No, please--comment away! It's good that you can see beyond the grayness and still find magic in the books. It's a good way of looking at it. Thanks for sharing.
I know! I'm so used to the children's spaces being charming and colorful it was a bit of a shock to find one that wasn't. I'm happy that they're so rare they stand out like this.
So glad that my short piece started this discussion on libraries and bookstores. When the end comes and I see the middles in the sky, I'm heading to the library as my final sanctuary!
I believed that, too, until I entered the one I've talked about here. The contrast was shocking, and I'd never realized what magical places libraries were until I entered one that wasn't.
It's a stretch, maybe, but I see the internet that way, though it's not nearly as charming or comfortable. It's the world's largest library now, with access to almost anything we can think of.
Of course, I'll always hope for a physical library, but I use the resources of the internet every day and I'm grateful for its existence. It could have stopped at simple communication, but it didn't. And it'll go on evolving, getting better at collating and disbursing and we'll all be the smarter for it.
I've loved libraries forever. I remember walking a couple miles to get to one as a child. It was a magic place. The most memorable library I've been in is at Trinity College in Dublin .
I've been to a lot of libraries, including several Carnegie libraries in little towns you wouldn't think could support such places. The biggest and best for me so far is the Detroit Public Library. It's beautiful and awesome. But then I've lived a fairly sheltered life, it appears!
The Library Book by Susan Orlean does an amazing job diving into the role libraries play and just how important they are. They're one of the last free spaces for people to enjoy and provide such important community services. I think a lot of us who grew up reading have those fond childhood memories, and I hope some kids today get to have that same experience of feeling like the library is a place full of magic and possibility.
Me, too, Sophia. I've read Orlean's book. She's masterful at writing about such things. I was completely immersed, but heartbroken over the library fire.
I remember when Carl Sagan talked in Cosmos about the destruction of the library at Alexandria. I hadn't known about it and I'm still not over that one. Do not destroy books!
When I was a kid, I made a library out of all my books, with little numbers taped on them and a card for each one, and checked them out to the neighborhood kids. I'm happy to be in a town that that has a most magical new library (Missoula). Thanks for the post!
OMG, Wendy, I did the same thing! I used envelope halves as pockets, and index card halves as cards. And I kept track of who had which books and even threatened to charge them fees if they didn't return them! I think I still have one somewhere. When I get back home this Spring I'll have to try and find it.
Another thing we have in common. Our small city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, had a great library, and I spent many hours there. My high school had a fabulous library. Both my parents were readers and we had many books in the house. I couldn't get enough of reading and it is a real thrill to me when I hear from someone who has read one of my efforts and found it meaningful/enjoyable/fun. While our Oak Ridge Library was excellent, when I went to Cincinnati for music school and walked into the Hamilton County Public Library I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I miss that library. I have to say, though, in my even smaller town where I currently live, we have an excellent library which has an exceptional children's section and many activities. You're right, the library should be a magical place. After all, opening a book is often the closest thing to magic most of us will ever realize.
Yes to your last thought here! Our little library on the island is attached to the elementary school (The only school on the island. The kids go across on the ferry to the mainland schools after 6th grade) and is a delight. I'm going to have to take a picture of the children's section when I get back home. It's so inviting!
Because it's part of the school, kids are coming in many times a day, and they're always fun to watch. None of them are bored!
In my nose’s imagination, I can still smell the Newark library that made my childhood tolerable. Love that smell! When I was a college drop-out, I worked in a bookstore that smelled like that library. It was magical, too. Thanks for this piece!
Yes, the smells just add to the mystique! I love the smell of a used bookstore for the same reason. And I don't mind that many of my own books smell like that!
Libraries should be magical! I remember getting my first book 'published' when I was seven years old and my story was chosen in a local contest. It was printed in hardcover and a copy put in both our public and school libraries. I felt I had reached the pinnacle of of fame to be a published author in the LIBRARY!
Sadly, the new library in my small town feels generic and lacking soul but at least hey have a lovely children's section that seems magical.
