When walking along the harbour, it is easy to be distracted by the graceful blue coloured waves that lightly splash the boats, the outspoken seagulls that soar about searching for that next dropped french fry, and the curious little ducklings that eagerly follow their parents in single filed lines.
But there is one specific place that resides near the harbour that should never be overlooked: The Net Shed.
The Net Shed plays an imperative role in the existence of the Meaford Library, which affects all Meaford residents.
As you walk inside the door, the power of literature is overwhelming as towers of books overlook you. Shelves upon shelves of books make up the entire room. From classics to children’s books, cook books to travel guides, textbooks to mystery novels, the Net Shed has it all.
The walls of this building are held up by more than stacks of books, they are supported by amazing volunteer work.
Each book tells its own story that reaches far beyond it's plot. Being passed on from person to person, each individual experiencing literature in different ways and being changed, even if ever so slightly, by each word. It is true that no gift is greater than the gift of knowledge and the Net Shed is evidence of this as people share one of the world’s most worthy values; education.
The land that the Net Shed rests upon was originally utilized for fishing net repairs. Thanks to the charitable donation of the McKay family, the building was able to be transformed into the incredible book shop it is today.
The Net Shed is run by volunteer work as many gracious people dedicate their time to organizing and selling these gently used books. The book sales run off of generous donations that support the Meaford Public Library and the various literacy efforts that the library provides.
There is much more to the Net Shed than meets the eye. This story is about more than just books. In fact, this story is made up of the many, many people that are a part of “Friends of the Library”. This organization began in 1993 with the sole mission of raising money to help support the local library.
The Friends of the Library runs and operates the shed and serves a primary goal of providing additional support to one of the most important places in any town, the Public Library. The “Friends of the Library” truly define friendship in every aspect of the word, though these friends do not just support one other counterpart, they give to the entire community.
Nothing defines the concept of community support quite like the Net Shed as volunteers pour their time and support into an organization that directly affects the library and literacy programs. This selfless operation is indescribable as the extent of the generosity reaches beyond any explanation that can be expressed with words.
In addition to operating the Net Shed, the Friends of the Library also organize weekly Summer concerts on Sunday evenings at 7pm that are held at the Meaford Harbour Rotary Pavilion
So when you feel like curling up with a good book, donating some gently used books of your own that you have allowed yourself to part with, or volunteering your time to a worthy cause, I can think of no better place to stroll to than the Net Shed.
A life-long resident of Meaford, Stephanie Rennie loves to live in and write about the community of Meaford. Stephanie is working in the Children’s Department of the Meaford Public Library this summer. In the fall she will be completing the final year of a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History at the University of Guelph.
Stephanie is the new Assistant Editor for The Meaford Independent.
