My career beckoned and when we moved to North Carolina we thought we would never come back, we sold the cabin and said goodbye, but a piece of my heart remained. 

Five years later when the chance came, we jumped with both feet into a move that for us meant a forever home in the little slice of heaven we call the Northern Neck.  A forever home for us after 21 years of moving with the Army and another 2 moves following my career, held great appeal.  So, here we are.  This blog is my attempt to share what I can about the people and places where we now call home and maybe, just maybe you will fall in love with this small slice of Virginia as we did so long ago.

The Northern Neck of Virginia is the northern most of the three peninsulas that make up the western shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.  It is home to waterman and farmer alike and at one time home to some of Virginias most elite families.  But like many small southern areas the Northern Neck faces the challenge of keeping the towns inside its borders alive and thriving.  Tourism, once a mainstay for the area has seen a downturn, especially in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many small businesses have had to make the tough choice of closing, reducing hours and laying off workers. In my eagerness to see the town of Heathsville thrive I have encouraged patron and friend alike to shop local but even that has had its challenges.  Local gift shops, coffee shops and even grocery stores have had challenges keeping stock on the shelves.  New book shipments at our Library take twice as long to come in, and many of the best selling authors we carry have seen a delay in printing and publishing.  This month I received a book by one well known author and between pages 214 and 246 the pages were upside down.

Right now we live in an upside down world, as a Librarian I am all for trying to provide our community with a little normalcy and a lot of support. The staff at Northumberland Public Library strives every day to provide what we have come to see as essential services.  Internet, computers, local and regional newspapers and other printed material.  A place to meet that is clean, where you can do your work, connect and collaborate.  A place to get homework done, to read a book or browse the web.  A place to craft, read a story or escape.  A place to pay bills, write your book or meet virtually.  A place to apply for a job, write a report or dream.  A place to copy, fax or scan.  A place to grow, learn and maybe even make the world a little better.  

In the next few blogs I will share some of our services and a little more about what we can offer, I welcome your comments and your thoughts.  How can we, as a community Library help?  How can we encourage younger generations to stay and help the economy thrive again?  What needs are we not meeting in the community that might be within reach of the Library? We are here to serve you, are we doing our job?  I hope so, but I know we can do more.  What does that look like?  Lets find out together.