Pat found libraries at the early age of 5 and loved talking out books to read. The Huntley resident cites author Michael Connelly of Concrete Blonde and Lincoln Lawyer fame as her favorite and will read anything he writes.
When Pat retired from work, she found time to volunteer and chose the Huntley Area Public Library. Unfortunately, Pat’s husband passed away around the time she began volunteering. She found that her time at the library and working with the Friends Foundation gave her life new meaning, a place to go and a purpose, while giving back to the community. Pat makes it a point to tell others that the library saved her life.
She is one of many fantastic volunteers donating their time to the Huntley Area Public Library. We love telling people that we have a Patricia Cornwell volunteering at our library, even if she isn’t the award winning crime novelist. Our Pat is a fan-favorite for other reasons. Just take this in for a minute: Volunteers at the library saved taxpayers over $138,000 this past year by logging more than 6,000 hours.
Pat continues to volunteer one morning a week, and takes part in all of the wonderful Friends Foundation fundraisers. She loves lending a hand, seeing first-hand that her efforts are part of a team with a goal to earn money to pay for materials and programs that the library offers. “In addition to helping the library, I also get an enormous amount of pleasure working with/for the wonderful staff and volunteers that are there. Being involved has made my life richer in ways I could not begin to describe”, she added.
There truly is no way to properly say thank you to the library’s many volunteers, but luckily we have National Volunteer Week. It’s during that time, which happens to be April 23 – 29 of this year, that we have an opportunity to show our appreciation. We encourage you to say “Thank You” to a volunteer when you see them working at the library. It is only with their assistance that we can provide the best possible service to library patrons. They truly help the library be a place of endless opportunities that can help someone transform themselves into whatever it is they wish to be.