For those of you on IG you may like this account I follow that showcases the worlds greatest libraries.
I always wonder why those 'plain' libraries don't at least solicit local artwork to put on display. It's free and would add so much to the atmosphere. Maybe local art clubs should approach them. Can't hurt and they would have one more platform for their work.
I feel very qualified to comment here as I've worked in public libraries both in Canada and the UK for over 40 years! Libraries have changed HUGELY, it's true - but so has their functionality. To many, the library experience that many of you describe here has become elusive - even those who continue to borrow regularly, now use the building itself as a kind of depot, where books that have been put on hold are merely collected. That said, the library addresses different literacies now, such as how to use a computer (many, MANY people learn this skill for the first time from library staff) and also how to navigate getting a passport online, learn English etc.etc. At my local branch, the staff also used to help a lovely elderly lady braid her hair each morning after she had broken her arm and had no one else to assist. She was so grateful! We ran programs for new mothers and babies, had lots of local artwork and I used to transcribe poems on the back window which everyone stopped to read! (Not my own, short bits from the classics often based on the season). We also set up a tiny, silken tent for children to creep inside with a book! The issue with homelessness is real though and has hugely impacted libraries from a safety perspective - you might be shocked what the staff have to deal with on a daily basis. I am so sorry that the library vibe let you down lately, Ramona - I am really hoping it was just a bad day or that the strife from the Pandemic has yet to be shaken off.
Our house in the Detroit suburbs, where we lived for 32 years, didn't have air conditioning so on many blistering summer days I'd take the kids and head to the library.
When my husband and I traveled, the local libraries were a comfort on rainy days.
When our internet goes out up in the boonies where I live, I haul my laptop to the library.
And sometimes I go just to read magazines. (I forgot to mention the dismal library I described above had a small rack of magazines, either esoteric or business-related, none of which most patrons would even pick up. Everything about that place was odd.)
If there are lonely or homeless people in libraries, I understand their need. If they become a problem, I understand the dilemma. I'm just glad I'm not the one who has to make decisions about who gets to be there and who doesn't.
Your library sounds like a dream, thanks to you and a staff willing to go above and beyond. That's what seemed to be missing at the library I mentioned above. It's simply a building with a rather disinterested guy sitting at the desk. Even the lighting seemed off. The stacks were dim and gloomy Nothing felt welcoming.
I'm sure I've been in plain libraries before, but they at least seemed friendly. This one didn't.
And I've never been in a library where I couldn't sit at a table or at a computer station.
We are at our local library at least twice a week. I used to go growing up and I got away from it when I got too high school, but we have been fortunate to have 2 great babysitters who take out kids to the library. We’re so lucky to have such a great one.
Wow, reading about that library broke my heart a little. But you also brought back some absolutely memories I haven't thought of in years. Memories of a VERY excited little boy going to the library again and again, happily perusing all of those books and then checking out and carrying a huge stack of books home. I'm not sure I was ever much happier as a child than I was in those moments.
Aw, I can picture that little boy floating on a cloud through that library, not knowing that those magical words would stick to him and find a permanent home!
Some of my happiest times were spent in my local library when I was a kid. That's where my love of mystery and science fiction took hold, and I would read and read and read in a really comfy chair in a corner of the library on the second floor, away from other people. Just thinking about it now brings back a lot of memories.
I’ve written in libraries and I produce work I know is different from what would happen at my own desk. Is it the energy from all those books? Is it that I’m breathing the same air as generations of book lovers? I don’t know, but I like it.
Nice to see you here, Elizabeth. Don’t be a stranger!
No, please--comment away! It's good that you can see beyond the grayness and still find magic in the books. It's a good way of looking at it. Thanks for sharing.
I know! I'm so used to the children's spaces being charming and colorful it was a bit of a shock to find one that wasn't. I'm happy that they're so rare they stand out like this.
So glad that my short piece started this discussion on libraries and bookstores. When the end comes and I see the middles in the sky, I'm heading to the library as my final sanctuary!
