When you go to the website of the Plumas County Library (of which the Downieville Library is a station), you will find that people who use the library are referred to as “patrons”. The same discovery is made, if you visit the website of the American Library Association. And, if you’ve been reading this column for any length of time, you may remember that “patron” is how we here in Downieville refer to the people who frequent our local library. Which, for me at least, raises the question: just what is a patron?
If you Google “patron”, one of the top items that appears is that Patrón is a brand of tequila. That doesn’t quite fit with our discussion here, however. You might also find that Patron is a game on the Stream platform. That doesn’t seem relevant here, either (though I might look into that one a bit more). Moving on, you find a dictionary definition: “noun: 1. a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest, especially a regular one, of a store, hotel, or the like; 2. a person who supports with money, gifts, efforts, or endorsement an artist, writer, museum, cause, charity, institution, special event or the like…” Ah, now we seem to be getting somewhere.
Etymologically, the word “patron” derives from the Middle English patroun, patrone, which comes from the Old French patron, which in turn derives from the Latin patrōnus, derived from pater (father). vocabulary.com explains it this way: “Think of how a father is supposed to financially support his kids.” Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “patron” as “a person corresponding in some respects to a father; protector; benefactor”.
When people give their support, encouragement, and/or financial aid to an individual or organization, that is called “patronage”. Wikipedia notes that “sometimes consumers support smaller or local businesses or corporations out of loyalty even if less expensive options exist. Their regular custom is referred to as ‘patronage’.”
It seems appropriate, therefore, to refer to you, who support our local library, as patrons. You are not really customers; we aren’t in the business of trying to sell you something (although we do have some books for sale). Instead, you support the library by your presence, your use of the services we offer, your taking away and bringing back the items on our shelves, and, sometimes, your financial support through donations of books and other items (and, sometimes, money). And, your various means of support give encouragement to those of us who make sure the library is open and available to you, our patrons.
Even better than “patron” (to my way of thinking), is to think of those who make up our library community as “members” — in the sense that Wendell Berry talks about in his novel, Jayber Crow (which can be found on our library shelves). The library cannot exist without its patrons/members. It is you who hold it to account, who challenge it to grow and thrive. It is you who give it life and future.
So, we invite you to patronize the Downieville Library. Perhaps you are already an active patron. Perhaps you haven’t undertaken that, yet. Either way, we look forward to your patronage.
And, just a reminder of where we are and when we’re open:
The library is located in the basement of the North Yuba River Hall (318 Commercial Street).
Our hours are:
Tuesday, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Thursday, noon to 4:00 PM
You may have noticed in last week’s edition of The Mountain Messenger that the Yuba Gallery (next door to the Yuba Theatre) will be opening for the season this coming weekend. The article listed the various artists whose creations are available there. One thing that was not mentioned, however, is that the Downieville Library has a book cart at the Gallery (outdoors in dry weather, indoors during wet), on which you can find used books for sale. (The library also has two shelves of books for sale in the library, itself.) So, next time you see the Gallery open, take a look at that blue cart; perhaps you’ll discover a book that is calling out to you to be adopted and taken home.