Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today my special guest is Bronwen Gamble. Welcome to the Project.
Bronwen Gamble: Thank you.
Toni: So, Bronwen, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Bronwen: I am the Executive Director at the Reading Public Library. I’m also a mom, a grandmother, have a great group of friends, do all kinds of things. Did you know I play the viola?
Toni: No.
Bronwen: Well, there you go. I play the viola. I am just so proud of all of us at the Reading Public Library, because we are a national award-winning library; one of only five public libraries in the U.S. this year.
Toni: That is fantastic.
Bronwen: Yes.
Toni: Wow. Congratulations!
Bronwen: Thank you. I know. It still hasn’t quite sunk in.
Toni: Well, congratulations, and thank you for taking the time to be part of this Project.
Bronwen: Sure.
Toni: So, let’s go right into it. What does inspiration mean to you?
Bronwen: To me, inspiration is a gut feeling. It’s visceral. My spirit soars. That’s what inspiration is. Something that just lifts me up and gives me new thoughts or new feelings or, “Ah-ha!”
Toni: It almost sounds like an internal gut punch.
Bronwen: Yes.
Toni: When was the last time you were inspired or felt that punch?
Bronwen: I think I was inspired at the Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., where we received this amazing award. Just looking at the names — Madeline Albright, Nelson Mandela, and people that you think who have inspired peace in this beautiful setting on the Mall in Washington, D.C. That was inspiring.
Toni: That was the last time you were gut-punched.
Bronwen: Yes.
Toni: Wow. Okay, so when you have that happen to you, do you know when it happens?
Bronwen: Oh, yes.
Toni: Can it be in the middle of the night, in the morning? Doesn’t matter when it is?
Bronwen: You know, it’s usually outdoors for me.
Toni: Okay. So, when that happens, how do you put that into practice here in Berks County?
Bronwen: Wow. There are just so many opportunities to get inspired in Berks County. I mean, just thinking of outdoors, you think of everything from Hawk Mountain to French Creek State Park. Western Berks, too. The charming stone-built towns of Eastern Berks County. We have four seasons. We have it all.
Toni: Mm-hmm. It’s a lovely area, isn't it?
Bronwen: It is. We have concerts. If music is your thing, and it’s one of mine, just to go listen to a concert, whether it’s free on the steps of the library — we were just talking about that before we started — or it’s the Reading Symphony, or some of the amazing bands and acts that come here. We just have to come across the bridge or travel a short distance, and there it is.
Toni: So, you are inspired by those events as well, I would imagine.
Bronwen: Yes.
Toni: Is there a personal drive or even a professional drive that when you get inspired you do something with it? I hear on the personal side, you will take advantage of this lovely area that we have. Is there a professional inspiration that hits you that you go, “Okay, I’m going to do this?”
Bronwen: I’m going to pay this forward.
Toni: Yes.
Bronwen: Yes, and I think that’s part of the reason why at the Library, we’re no longer just inside the walls.
Toni: What does that mean?
Bronwen: It means that we are taking our show on the road, whether it is storytelling and dance on the front steps, or we’re sending out teams of young adults to do science programs with kids all over the Reading area to get them inspired, like, “Oh, science can be fun.” Sneaky learning. “We’re having a good time, and oh, by the way, you’re learning about chemical reactions.” That to me is inspiring, that you can take it out and make an impact.
Toni: And so, as you said, which I love, you pay it forward.
Bronwen: Yes.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you?
Bronwen: Oh, they know who they are. I have an amazing core group that has…we hold each other up. We hold each other accountable. If I need something and I ask, I get more than I asked for. They know who they are, so this is their shout out. Organizations like Women2Women have been truly inspiring. I mean, not just the educational opportunities, but again, the opportunities to pay it forward, like the summer reading, Wrinkle In Time. That’s near and dear to my heart. Our Board of Trustees at the Library, they volunteer their time and their talent and their energy to make a difference. That’s inspiring. Really, again, our Library staff who are so amazingly creative and work day after day in what’s a social services environment, making a difference to kids, to seniors, to families, to returning citizens from incarceration. I mean, every day at four locations, they do it. Every day.
Toni: There is a common theme in those that inspire you, and it seems to be making a difference, whether it’s your personal support group that hold each other accountable to make a difference in your lives, to those who are serving others.
Bronwen: That’s right.
Toni: Yeah. That’s fantastic. So, Bronwen, what do you want your legacy to be?
Bronwen: That’s a tough one. I think I want to be personally known as somebody who was open-minded, open-hearted, open house; kind of that welcoming person. I really try to make the Reading Public Library feel that way, that it is also open. I think just that flinging wide the doors. “Welcome. Come in. Join us. Join me.”
Toni: And mean it.
Bronwen: And for me to, I think, at my memorial service, not only will there be amazing, glorious music, but I want people to say, “Do you remember the time when she…” whether it’s funny or whatever. “Do you remember the time when?”
Toni: Well, you know what? I say this almost every interview. We are living our legacy every day. We live it.
Bronwen: Well, you certainly are putting a brick in it.
Toni: We are walking the talk that is our legacy every single day. Thank you for doing what you’re doing and being so welcoming, and the work that you do.
Bronwen: Thank you.
Toni: Thank you for being part of the Project.
Bronwen: We love it.