Weekend Writing: Appreciation for Libraries

What is your first memory of visiting a library? When I was a child, the library was a weekly treat for "story-time." We would attend the story hour, participate in a fun activity, and I would always come home with a few books.

I'd like to say this is where my fascination and love for reading truly began. It was fun to browse through the bookshelves, finding books that seemed interesting to me. I would bring them home, read them, return them, and then check out more books.

A children's library (photo/Ideas & Inspiration - Demco).

Then, when I started elementary school, one of my favorite days of the week was when it was "library day." We could go to the library, check out books, and I formed a close bond with the school's librarian. Students were selected to become librarian assistants, and I jumped at the chance to spend some time in the library. It was so much fun to check-in and check-out books, put books away on the bookshelves, and more. I was surrounded by books (my happy place) and I felt important.

Yesterday, February 14, was Library Lovers' Day, and I think everyone should show appreciation for libraries. Libraries allow us to explore the world, to learn a new skill, to create something new, to attend story-time, to research, and to hang out where ideas live. Libraries (and bookstores, for that matter) give me the same sense of comfort that my own home does.

(photo/greatex.org)

Libraries are important, and they have evolved over the years. My local library is nothing like it was when I attended story-time in the 1990s. Libraries have become community centers, where anyone (whether you like to read or not) can attend engaging events (often involving technology or crafts). Communities grow stronger within the walls of a library, and we grow stronger as a result.

"The dedication of a library is in itself an act of faith. To bring together the records of the past and to house them in buildings where they will be preserved for the use of men and women in the future, a nation must...above all, believe in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain in judgment in creating their own future." - President Franklin D. Roosevelt 

Libraries serve as a bridge between the past, the present, and the future. You can study the past by reading classic literature or observe important artifacts. You can witness the popular works of the present era, while engaging in fun community events. By doing so, you're creating a path towards the future--where libraries will continue to change and adapt to community demands.

I'm thankful for libraries and how they have always been a place of comfort. I fell in love with reading inside a library, and that passion has grown beyond what I could have possibly imagined. I discovered that books can take us anywhere in the world. We can become anyone we want and go on countless adventures.

(photo/Pinterest)

Let's grow to love and appreciate libraries. They have always been there for us--to help us know more about the world and ourselves. It's time for us to be there for them in return.

-KJL-