My Second Favorite L-Word

My daughter and I went to our local library yesterday. I love libraries. Ever since I was a little girl, I feel an overwhelming sense of peace, tranquility and happiness, when I am in a library. It had admittedly been a while since we had been to our library. I’m as guilty as anyone, being a victim to my own need for instant gratification and downloading books to my Kindle and even being outraged if the books don’t download correctly or fast enough. In fact, earlier in the day, before my daughter asked me to take her to the library, I had already downloaded a mystery to read, and truthfully, I was half-hearted about going to the library, until I got there, of course. Then, I didn’t want to leave.

A few years ago, our local library held an essay contest asking kids to write their visions of what libraries in the future would look like. I remember pondering that question myself, and sadly wondering if libraries would even exist anymore, at least anywhere close to the form that we have always known them. Even bookshelves are becoming passe’ and apparently are not particularly desired features of new, modern houses. Anyway, my youngest two children entered the contest. Neither of them won a prize, but I did think that my youngest son’s essay was really quite interesting. He is a very good writer and he has a vivid imagination. My son envisioned libraries in an Apocalyptic time and frankly, the essay was a bit dark. I imagined that the judges of the essays (mostly volunteer retirees) might have been a bit disturbed and maybe even concerned about our parenting style, but at the same time, they secretly may have also liked a break from reading about robots cleaning shelves and floating comfort chairs. Those items seemed to be the common theme of most of the winners. Still, what struck me about my son’s essay, is that the library was the sanctuary, the safe-place, and the only place where life was still teeming. Perhaps that is what will ensure a library’s place well into the future. Who doesn’t like a communal place of calm, a place of universal interest and learning, where we can all be together, but also in our own worlds – in peaceful gratefulness and understanding, immersed in all of the mysteries of life?

“When in doubt, go to the library.” – J.K. Rowling

“When I got my library card, that’s when my life began.” – Rita Mae Brown