The Public Library--Love it or Leave it?
The public library and I have a tumultuous relationship. Many days it is my favorite place on the planet. Other days, I declare I’m leaving it, never to return. But the next thing I know, the siren’s call lures me back to her stacks once again.
I’ve been a voracious reader my entire life, but when I was a child, I was only taken to the library during the summer. I got tremendous joy from filling out my reading logs and getting my certificates for all of my hard reading work. The rest of the year, I could read books from my school library or my parents would take me to the bookstore in the mall (this was pre-Amazon.com.) It is with great shame that I admit that I did not truly discover the beauty of the institution that is the public library until about three summers ago. I was well into my 30’s, and my husband had put the kibosh on my book spending. It was out of necessity and pure desire that I went to the public library. I had to get books. I needed books. I wanted books. And, man, did they have books! I boasted to my husband how much money I was saving us because I was able to borrow books for FREE! What a concept!
My relationship with the library went along swimmingly for a few years. But I missed owning my own books. I missed highlighting and underlining favorite passages. I missed the luxury of abandoning a book while other books tickled my fancy, and then being able to return to it, months later. I missed the ceremony of adding a recently read book to my shelves, standing back, and admiring my collection. I missed talking about favorite books with colleagues, running home in the evening to grab a certain book off my shelves, and taking to a friend at work for her to borrow.
Thus, our relationship became, and still remains, rocky. Like any relationship, we have our ups and downs, highs and lows.
A friend recommended a vampire and werewolf series to me--I was able to get all eight books in one (FREE) swoop at the library that very afternoon.
An esteemed colleague recommends a book on the latest literacy research--I buy it online and have it in my hands within a couple of days. I can keep it forever and write notes all over it.
I go to a literacy conference, read a blog, or see reviews of great books on Twitter or Goodreads—I go to my library’s online card catalog and find that the library owns some of those books. For the other books, I have to bite the bullet and buy them.
Going to the library is an amazing experience that I now love to share with my children. People of all races, creeds, and socioeconomic statuses are all in the same building with one common, literacy-related purpose. Where else in our world does that happen?
Just the other day, I was loading up the kids to head to the library. I handed my son his library card. “OOOOOH!” he said. “How much money’s on it?” It’s priceless and unlimited, son. That’s the beauty of the library. And I think we’ll just keep on loving it.
Written for The Literacy Triad by Jill Culmo.
