The view from my window today is not Pacific Street, falling leaves or fire engines - it's the curve of the Mississippi and the sweep of a struggling city steeped in a complex history. I'm here for a national summit on historic preservation, and the glamour and grit of the French Quarter showcases both the multi-faceted past and the rebuilding of a shattered present for the future.

What's Monterey's library director doing in the midst of expert historians and preservationists? Gathering and sharing! I'm hearing from lots of hard-working experts from around the country (and gleaning many ideas for better preserving and interpreting Monterey's diverse history). And describing Monterey's many initiatives and programs to preserve and share community memory. In Monterey, the Library is an integral part of this important community effort.

Sadly, I won't be back home in time for "Shades of Monterey" this Saturday, 10/21/ 06 - an open invitation of a day (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Library's Community Room) to bring personal photos of people and events to be scanned for inclusion in our local history room archives. Trained volunteers will be helping Library Special Services Coordinator Jeanne McCombs and Archivist Dennis Copeland gather the names, dates and stories that each photo portrays.

If you have any such photos at home I hope you'll consider bringing them to the Library on Saturday. Your stories and photos are important parts of our community's memory. Visiting with New Orleans residents who mourn homes and lives lost, who speak wistfully of belongings and memories destroyed, reminds me of the importance of this work - preserving and documenting Monterey's past for Monterey's future.