In Praise of Libraries
I am married to a Libertarian. Fortunately, his actual heart does not follow his politics, as he operates more from a "to whom much is given, much is expected" point of view than heartless capitalist, but a constant skepticism of anything government-run or paid is pretty typical around here.
Poor guy. And here he is married to a feminist who advocates universal preschool, Title IX, Sesame Street funding, Medicaid, and . . .
. . . oh my goodness, public libraries.
Sure, I come from the college and university libraries, the kind where Jefferson is still referred to as Mr. Jefferson (even if tongue in cheek), the kind where reading rooms are thoughtfully decorated, the kind where any book on earth can be sent to me.
Post college, post grad school, I rediscovered the public library, which I hadn't used since my elementary and middles school days (hello, Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High). It turned out that my DC residency was valid within the Montgomery County (Maryland) library system. With a library a few blocks from my work, the world of FREE books opened up to me again!
I read 53 books last year. I'm on track to read around 75 in 2015. Believe you me, libraries save me a TON of money. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars each year.
And children! You get to be the hero when a kiddo says, "Mommy? Can I check out this book?" and you can say YES because . . . it's free. If it's a crappy book, we'll just return it with the next return batch. No harm done.
With a branch in my teensy town that is connected to the HUGE county system, I have access to all those books, including digital and audio titles. Isn't that amazing? If I hear of a great new children's book, I can order it for Charlotte.
And the thing is . . . . anyone can use the library! It facilitates exactly what literacy and literature should, which is access to stories and information and histories and knowledge.
Libraries SHOULD be free. Everyone should have access to a library.
I appreciate a well-paved road or park funded by my tax dollars, but I REALLY appreciate public libraries. They just seem so fundamentally RIGHT. I love them. Oh, sure, you might not have signs on the doors of the libraries at Yale with lists of rules of how to not be obnoxious or crazy. But still. There's something so FAIR about public libraries. And for the record, only the big libraries have the LIBRARY RULES signs on their doors. Our tiny one? Not so much.
A few weeks ago, I was at our small local library (surprise, surprise), picking up some books I had on hold (surprise, surprise), and I overheard a conversation between a man with stilted English and the librarian at the circulation desk. As a county resident, he could get a library card? Yes. And he could check out whatever books and movies he wanted? Yes. And his kids, too? Yes. And it was free? Yes. How many items at a time? One? Two? The limit is 125 items. (125!) All he had to do was fill out this little form here. He looked like he had won the lottery.
Libraries serve a purpose. They don't just save cheap people like me moolah at Amazon. They're vital for so many people.
And on that (for once, relevant) note, here's what we've been reading at our house.
Charlotte and I just finished Betsy-Tacy and Tib. I MAY have had to quickly photocopy the last 20 pages, as the book was due back at the library with no renewals left. I liked this book even better than the first one. OBVIOUSLY, we'll read the third. Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are so spunky and creative, and their friendship is so innocent and sincere. These are just adorable books.
Me, I finished Toddlers Are Assholes, which was a fun, super funny, effortless read. Chris found some of the parts I read out loud to be contrived, but that just proves he doesn't deal with the toddler brunt like moi. I also finished Jane Austen's Persuasion, which was brilliant OF COURSE. And I also finished Ruth Reichl's Delicious!, which was overall very enjoyable, a few clunky plotting points aside. Delicious! is an absolute must-read for foodies. I guess it's not surprising that my chef-aunt was the one who recommended it.
Three books all wrapped up by the end of the week. I think that means I'm ready for my beach reads!
Poor guy. And here he is married to a feminist who advocates universal preschool, Title IX, Sesame Street funding, Medicaid, and . . .
. . . oh my goodness, public libraries.
Sure, I come from the college and university libraries, the kind where Jefferson is still referred to as Mr. Jefferson (even if tongue in cheek), the kind where reading rooms are thoughtfully decorated, the kind where any book on earth can be sent to me.
Post college, post grad school, I rediscovered the public library, which I hadn't used since my elementary and middles school days (hello, Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High). It turned out that my DC residency was valid within the Montgomery County (Maryland) library system. With a library a few blocks from my work, the world of FREE books opened up to me again!
I read 53 books last year. I'm on track to read around 75 in 2015. Believe you me, libraries save me a TON of money. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars each year.
And children! You get to be the hero when a kiddo says, "Mommy? Can I check out this book?" and you can say YES because . . . it's free. If it's a crappy book, we'll just return it with the next return batch. No harm done.
With a branch in my teensy town that is connected to the HUGE county system, I have access to all those books, including digital and audio titles. Isn't that amazing? If I hear of a great new children's book, I can order it for Charlotte.
And the thing is . . . . anyone can use the library! It facilitates exactly what literacy and literature should, which is access to stories and information and histories and knowledge.
Libraries SHOULD be free. Everyone should have access to a library.
I appreciate a well-paved road or park funded by my tax dollars, but I REALLY appreciate public libraries. They just seem so fundamentally RIGHT. I love them. Oh, sure, you might not have signs on the doors of the libraries at Yale with lists of rules of how to not be obnoxious or crazy. But still. There's something so FAIR about public libraries. And for the record, only the big libraries have the LIBRARY RULES signs on their doors. Our tiny one? Not so much.
A few weeks ago, I was at our small local library (surprise, surprise), picking up some books I had on hold (surprise, surprise), and I overheard a conversation between a man with stilted English and the librarian at the circulation desk. As a county resident, he could get a library card? Yes. And he could check out whatever books and movies he wanted? Yes. And his kids, too? Yes. And it was free? Yes. How many items at a time? One? Two? The limit is 125 items. (125!) All he had to do was fill out this little form here. He looked like he had won the lottery.
Libraries serve a purpose. They don't just save cheap people like me moolah at Amazon. They're vital for so many people.
And on that (for once, relevant) note, here's what we've been reading at our house.
Charlotte and I just finished Betsy-Tacy and Tib. I MAY have had to quickly photocopy the last 20 pages, as the book was due back at the library with no renewals left. I liked this book even better than the first one. OBVIOUSLY, we'll read the third. Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are so spunky and creative, and their friendship is so innocent and sincere. These are just adorable books.
Me, I finished Toddlers Are Assholes, which was a fun, super funny, effortless read. Chris found some of the parts I read out loud to be contrived, but that just proves he doesn't deal with the toddler brunt like moi. I also finished Jane Austen's Persuasion, which was brilliant OF COURSE. And I also finished Ruth Reichl's Delicious!, which was overall very enjoyable, a few clunky plotting points aside. Delicious! is an absolute must-read for foodies. I guess it's not surprising that my chef-aunt was the one who recommended it.
Three books all wrapped up by the end of the week. I think that means I'm ready for my beach reads!
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