Right now, many of us are living in moments where hope doesn’t feel grand or obvious. It can feel like shouting into a void, where voices blur together or disappear entirely. When so much feels beyond our control, protecting what’s closest to us becomes essential. That way, we can better show up for those around us and most importantly, ourselves.
For many of us at Spokane Public Library, we are sustained by the work we do every day. The library is a place of refuge, free, welcoming, and grounded in the belief that access to knowledge, creativity, and connection should belong to everyone. Even when the world feels overwhelming, the library remains a space where people can pause, learn, and feel held by something steady.
Over the past year, that steadiness has been tested. Significant cuts to federal, state, and local funding forced difficult conversations about how libraries can continue to serve their communities amid mounting challenges. In those moments, we returned to a simple truth: the library exists because of its community. Your stories – why you come here, what you find here, how the library has shaped your life – are our hope.
Libraries have always faced challenges: budget pressures, censorship threats, misinformation, and the loss of shared public spaces. But our hope and purpose remain the same: people quietly reading, learning, creating, and growing. That is why libraries exist.
If your light feels small right now, the library is a place to tend it. Read. Make art. Learn something new. Borrow tools. Gather with others. Share your story when you’re ready or simply rest among stories that remind you you’re not alone.
Your light is worth protecting. And when we bring our community together, we become something stronger.
Books About Hope
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Finding Me by Viola Davis
Hope Dies Last by Alan Weisman
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
On Thriving by Brandi Sellerz-Jackson
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
Wintering by Katherine May
FOR KIDS
H is for Hope by Elizabeth Kolbert, Illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook
I Hope by Monique Gray Smith, Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
Into the Uncut Grass by Trevor Noah, Illustrated by Sabina Hahn
My Sister the Apple Tree by Jordan Scott and Jamal Saeed, Artwork by Zahra Marwan
