I’ve mentioned many times that I basically grew up in a public library.
From the age of 7/8, my mother could no longer afford an after-school babysitter, so I became a latchkey kid. For anyone who lived through the 60s and 70s, IYKYK.
But going home to an empty apartment every day after school wasn’t any fun, and sometimes, it was even scary because the apartment building we lived in wasn’t in the best neighborhood. So I tried to find a way to be safe and occupied until the time was close for my mother to arrive home each night.
That safe place for me was the local library, only four blocks from my apartment.
School would let out at 3pm every day and I’d make the eight block trek to the library, head to the children’s section, do my homework in the quiet of the place, and then when I was finished, I’d choose a book or two and start reading.
After about a week, the library ladies noticed me. And in a good way. Back then, the local librarians were all women in their 40s and 50s, many of whom were mothers or grandmothers, most with degrees in Library Science back in the day when the Dewey Decimal system ruled. They would quiz me on why I was at the library and not out with friends playing, or home. I explained the situation about my mom working in the city and that I didn’t like going home to an empty apartment. I never felt a moment’s shame or a scintilla of nerves at speaking to these women about private family matters. These days, kids shouldn’t because there are predators around every corner. But back then, I simply knew these women wouldn’t harm me in any way.
And they didn’t.
What they did was take me under their wings, foster my love of reading, and give me a safe, welcoming place to be me. I still consider a Library one of my favorite places to go. Whenever I travel, I make a point of visiting local or even famous libraries in the area. Just walking into a building that houses thousands of works of literature makes my heart sing.
So, this week is National Library Week. I have a few questions for you…
~do you have a library card?
~do you participate in library book sales?
~do you know that the current administration is slashing federal funds to libraries ( including everything else they don’t deem worthy) and that every library exists mostly by those funds?
~do you donate your used books to libraries?
~simply…do you support your local library in any way you can?
My follow-up to every one of those questions is….You should!
Celebrate National LIbrary Week with me.
(I could have made this post uber political and talked about banned books, the way librarians and libraries are being threatened in real time by magaholes and extreme right wing crazies, but I wanted it to be a positive piece on an institution that should be valued, exalted, and saved by any means possible.)
~Happy Reading, kids ~Peg
Peggy Jaeger, Author 