On a recent Saturday, I was finally able to resume my favorite volunteer activity: working at the E.C. Benton Library. People may wonder why I would spend three precious hours of my Saturday afternoon doing volunteer work, but I honestly can’t imagine many better ways to spend my time than sitting in this beautiful, historic little building, surrounded by books. When I step across the threshold of the Benton, I can feel my heart rate slow down and my stress ebb away.
I first learned about the Benton through my neighbors, Brooks and Dave. They had been involved with the library for years and were members of the board of the nonprofit organization that keeps the library going, Friends of Benton Library. Through them, I met Elizabeth Gibson, who has been leading the organization since it opened in 2011. I joined the board of the Benton Library shortly before it was taken over as space for the town library’s children’s room while the new building was under construction. Elizabeth asked me to join because I think she saw how much I enjoyed the space, and because she thought the board could use some “young blood.” As a Gen Xer, I don’t really think of myself as young anymore, but it’s true that I’m one of the younger members of the board.
I’ve learned a lot from the other board members over the past few years, because they all have their various areas of expertise. We continue traditions like the annual block party and Chat and Crafts on the first Thursday of every month, and now that we are open again, we aspire to create some new traditions. And I think I speak for many of my fellow board members when I say that we’re happy to once again be volunteering. A shift involves just the type of thing you would imagine at a library: greeting visitors, checking books in and out, helping people get library cards, and supervising high school volunteers.
On this recent Saturday, my own daughter was that volunteer. Greta loves books, and I thought she would take to the library as quickly as I did. My instincts were right! She spent her hours finding books in the collection by LGBTQ authors for a small Pride Month display, and at Elizabeth’s suggestion, she made a list of the library’s books that were also on the Belmont Schools’ summer reading lists.
I like to think that this small building misses some of the children it got to know while it was the town library’s children’s room. I hope some of the families who enjoyed the cozy space for the past few years will come back and visit. The E.C. Benton Library is much more than a Belmont historical landmark. I love Belmont’s new municipal library, but I’m grateful to have the Benton as an option in its quiet neighborhood near Cushing Square. A library like the Benton needs three things to thrive: books, volunteers, and patrons. We’ve certainly got books, including many recent bestsellers. We’re building our volunteer base, and you can write ecbentonlibrary@gmail.com if, like me, you’ve always wondered what it was like to be a librarian.
Now we hope to see more patrons. Whether you come to read, study, play a game, work on a puzzle, or chat with fellow book lovers, the Benton Library at 75 Oakley Road is a hidden treasure of Belmont that I think more people should discover. The current hours are 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. When the flag is out, we are open.
Eric J. Perkins writes about Gen X for The Belmont Voice. When he’s not writing, he’s the Director of Transformation at Addgene, a life sciences nonprofit in Watertown.
