Visiting the Library

In the stacks

The library has always meant a great deal to me. My earliest memories of visiting the library are when I was in daycare during the summer and we’d do something different each week — swimming, bowling, movies, library. My favorites were going to the swimming pool and the library.

As I got older, I frequented the library more often. While the friend I usually went with checked out movies or read old newspaper articles, I was always looking for that next adventure between the pages of a book.

Having a library card was like a license to drive, a privilege to explore new and interesting places. As an adult, no matter where I moved, obtaining a library card was one of the first things I did for myself.

When we first moved to the city where we now live, it was so small the library didn’t even have its own building. They were located in the junior high.

They’ve had their own space inside City Hall for years since then. During one visit, I had to renew my card at the circulation desk. The librarian took one look at it and said, “Wow!”

I knew instantly why he was so amazed, so I said, “I know. It’s really old.”

He said, “I’d say I could give you a new one, but this is like a relic, you should keep it.”

And I have. I’ve kept that same library card for nearly 30 years.

The featured photo is from my most recent visit with my granddaughter. Not much is sweeter than hearing her ask if we can go to the library or bookstore. She usually chooses books that feature some kind of animal as the main character. Every once in a while she’ll find one that her teacher has read to her class and she’ll want to check it out.

It’s fun to see her get excited about books and reading. It will be interesting to see her reading tastes evolve.

Thanks to Ellie Jacobson for this fun prompt!