As a young girl we lived in a small town with a library no bigger than our living room. My mother raised six children, all of us avid readers. So she paid a yearly fee (no small sacrifice with our tight budget) to get a library card to a library in a city thirty minutes north of us. Every six weeks we travelled to the Orem Public Library where we were let loose to find enough books to last us till we could come again (a three week check out, plus one renewal). We stuffed our bags and staggered to the check out counter with our arms overflowing with treasures. At final count we would check out over one hundred books at a time.
In college I spent time studying in the college libraries, but they’re not exactly the kind of place where you want to browse and spend time looking at books. So I frequented the Provo City Library. When it moved to its new building, I wanted to live in it. I loved that library. My little sister used to work there and would check out and renew books for the family. (Thanks, Beccah!)
I moved to Portland with my husband on September 1, 2006. I came for grad school which didn’t start for three weeks. He took the car out every day to search for work. I knew no one, was too afraid of never making it back home if I took the bus by myself, and probably would have gotten terribly lost even if I’d had a car to go anywhere in. Every day I walked to two places: Blockbuster to check out the next disc of the latest season of Lost, and the Garden Home Community Library.
At the Garden Home Community Library, I used their Internet access, and checked out books, movies, and CDs. For a long time, it was my only connection to the outside world. I’ve lived within walking distance of it for three and a half years. It’s a small library, but part of the Washington County Cooperative Library System—which means I can check out any book from any of the larger libraries in Washington County, so I am not limited in my options. And it has the benefits of a small town library—the librarian knows our family and greets us all by name.
I love my library, as the only bumper sticker I’ve ever owned proudly proclaims. I hope you love and support your local library too.
Your descriptions of bags and arms loaded with books bring back many memories. The library has always been a magical place for me. It's fun watching Alex discover books and the library.
ReplyDeleteWashington County has a great library system. When I lived with Sherry we found the Garden Home library, it was nice and Alexander liked the kids section.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, when we first moved here I had the can and I got lost every time I drove, which was a lot because I had to drive Tristan to and from work and Alexander to and from school.