It seems like we had about a day to clean up after the very successful Spooktacular before it was time to begin advertising our Letters from Santa! The deadline to get those forms in is Dec. 1.

Somehow November gets lost in the shuffle of things, but it provides us with an opportunity to consider all the wonderful things that happen here at the Bella Vista Library.

It’s also a perfect time for us to say thanks to all who have helped us continue to provide excellent service to this fine community. We have had an overwhelming response to our annual fundraising letter, and appreciate so much your generosity. Each donation helps us keep our doors open, and we truly couldn’t do the things we do without your help.

Sometimes I try to explain to others the givingspirit of the people of Bella Vista. For someone who hasn’t experienced it, it’s difficult to describe.

One morning, not too long ago, a gentleman called to ask if we could use a very large Frankenstein for the annual Spooktacular. He even offered to deliver “Frank” right before and pick him up right after the event. The children were delighted to meet Frank and thought he was a perfect Spooktacular addition.

Later that morning, a regular patron - who always tells us what a fine library we have - presented our volunteers with a beautiful card to thank them for their efforts. In the afternoon, a woman stopped by on her way home from some type of a luncheon and left our volunteers a large plate of cookies.

As I closed the library that evening, I remembered those simple acts of kindness and was so grateful for the people who keep us in mind.

If you haven’t experienced the Bella Vista Library, I urge you to discover it. In the words of Adriana Joyce, one of our beloved volunteers and president of our Teen Advisory Board, the library is “a warm, happy place, full of quiet laughter, funny conversations and the kind of calm that only libraries have - at least until crafts or preschool story time.”

Adriana captured so beautifully the character of our library in a recent essay she wrote.

Another teen volunteer, Anna Sharon, will soonbe writing her own column for this paper to let readers know what types of library activities, resources and opportunities are available for young people.

I close with one last excerpt from Adriana’s essay, in which she eloquently expresses what our staff, volunteers and patrons know to be true:

“… the people are what make this library what it is; without the people, the Bella Vista Library would be just a little library tucked back off the main road instead of the beautiful, happy place full of good books, good people and smiles that it is today. So when you go to the Bella Vista Library, be sure to look past your first impression of a little library with not enough space and see how special it is.” * * *

Stine is director of the Bella Vista Library.

Community, Pages 10 on 11/07/2012