Ode to the Library

Every so often I rediscover the public library. We have a number of small branch libraries near us. I have four to choose from within a thirty minute drive, since we’re in the middle of two counties. Like many of you, my books of choice are rarely in our libraries-at least not right away. I usually get my Harlequins from our neighborhood Kroger. However, every now and then I get in the habit of reading something new-and that’s where the libraries come in.

Does your town have a good library? The best one I ever lived near was in Mesa, Arizona. Right after I graduated college, I took a one-year contract to teach fifth grade and moved to Mesa, sight unseen. Looking back, that year was certainly a transition one for me. I had just gotten engaged, but my fiancée was living in Dallas. I didn’t know anyone. In addition, my dad helped me pick out my apartment-which, unfortunately, took exactly half a month’s paycheck. So, I had no friends, no boyfriend, no family, little money, and spent most of my time in the company of twenty-five rough-around-the-edges ten-year-olds.

When I wasn’t grading papers or developing lesson plans, I hung out at that Mesa Library. What a place that was-they had a whole section of romances! Plus, there were cozy spots everywhere to sit and read and look at magazines. It became the highlight of my Saturday morning routine.

I know exactly where my love of the library came from-my mom. When we first moved to Houston, our suburb only had a very small library in a single-wide trailer. My mom took me to the library almost every week. They switched out the books on a pretty regular basis, so entering those stacks was like Christmas-almost all new books every month! My first favorite book was The Little Match Girl. I still remember the drawings of that poor little girl, selling matches in the cold! I think the librarian made sure that book was one of the few that never ventured far from the trailer. I checked it out as often as possible.

When I was in middle school, the trailer was replaced by a beautiful big, stone building! By the time high school came around, it was the perfect place to do all our research and study. Well, pretend to study. There’s nothing quite like sitting across a rectangular table with a boy you like…all while pretending to research honey bees or the Alamo. That library also had the most delicious sets of Harlequins and regencies by Barbara Cartland. I still recall how grown up I felt checking out those regency romances for the first time.

In our libraries in Cincinnati, you can now get Internet access, check out CD’s and even get whole seasons of television shows-all for free! My son, a high school senior, just went to ‘study’ at the library for the first time the other day. I later found out there just ‘happened’ to be five or six of his friends there, too.

Maybe going to the library isn’t a thing of the past, after all.

So, what am I reading now? A whole series of mysteries by Margaret Maron. I picked one up because there were twelve of her books on the shelf-Series Reading Bliss!
What about y’all? Anyone still go to the library? Have a favorite library book? And what about your kids? Have they discovered the wonders of old books, stacks of unread novels, and the giddy feeling of having to whisper just to have a conversation?