I'm not in the "market" of making endorsements (I am in the market of making bad puns), but I am so moved by my local farmers' market that I feel compelled to blog about it. Today was the first day of the spring Kankakee Farmers' Market, where about 15 farmers and vendors from the community and outlying areas came to sell their potted plants, herbs, meats, fresh baked goods, cheeses, and even organic dog biscuits! The summer market starts later in May where there will be about twice the amount of vendors in full swing with produce and much more. These are truly the most amazing people who frequent the market - both the farmers and the customers! If ever I'm feeling down about anything, the local farmers' market is like comfort food for the soul. The kindness and generousity of the vendors is enough to make anyone want to move to the community. And the customers' loyalty to their favorite vendors and their desire to keep their hard-earned dollars in the community is in a word....wonderful. You may be wondering what this has to do with the library and the answer is EVERYTHING! Public libraries should be as much a part of the community as a local farmers' market is. This morning I spent a few hours helping out and passing out market flyers (with strategically placed advertisement on the back promoting a library program for next week). Knowing the local vendors and customers has been tremendously helpful to me in getting the word out about our library programming....not to mention, it's just plain fun. My experience has taught me that the dedication of the farmers' market customers is the same dedication that library patrons have - and they are often the same target audience. So please support your local farmers and shop locally at your farmers' market - and then head to your library (preferably mine) and put your tax dollars to work.

Allison Beasley
Head of Adult Services