Missiles in the sky, not "middles"!!
I believed that, too, until I entered the one I've talked about here. The contrast was shocking, and I'd never realized what magical places libraries were until I entered one that wasn't.
It's a stretch, maybe, but I see the internet that way, though it's not nearly as charming or comfortable. It's the world's largest library now, with access to almost anything we can think of.
Of course, I'll always hope for a physical library, but I use the resources of the internet every day and I'm grateful for its existence. It could have stopped at simple communication, but it didn't. And it'll go on evolving, getting better at collating and disbursing and we'll all be the smarter for it.
If we use it right.
Thank you for this. I enjoy libraries very much and support them as much as I can.
I've loved libraries forever. I remember walking a couple miles to get to one as a child. It was a magic place. The most memorable library I've been in is at Trinity College in Dublin .
I've been to a lot of libraries, including several Carnegie libraries in little towns you wouldn't think could support such places. The biggest and best for me so far is the Detroit Public Library. It's beautiful and awesome. But then I've lived a fairly sheltered life, it appears!
The Library Book by Susan Orlean does an amazing job diving into the role libraries play and just how important they are. They're one of the last free spaces for people to enjoy and provide such important community services. I think a lot of us who grew up reading have those fond childhood memories, and I hope some kids today get to have that same experience of feeling like the library is a place full of magic and possibility.
Me, too, Sophia. I've read Orlean's book. She's masterful at writing about such things. I was completely immersed, but heartbroken over the library fire.
I remember when Carl Sagan talked in Cosmos about the destruction of the library at Alexandria. I hadn't known about it and I'm still not over that one. Do not destroy books!
When I was a kid, I made a library out of all my books, with little numbers taped on them and a card for each one, and checked them out to the neighborhood kids. I'm happy to be in a town that that has a most magical new library (Missoula). Thanks for the post!
OMG, Wendy, I did the same thing! I used envelope halves as pockets, and index card halves as cards. And I kept track of who had which books and even threatened to charge them fees if they didn't return them! I think I still have one somewhere. When I get back home this Spring I'll have to try and find it.
Another thing we have in common. Our small city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, had a great library, and I spent many hours there. My high school had a fabulous library. Both my parents were readers and we had many books in the house. I couldn't get enough of reading and it is a real thrill to me when I hear from someone who has read one of my efforts and found it meaningful/enjoyable/fun. While our Oak Ridge Library was excellent, when I went to Cincinnati for music school and walked into the Hamilton County Public Library I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I miss that library. I have to say, though, in my even smaller town where I currently live, we have an excellent library which has an exceptional children's section and many activities. You're right, the library should be a magical place. After all, opening a book is often the closest thing to magic most of us will ever realize.
Yes to your last thought here! Our little library on the island is attached to the elementary school (The only school on the island. The kids go across on the ferry to the mainland schools after 6th grade) and is a delight. I'm going to have to take a picture of the children's section when I get back home. It's so inviting!
Because it's part of the school, kids are coming in many times a day, and they're always fun to watch. None of them are bored!
In my nose’s imagination, I can still smell the Newark library that made my childhood tolerable. Love that smell! When I was a college drop-out, I worked in a bookstore that smelled like that library. It was magical, too. Thanks for this piece!
Yes, the smells just add to the mystique! I love the smell of a used bookstore for the same reason. And I don't mind that many of my own books smell like that!
Wow! I'm thrilled to know someone else did that, too! Some of my old books still have the stickers on them.
Me too! I honestly thought I was the one who thought that up! LOL.
Libraries should be magical! I remember getting my first book 'published' when I was seven years old and my story was chosen in a local contest. It was printed in hardcover and a copy put in both our public and school libraries. I felt I had reached the pinnacle of of fame to be a published author in the LIBRARY!
Sadly, the new library in my small town feels generic and lacking soul but at least hey have a lovely children's section that seems magical.
