By Phyllis Galowitz

My Friday afternoon volunteering at the library is something I look forward to. Not only do I love being surrounded by books, reading their titles, wishing I had the time to read all that appeal to me, but I enjoy seeing the regulars who seem to be there every Friday when I’m there.

I so admire Barbara Cole, who walks, I don’t know how far, in every kind of weather with her walker, to get her latest supply of books for the coming week. She’s an inspiration, not only for the number of books she reads in a week, but for the fact that the cold, the wind or the rain, never keeps her from her labored walk. Karen and Michael come to Andes from Long Island, almost every weekend. They leave at 4:30 in the morning, to have the benefit of the full day in Andes and to be at the library on Friday afternoons. They even volunteer some Saturday mornings.

Judy, who grabs a few minutes from her busy day at Paisley’s, runs in to find the newest book by her favorite author. Buffy, our president, loves this special place and has given this love to all of her family who seem to feel just as much at home in our library as she does, and come whenever they’re visiting her. We get to know them all, especially when they join us for our fundraisers and participate!

Then there’s James, who comes after school with his computer. He finds himself a quiet place where he can do his homework and we get to utilize his youth and strong back to help where he’s desperately needed. His parents arrive later with his baby sister. They all enjoy the library as well. They drive James home with their weekend supply of DVDs and books for the week.

Anita and Don are part of this “Friday afternoon social club”. Anita comes with all the local news and gossip and the latest adventures of her 100 pound puppy. Gloria, the Friday librarian, brings Dolly, her Havanese rescue dog, who lies quietly under her desk, emerges to greet each person who enters the library and then scuttles back to her favorite spot under the desk, where she stays patiently, until Gloria is finished for the day and takes her home. Dolly has become “the library dog”. Everyone loves her, vying for a chance to give her a treat, kept on the desk for all of our animal friends.

Linda is a Friday volunteer also, and she and Gloria decide which books we should order, based on the New York Times Book Review that they both devour. Gloria also knows the reading taste of most of our patrons: the latest Patterson for Tyler, the latest Fran Roberts for Karen D. and so on. Linda and I process the new books for circulation and shelve the returned books, all while enjoying the company of the “Friday afternoon social club”. Are you all jealous? You too can be part of the fun. Of course there are all the other days that are just as much fun, and you’d get to be with Barbara Mellon, our Monday-through-Thursday Librarian. Barbara entertains the youngest of our patrons on Wednesday mornings at 11 with reading from our wonderful collection of children’s books.

Saturday is a special day. The library is only open from 10 to noon and is kept open only with the much-appreciated help of volunteers. You too can sign up. If you’d like to be a Saturday Volunteer, call me at 676-3920. We’d love to have you, one Saturday every month or so!~