I come from a family that loved libraries. My mom was a grade school librarian during much of my life. She continues at her residence community, having just coordinated the organization of the books at the Meadows Apartments.
Since Ellen and I lost the convenience of having our own internet access, we have spent considerable time in public libraries. While at the cabin at Big Lake Carnelian, we went to the newly renovated Stillwater Library.
In Saint Paul, we used the newly renovated Highland Library. We still get our digital books and audio books here.
Now in Topanga, we are spending a great deal of time at the new Topanga Library. Construction had not started when we moved away in 2009. Now it is a center of community activities. The artworks that adorn the building are very “Topanganesque.”
The facility itself is much more than books. It has become a focal point for the community offering everything from ukulele lessons, to writers workshops, to CD’s, to a place for kids to hang out after school, to parenting lessons, and yes, even books.
This trend to become much more than warehouses for books seems consistent across all of the venues we have experienced. Far from being a relic of the past, libraries seem to be emerging as more utilitarian and a major factor in community quality of life.
I too love libraries. I feel at home, even in a library I’m not familiar with. Getting my first library card as a kid was thrilling. My first ‘job’ was in the grade school library re-shelving books. The only place I go more often is the grocery store. My Kindle gets used occasionally, but I like to have a book in my hand and there is always a book in the CD player of my car. I volunteer at a library now, tutoring English and math to people working on Citizenship or GED’s. Today’s libraries offer outstanding resources for a community and BOOKS too!
Every up-island town on the Vineyard has a library which serves as a community center—-quilting bees, weekly lectures as well as toddler story time. And that is true in Burlington, NC too. Latina high school kids log on for assignments.
Forget internet cafes; the library will access the web for you. On road trips, we’ve visited libraries in small towns in New Mexico and Arizona where they just show you their Visitor Registry and set you up.