For those of you on IG you may like this account I follow that showcases the worlds greatest libraries.
https://www.instagram.com/1000libraries/
I always wonder why those 'plain' libraries don't at least solicit local artwork to put on display. It's free and would add so much to the atmosphere. Maybe local art clubs should approach them. Can't hurt and they would have one more platform for their work.
Thanks for the link!
I feel very qualified to comment here as I've worked in public libraries both in Canada and the UK for over 40 years! Libraries have changed HUGELY, it's true - but so has their functionality. To many, the library experience that many of you describe here has become elusive - even those who continue to borrow regularly, now use the building itself as a kind of depot, where books that have been put on hold are merely collected. That said, the library addresses different literacies now, such as how to use a computer (many, MANY people learn this skill for the first time from library staff) and also how to navigate getting a passport online, learn English etc.etc. At my local branch, the staff also used to help a lovely elderly lady braid her hair each morning after she had broken her arm and had no one else to assist. She was so grateful! We ran programs for new mothers and babies, had lots of local artwork and I used to transcribe poems on the back window which everyone stopped to read! (Not my own, short bits from the classics often based on the season). We also set up a tiny, silken tent for children to creep inside with a book! The issue with homelessness is real though and has hugely impacted libraries from a safety perspective - you might be shocked what the staff have to deal with on a daily basis. I am so sorry that the library vibe let you down lately, Ramona - I am really hoping it was just a bad day or that the strife from the Pandemic has yet to be shaken off.
Our house in the Detroit suburbs, where we lived for 32 years, didn't have air conditioning so on many blistering summer days I'd take the kids and head to the library.
When my husband and I traveled, the local libraries were a comfort on rainy days.
When our internet goes out up in the boonies where I live, I haul my laptop to the library.
And sometimes I go just to read magazines. (I forgot to mention the dismal library I described above had a small rack of magazines, either esoteric or business-related, none of which most patrons would even pick up. Everything about that place was odd.)
If there are lonely or homeless people in libraries, I understand their need. If they become a problem, I understand the dilemma. I'm just glad I'm not the one who has to make decisions about who gets to be there and who doesn't.
Your library sounds like a dream, thanks to you and a staff willing to go above and beyond. That's what seemed to be missing at the library I mentioned above. It's simply a building with a rather disinterested guy sitting at the desk. Even the lighting seemed off. The stacks were dim and gloomy Nothing felt welcoming.
I'm sure I've been in plain libraries before, but they at least seemed friendly. This one didn't.
And I've never been in a library where I couldn't sit at a table or at a computer station.
We are at our local library at least twice a week. I used to go growing up and I got away from it when I got too high school, but we have been fortunate to have 2 great babysitters who take out kids to the library. We’re so lucky to have such a great one.
Wow, reading about that library broke my heart a little. But you also brought back some absolutely memories I haven't thought of in years. Memories of a VERY excited little boy going to the library again and again, happily perusing all of those books and then checking out and carrying a huge stack of books home. I'm not sure I was ever much happier as a child than I was in those moments.
Aw, I can picture that little boy floating on a cloud through that library, not knowing that those magical words would stick to him and find a permanent home!
I've wanted to write as far back as I can remember, so I don't know exactly when the inspiration came from -- but I'm pretty sure it was in a library.
It’s a great place to get comfortable with words.
Some of my happiest times were spent in my local library when I was a kid. That's where my love of mystery and science fiction took hold, and I would read and read and read in a really comfy chair in a corner of the library on the second floor, away from other people. Just thinking about it now brings back a lot of memories.
Sounds lovely. I wonder if kids do that much these days? I'll bet not.
Libraries were the start of the outside world for me! See my https://open.substack.com/pub/jordanjankus/p/the-world-beyond?r=p9z88&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Loved that, Jordan. Um, Jared. Great story!
Thank you for this...I too love libraries where I write and read and sit in silence to let the characters begin to speak to me.
I’ve written in libraries and I produce work I know is different from what would happen at my own desk. Is it the energy from all those books? Is it that I’m breathing the same air as generations of book lovers? I don’t know, but I like it.
Nice to see you here, Elizabeth. Don’t be a stranger!