news-record.com

Once the library was simply a place to check out a good book or ask a question. Today the Greensboro Public Library has become an energetic gathering place for a diverse population.

People still come for books, but they also gather for programs that promote knowledge, celebration and growth. Along with other staff members, assistant director Steve Sumerford has transformed the library into the place to be.
I've long admired Steve for the bounty of library programs he creates. What inspires him, I wondered? What keeps him attuned to the emerging needs of a diverse population and provides him with the wisdom to understand how the library might help meet those needs?

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped by his office at the Central Branch on Church Street to search for answers.

Steve wore a black shirt, pants and coat, a nice contrast to his snow-white beard. He smiled. Steve always smiles. The window beside his desk offered a view of Greensboro, where he's lived for 19 years. We spoke of poetry, a mutual interest. Then Steve detailed his past and revealed what means most: his wife Evelyn, a piano technician, and his work on behalf of the library.

When I asked what he enjoyed doing when not working, he answered, "I like to cook." Then his face relaxed and he laughed. "I'm a serious backyard bird watcher." He explained how he studied the various birds flocking to his bird feeder. From the sunroom, he views them, appreciating the beauty and uniqueness of each one as they interact.

In his enthusiasm, as he spoke of birds, I found what I needed to know: Steve loves community. At home he provides food for the birds, then observes them with awe. At the library, he provides programs to draw the public, then grins with delight as those attending interact and learn from one another.
The son of a minister, Steve grew up in a small Randolph County community. After high school, he attended UNC-Chapel Hill. In 1975, after earning his undergraduate degree, he worked with a national pacifist organization that promoted nuclear disarmament and nonviolent conflict resolution. Later he and his wife traveled to Japan, where they taught English as a second language.
While there, impressed with the brave women who survived the bombing of Hiroshima during World War II, Steve began recording their oral histories. These women, he found, bonded around a central goal, one that had long been his own. They wanted the world to know they blamed no one for their pain and suffering. The compensation they desired was peace. Nuclear disarmament became their unifying cry. Steve became their messenger, speaking and showing slides he'd made of them.
After returning to the United States, Steve attended N.C. Central in Durham, where he received a master's degree in library science. Fortunately for us, his brother Mark, a manager with Greensboro Urban Ministry, encouraged him to apply for a position with the Greensboro library.
Steve began at the Chavis branch. While there, he said he "was enriched by the opportunity to be immersed in African American literature culture and began a community literacy program."

His next career step was managing the Glenwood Branch. Soon that branch became "a welcome center for immigrants, refugees, and the diversity of folks living in the neighborhood," he said.

One of the first citywide projects Steve spearheaded was forming a community of readers with the "One City, One Book" project. Every year, a new book is selected, and Greensboro residents read it and participate in group discussions throughout the city.

His most popular project began small. In 2004, he and Sandy Neerman, the library director, met with Mary Jarrell, the widow of Randall Jarrell, who during his lifetime was a well-known Greensboro poet and teacher.

Mary agreed with the library that Randall's life should be commemorated by a poetry gathering.

At the Carolina Theatre in April 2004, former Poet Laureate Billy Collins came, read and conquered the hearts of Greensboro residents.

Now, each year during April, Poetry GSO becomes a celebration with well-known poets featured, groups gathering in coffee houses to read home-grown poems, poetry contests, poetry in the schools, poetry taught in retirement homes, even poems displayed on the walls of businesses.

Phenomenal as birds in flight, Poetry GSO, a tribute to Steve's vision, unites our city with the beauty of words.
Believing that "arts can transcend the fragmentation of society," Steve plans to continue creating projects to benefit the community. The hardest part is funding. Every day he allots a portion of time to writing grants and seeking other means to financially back the library's mission to "foster lifetime learning."

His wish is that someday soon the library will have an endowed fund to assist with programs.

Contact Sandra Redding at sanredd@earthlink.net.