Aubrie Wickham, director of Upland Public Library, said she cannot decide on her favorite book, but she will find one that is a good match for you.
“When I purchase a book, I look at it and I think, ‘well, I can think of three people that will check this book out,’ and I'm normally right,” Wickham said.
Growing up, Wickham’s parents encouraged her to read. They wanted her and her younger sister to be better readers than they were. Her mother would read to them before they went to bed, and they often frequented the library.
Her mother gave them free rein to read whatever they wanted, as long as they had the right attitude. Wickham believes having an open mind is important when choosing books to read.
“Just because you don't think you'll like it doesn't mean you won't like it,” Wickham said. “You might as well try it. If you get into it and you don't like it, then you can only stop or flip to the end and see what happens and move on.”
Wickham encourages her own daughter to read a wide variety of genres.
For her personally, books are an escape. She likes to take a break from the real world to enjoy the happy ending in a romance or a fantasy. She’s also expanded her horizons to some science-fiction and thrillers.
“Everything you read shapes you as a person,” Wickham said. “They're little drops in a bucket, but they're making ripples, and they're changing the water.”
She said reading also helps expand a person’s worldview.
Wickham grew up in a rural community, and books allowed her to engage with other people’s stories, perspectives, family dynamics and cultures, right from her own home.
“You can go live in a different world for a while, but stories also can give you different windows into other people's lives,” Wickham said.
She also learns about people’s lives from her day-to-day interactions at the library.
She likes to get to know patrons as they grow and change, interacting with them throughout the years.
“I just love how you get to watch kids (and) families grow and change too,” Wickham said. “You don't really think about it, but when you go to the library when you're little, and you have the same library all through your growing up years, and then you go away, get married, have your own kids, you come back to visit your parents, and there's that library and someone right there excited to see your baby.”
Wickham also sees a few Taylor University students at the library. She said they get a free library card for a year, and they can renew it whenever the school year starts again. If students are looking for an audio book, Wickham said the Upland Public Library has a variety of them accessible on the Libby library app.
As a Christian at a public library, Wickham does not get the opportunity to have many religious conversations with patrons. Instead, she lives her faith through her service.
She wants to make patrons as comfortable as possible, which means making the library a space where anyone is welcome -– no matter their beliefs.
The Upland Public Library received a grant from the Lilly Foundation, and they will be able to expand their resources. Wickham is excited to offer more to the community, including a larger play space for children, meeting rooms and a community room.
She said that many mothers with young children spend time at the library because there are no free, child-friendly places around town.
“Libraries are more than books these days,” Wickham said. “I think a lot of people think, ‘Oh, they're just storage for books,’ but any library you look at is normally running a variety of programs and giving you opportunities to learn and grow and change and get to know the people in your community and things like that. So they're definitely referred to as a third place – it's not your home, it's not your work, but it's a place you can go that you don't have to spend money, you can just be.”
A happily-ever-after awaits readers in the stacks.
