APL
TRUSTEE FEATURE
Diane Mangiaratti, APL Trustee
What motivates you to serve on the APL Board of Trustees?
I believe that public libraries are very important to our democracy. They are available to all people and allow anyone to use their many resources. After serving in elective office on the Attleboro School Committee for many years, I was pleased to join the Board of Trustees.
What is your favorite part of/space in our library?
I’ve always loved the façade of the library and used to like entering through that doorway. In high school I would spend time in the Marble Lobby area doing homework and research.
What is your favorite book from your childhood?
I can’t think of one favorite book, but in elementary grades, I did gravitate towards books about people in history. I read many of the Little Maid books by Alice Turner Curtis (e.g., A Little Maid of Narragansett Bay). I also read many biographies of famous people. In junior high I read my favorite book, Gone With the Wind. It introduced me to the South, and to the Civil War. I named one of my daughters after Scarlet O’Hara’s mother Ellen O’Hara, who was known for her kindness to people in need.
What book would you/do you recommend to everyone?
I recommend The Overstory by Richard Powers. It is about nine people and their relationships with trees and nature. Trees provide needed shade in the summer and an added benefit is that they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere. This book will make you look at trees in a totally different way!
If you could choose any fictional character to join you on a road trip or other kind of vacation, who would you choose and why?
I would love to visit Sweden and have as my tour guide, Ove, from the book A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. He and I love Saabs and he would, hopefully, not be too grumpy to show me the sights of Sweden.
What is the best dish you can cook?
I like to cook and entertain quite often, so I don’t have a “best” dish. I get many compliments on my meatballs and sauce.
Do you have a favorite quote, whether book-based or otherwise?
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -Maya Angelou