"I had always imagined that paradise would be a kind of library." Jorge Louis Borges
Libraries have always played a large part in my life. When we were growing up, my mother regularly took us to the Fishkill Plains library. It was a community library that was housed in an old church and taken care of by Mrs. Alley, who looked very old to me at the time, but I imagine she would not seem terribly old to me now. The library was lined with books, had more books, magazines, and puzzles laid out on the pews, and had an old pipe organ with lots of stops. We played with it, but I can't really remember if it played music. Mrs. Alley even kept boxes of the old series books - Nancy Drew, the Bobsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, etc. - under some tables. She said that they weren't supposed to belong in libraries, but that the children still loved them so she kept them. We occasionally went to one of the larger libraries in neighboring towns, but this is the library where we spent hours and where I volunteered while in school.
My love of libraries stayed with me. During high school, I worked in the library whenever I had a study hall or free time. When I went to college I spent four years working in the college library and joined the local library. Once I married I went to the library in each town in which we lived. I now have to travel to Geneseo to the library, but it is only a few miles. I especially love the OWWL system, in which I can order books from the network of fifty-something libraries and have them delivered to Geneseo. Heaven!
Emile Buchwals has said that, "Children are made readers on the laps of their parents" When I was growing up, my parents read to us daily. Boys are often less interested in reading than girls, in part because fathers tend to read less than mothers and boys tend to emulate their fathers. I remember my parents sitting down with their library books when they had their after dinner cup of coffee each night. We were surrounded by books, and my brother, my sister, and I all developed a deep love of reading. When my children were babies we began the weekly trips to the library for books, they saw their parents reading every day, and they both love to read. When I became a grandmother, I began to take my grandchildren to the library, although I had to share that joy with their mother who is still an avid reader.
Hearing the word "library" fills my mind with pictures, sights, and even that special book smell that is embedded in my mind from years spent in libraries. I love the new children's books that are being written, and especially those for older children who used to fall into a space between picture books and adult books with little that was special for them. One of the things that I enjoy about being with children is that I can enjoy the new books while revisiting favorites from my youth. This week, while my grandchildren are visiting, my granddaughter and I have been reading "The Borrowers" by Mary Norton which was a favorite of mine when I was her age. Unfortunately, we were so busy that we couldn't finish it, and it went home with her. Maybe I will have to get another copy.
If you do not belong to your local library, I urge you to visit. In addition to all of those books, which is reason enough to join, many libraries also have music, videos, story hours, summer reading programs, book clubs, knitting groups, and special speakers and entertainment. Best of all, don't forget the books - all of those lovely books.
My latest read? I just finished My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira. It is the story of a midwife who, in order to become a surgeon, worked as a nurse during the Civil War. It is based on the fact that twenty women became doctors due to their work during the war, and the author has done an enormous amount of research on Civil War society, medicine, hospitals, army life, and battles. It was fascinating.
No comments:
Post a Comment