For Mike Slawson, the day begins long before the sun rises in the east. With his faithful dog, Maddie, and a step out the door onto a quiet country road for a walk, he faces each day for the adventure it is -and each day really is an adventure when you are the Director of the Plympton Public Library. Slawson’s story began in Kingston where he grew up and frequently attended the Kingston Public Library. One particularly poignant moment in Slawson’s life, however, was not in a library but at Waldenbooks at the age of 10 when he picked up a copy of The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. After embarking on an unexpected journey with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf through Middle Earth, Slawson knew books were something special. “I loved the world building that takes place in books -particularly fantasy books. It is what really got me into reading,” Slawson recounts.
The love of reading and learning took Slawson down many paths. With a degree in history and archaeology, Slawson started a career in environmental health and safety. He then went on to being both a middle and high school teacher in history, social studies, and economics. The underlying theme throughout these varied careers was that Slawson has always been passionate about education. This devotion to education promoted a change in careers for Slawson and he began his work with libraries. Starting as a library technician for the Kingston Public Library, Slawson quickly realized that working in a library had been the path he was meant for all along. “I saw an ad for a library tech position at the Kingston Public Library and so I took a chance and found my calling,” Slawson recounts.
After a few years with the Kingston Public Library -including time as its Director, Slawson saw the position open up for Director of the Plympton Public Library. “I saw the small-town community that Plympton and the Plympton Library offered and I knew it would be the perfect fit,” he says. In fact, Plympton has been such a perfect fit that Slawson moved to town and is happily settled into the local community as a resident in addition to being the town librarian.
As the Director of the Plympton Public Library, Slawson has had the opportunity to develop programs and shape the direction of the library to not only provide educational and community offerings that Slawson enjoys, but to provide various experiences and resources tailored to the local needs and interests of its patrons. Slawson believes the library is not just a place to check out books or to study, but a place to be relied on by the community for outreach and support. “Libraries have been around for thousands of years,” Slawson explains, “And that’s because they are adaptable to the needs of the people they serve. The baseline is always the materials they provide, but they have changed over time to be mostly for protecting educational materials and study to now offering things like technology, activities, and programs for all ages and interests that enrich the community.”
When it comes to providing engaging experiences and resources for the community, Slawson is going above and beyond. One of the offerings the Plympton Public Library has that he is particularly excited about is the Library of Things -items for loaning that are not traditional library materials or books. Things such as various tools, outdoor yard games, a karaoke machine, children’s toys, a VCR with a digital converter, a bubble machine, a trail cam, night vision goggles, a telescope, and even a thermal leak detector, are all available at the Plympton Public Library to check out.
In addition to the Library of Things, the Plympton Public Library offers board games, puzzles, scheduled time with the in-house Virtual Reality Device (VR Headset), digital tablets for loan, and a 3D Printer that patrons can ask to use to print various items such as toys, vases, and even appliance repair parts. “I want to change how the public perceives the library,” Slawson explains, “I want people to realize that the library can be used to foster interests and also to help solve problems. I want everyone, especially teens, to know that we have things here that they are probably interested in and that we offer them freely. The library has more than books to check out a quiet place to study.”
Another ingenious offering Slawson has made available at the library is the Seed Library. Housed in an old library card catalog chest and beautifully painted by a library patron, the seed library is a rotating collection of free seed packets replenished by local donations and distributed among both seasoned and beginning gardeners and growers in Plympton. “A lot of people take seeds. I think people who might just be starting out take them, too as they are free and they are helping people discover and generate a new interest.” Slawson says, “I would also love to start a seed harvesting program, too -to have someone come in and teach how to harvest seeds from the things you grow for next year. We even have a lovely community garden and the gardens out front that are maintained by Alison McSweeny. You can come in and sign up to volunteer with her to weed and help keep the gardens looking great.”
Be it providing seeds to a new gardener or setting up a local teenager with a VR headset for an hour after school, Slawson knows how to keep the library relevant in these modern times. There are magical preschool story times with Miss Heather, a knitting club, monthly community meet ups with refreshments, coffee, and discussion about current town events, visiting magicians, a genealogy club where you can learn to find your family and ancestors, guest animals to see and hold, arts and crafts for kids and adults, and so much more. Slawson realizes that to keep a library thriving there need to be things that appeal to all ages of patrons. “I want kids and teens to feel welcome here -to feel like the library is worth-while to them. I would love for them to come in and tell me what they are interested in seeing here at the library. I would welcome suggestions for programs they would like to have and do here. I am happy to be very responsive to anyone’s suggestions and ideas,” Slawson assures.
As the day ends for Slawson at the Plympton Public Library, he can rest assured knowing that his efforts provided all there with a library adventure beneficial and enriching to them. Be it someone without access to a printer needing help to print a legal document, youngsters playing Dungeons and Dragons together, a busy mom looking for the next great read to crack open when the kids are in bed, or the local Girl Scouts helping to weed the garden out front, the Plympton Public Library is truly a place for everyone.
Slawson’s expression of pride is impossible to miss, “We are extra responsive to the needs of our community because we are a small library. We will give you a reason to come to the library -just come and talk to me and tell me what you would like to see here -books you want to read, programs you would like to see offered or teach…I am open to it all. I want this library to be a place where you can learn and connect and solve problems you may have through resources and networking. The library is such a special, integral place for me -I want everyone to experience that.” With the lights off and doors locked, Slawson heads back down the quiet, tree lined country roads of Plympton to greet Maddie and plan out the next days offered adventures at the Plympton Public Library.
“Now they rode away amid songs of farewell and good speed, with their hearts ready for more adventure.” J.R.R. Tolkien