A few weeks ago, Dr. Robert Emmons, professor of Psychology at U.C. Davis, spoke at my Rotary Club meeting on the topic of gratitude, a subject he has studied and written about for more than two decades. It was one of those talks that could have lasted for hours because it held so many wonderful ideas, especially in 2020, a very trying year for most of us.
Dr. Emmons talked about how gratefulness increases our sense of well-being and that grateful people achieve more, get along with others better, “pay it forward,” are less depressed and are more resilient to trauma. I think we can all agree that 2020 tested our capacity for gratitude. Each one of these ideas is so important to us as individuals as well as community members. His ideas certainly inspired grateful thoughts in me.
Speaking of gratefulness, we had another amazing year serving as ballot drop-off sites and vote centers during election season. The Friends of Sacramento Public Library volunteered in our branches, some of them multiple times and in multiple locations. Their support and work every day helped us keep our libraries convenient and safe for ballot drop-off. We heard over and over again from community members that they trust the Library and felt secure leaving their ballots in election boxes available at libraries and in our 11 vote centers.
And last, we
recently opened 19 of our libraries for limited in-person services. We are grateful to be able to continue to serve our community, both virtually and within our libraries. Thank you for standing by the Library in these trying times, for your support and for your use of library services. We are so grateful.