Ode to Libraries

I thought I’d take the time today to talk about a place that is near and dear to my heart, libraries. If you know me from the Coffee Time forum you might have read my signature quote, something along the lines of, I have seen the error of my ways with libraries. Borrowing and returning books? What’s that about? That’s like adopting a child and then returning him. And I stand true to that, I have every book that I have purchased since I was 13 years-old. That’s around 500 books. But if it weren’t for my local library I wouldn’t have that many books, or writing this blog.

At first, the library was just a place for me to hang out. It was the only place I was allowed to walk to when I was 10. It didn’t bother me much because I didn’t have any friends outside of school, I have always been shy and introverted. I just needed a place to go because my home wasn’t a good place to be. So every day after school I walked to the library, not to read, but to play on the computer. I always played the same game, it was a typing game, where you had a little town and bombs would fall from the sky with words in them and you had to type the word to blow up the bombs before they hit the town. Anyway, the library was shut down for two weeks for renovations, and when they re-opened the game was gone! I was terribly upset, it was my favorite game. So what to do now? Well, I was at a library, and there were a lot of books, and I did like to read on occasion (I was going through my Goosebumps phase) hmm…maybe I should read a book! And that’s where it all truly began.

I got myself a library card and started borrowing books. First Goosebumps, then books by Christopher Pike, and later L.J Smith. Somewhere along the line, I befriended the librarians. They all knew me by name and we spent hours talking when there weren’t many people around. It became routine, every day I showed up, even Saturdays. I would read or use the computer, looking for Sailor Moon pictures on the web. Diane, my favorite librarian, suggested I read Caroline B. Cooney, and I did. I loved her stuff, it was beautiful and unlike anything I had been reading at the time. The Stranger was the first work of fiction that made me cry. When I was in the 8th grade, around 4 years after I began my library routine, a friend of mine gave me a Harlequin Intrigue, and off I went into the world of adult romance. And wouldn’t you know it, my library had tons of Harlequin. I devoured them. Those books, along with my V.C Andrews and L.J Smiths were the ones that made me realize that the one thing I didn’t like about libraries was that I had to return the books. But for a young girl who didn’t have a job and couldn’t afford to buy books (the way I buy books, which is crazy) then the public library was heaven.

I have so many fond memories, about all the people I met, and all the things I did. I started my first and only book club there, where we read more Caroline B. Cooney books, as requested by Diane, because she knew how much I loved them and the sneaky woman had arranged for Cooney to come to one of our book discussions. Oh what a day! The library was also the place where I got into habit of writing outside of school. I spent hours on Microsoft Word creating short stories and Sailor Moon fan fiction. And on the day of my 8th grade graduation, after I got my diploma my mother asked me, “What do you want to do today?” And I said, “I’m going to the library!” And off I went to show my diploma to Diane, Carmen and Paul, where they were already expecting me and had a surprise party set-up. :D It’s still my favorite graduation party.

Alas, I am rambling. I just wanted to share my memories and explain why libraries are good, why they are necessary. If it weren’t for my library who knows what I would have done with my time. I never would have started writing, or reading different genres of books, I probably would have been stuck in the hell hole that was my home, or worse, been on the streets.