The local library.

If I were my own best friend I would tell myself to…

Join the library.

***I love my local library. I love that it is full of books and magazines and DVDs and tapes. I love wandering the stacks and finding a book about Colombian cooking, then one on crafting with clay, followed a few aisles down by one about the mechanics of motorcycles. I love the groups of toddlers sitting on the floor in the kids section listening to a kind man read a book aloud. I love the group of older men that sit around a giant table in the back corner and boisterously debate the features and flaws of the latest book they have read about a crusader trying to save the world in 2050 while getting the girl and developing a cure for cancer from a rare plant in the rain forest. I especially love that they get so passionate the librarian has to come back and ask them to “quiet down.” 

I love that a library card is relatively easy to obtain and is basically a passport to learning and adventure. If your local library doesn’t have what you are looking for there’s a pretty good chance they can borrow it from another library nearby, and voila – the book is yours to check out! 

I even love that odd smell books sometimes have when they come from an old library. You know what smell I’m talking about… it’s that odd mix of paper and ink and being a well-loved book that has been read by so many and maybe has not seen a lot of sunlight. 

I am saddened to read (more frequently these days it seems) that library membership is down, usership by actual members seems to be down, and budget cuts are threatening closure of libraries. Whenever I am at the local library it always seems busy, but what do I know?!? I simply want to say, if you are not a member of your local library, please consider joining (it’s free)! If you are member, please consider using it (it’s also free, unless you return things late)!

Happy reading! Happy adventuring! Happy learning!