I spent the afternoon and evening of Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 setting up for and documenting the Shelby Van Pelt author talk.
It offered up a small understanding how a professional wedding planner might feel. The endeavors that fueled this feeling broke down into several distinct categories.
Decorating: wrapping Craterian Theater banisters in streamers and building the aquatic backdrop where New York Times bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt would sign books for fans of her debut novel Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Surveying: getting the Craterian’s lay of the land and understanding the lighting, layout, function, and angles of the stage and seats; akin to wedding reception table placement.
Photography and video: Click, click, click. Record. Stream. My marketing colleague and I tag teamed this, both at the Jackson County Library Foundation reception prior to the event, and during it. We streamed the whole thing live on Instagram, took photos, and filmed some video. I snagged a couple time lapses of attendees streaming into Craterian seats, and of a short speech Shelby gave to reception attendees.
While filming, Shelby said something that wormed its way into my head and stuck there.
“Wherever I’ve gone, you always find the Library People, and you find the good people in the community,” she said. “The inclusive people, the people who really want to be there for everyone in their community and show up for them. You guys are just the best people.”
She’s talking about you.
Yes, you: the people who believe (pretty much know) libraries are distinctly and uniquely for everyone, no matter your story.
This event alone really illustrated that.
Consider Remarkably Bright Creatures for just a second.
Maybe you really enjoyed Shelby’s book and wanted the opportunity to meet her. Simple, elegant; a perfect reason to swing by.
Maybe, like me, the experience was a bit deeper. Tova, one of the book’s protagonists, is my late grandma: the mannerisms, the stiff upper lip, the tidiness, the moments of potent warmth. She died 18 years ago – nearly half my life ago – and several scenes in Remarkably Bright Creatures made me miss her in a way that felt like I lost her last week.
Or perhaps you were somewhere in between.
A spectrum of stories sparked by a beloved book and its creator filled an auditorium this past Friday. Like a wedding, you and others were all there to celebrate the same thing. The meaning and weight of it varied, but you and the other Library People know that community means celebrating what unites us and what makes us different.
You are, like Shelby said, “the inclusive people, the people who really want to be there for everyone in their community and show up for them.”
I wish I could fully articulate the warmth I felt being around all of you for this event: listening to you laugh, perceiving your intentional listening, the deep and amazing questions some of you submitted during the Q&A.
It made the stress of “wedding planning” so very worth it.
Thanks for reminding me why I love this library district, Library People. It’s you, and it always will be.