Glen Ellyn Library creates Veterans Day programming after community pressure
The Glen Ellyn Library has responded to residents who questioned the library’s judgment on not including a Veterans Day celebration in its schedule of events for the year.
Until recently the library did not have a Nov. 11 celebration in place. That changed after community leaders and residents expressed their disappointment after it was noted the library was celebrating other holidays, but did not schedule a commemoration for Veterans Day.
The library later noted the addition in a Nov. 6 Facebook post.
“To complement the Veterans Day program at the Veterans Memorial at Lake Ellyn, the library is honoring our veterans. Beginning today and running through November 11, visitors will have the opportunity to write a note to thank a veteran. There are writing stations in the Youth and Adult Departments. These notes will be delivered to veterans,” the library said in the Facebook post.
Days earlier, Juanita Margetts, Glen Ellyn resident and assistant precinct committeewoman, said she felt leaving out the commemoration was disrespectful.
“To not even acknowledge Veterans Day on the calendar, I feel, is a slap in the face to those who have served,” Margetts told the DuPage Policy Journal. “And so what I want people to know is that your vote counts; every election on every single level is important. Local elections shape our communities and affect our tactics. People need to get informed and get involved.”
Leo Penkala, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars DuPage Memorial Post 2164, also expressed his dismay.
“I am saddened to learn that a community library funded by the tax-paying residents of Glen Ellyn has chosen to ignore and not celebrate the service of our nation's veterans,” Penkala told the DuPage Policy Journal.
Some took directly to the library’s Facebook page to express their opinion.
Ruby Waver posted, “No Veterans Day events? No Christmas events but six Kwanzaa events scheduled? Funded by 5 million dollars of tax payers' money.
The library responded directly to Waver.
“We hear you, Ruby. Thanks for sharing your opinion with us – we always value feedback from the community," the library posted in response. "Displaying more diverse holidays on the calendar was an attempt to highlight other cultures and communities, making sure even more people can feel included. It wasn’t meant as a rejection of holidays that aren’t listed on the calendar. Kwanzaa is one of those holidays, and it is a six-day celebration; which is why you see it listed for six days. There aren’t any stand-alone Kwanzaa events currently planned, but it is going to be included in our Holiday Walk on November 26, alongside Christmas, Hanukkah, and the Winter Solstice. If you have more questions, please reach out to Dawn Bussey at [email protected].”