It is hard to believe that we are coming close to the end of another year, my third here with ACLA. There are times when it feels like I just got here and there are times when it feels like I’ve been here a million years. No matter what, I know I’m exactly where I want to be and with the people I want to be with.

2024 has brought a lot with it throughout the year. We have had great successes and tough struggles, but we are all still here and continuing to provide for our communities. I am excited for the opportunities we have to focus on community engagement with our new strategic plan, and I am looking to increase advocacy efforts that will demonstrate the importance of our libraries to those that may not be aware of all that we do just yet. We have some challenges ahead, but we will continue to face those challenges with positivity and strength as we always have. We also need to continue to depend on and work with each other to increase our strength. We are better together.

As with any new year, 2025 is filled with uncertainty, but if there is one thing I know for sure it is that we will all pull together to get through this stronger and better than ever. I love our libraries here in Allegheny County and I see the commitment in each and every one of us to make the best libraries we can make for our communities.

What will 2025 bring us? No one knows. But what I do know is that we will come out of any experience, challenging or easy, with increased strength and desire to serve our communities. Let’s make a promise to ourselves and our communities that we will move forward into 2025 with optimism. Maybe not for the world around us, but for what Allegheny County Libraries can do for the world around us. You are all amazing and I have the utmost respect and faith in what you do for our libraries. Let’s show the world we will never give up fighting for our communities.