When the pandemic shut down in-person gatherings, that didn’t stop The Library from offering its popular summertime lunches. Instead, The Library pivoted to curbside delivery, and volunteer Ralph Vignati, who also volunteers for food pantries, saw an intersection of his two favorite civic causes – nutrition and lifelong learning.

“The curbside lunches give a child and a parent a chance to stop and use the library, grab a lunch, and maybe grab a book, and that starts a path toward learning,” he says.

For kids, especially, Ralph sees The Library as a place that opens worlds of wonder.

“When I see the schools bring in a fourth-grade class, maybe somebody will be introduced to The Library who didn’t know it existed,” he says. 

Ralph was a history and political science major in college who still enjoys an engaging thriller.

What are you reading? When the war in Ukraine started, I complimented the librarians because they set up a display about five or six feet in size with Ukrainian colors and books on Ukraine. I told them they might take some heat for doing that, but they brought it to the forefront. So I grabbed a book, In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine, by Tim Judah.

What kinds of books do you like to read? My favorite author right now is probably Daniel Silva. He takes fiction and historical facts and blends them together. I find Jeffrey Archer fascinating. I can go a lot of different routes. Grisham is in the same ilk as Archer – a wonderful storyteller.

What do libraries mean to you and your family? I grew up with books. Our kids and our grandchildren have always had access to numerous books, more than they could read. We would take them to the library. They’re doing well in school, and they have that interest, and they have that curiosity.