Okay, so I'm late to the party: National Library Week was last week, but I was too busy reading
then to stop and write a blog post. Now that I've finished my book, though, I want to spend a few paragraphs raving about that most precious
of public resources.
I won't bore you with the history of how
libraries came to be in most every city; let's just jump right to the fact that
they're there and if you're not taking advantage of
the one closest to you, you’re seriously missing out. First of all, your tax
dollars are helping sustain that library, so you ought to be reaping its
benefits. Second of all, you need to be setting a good example for your fellow
citizens by showing them how easy and rewarding it is to be a library patron.
And, finally, if you're not visiting your library on a regular basis, you are
missing out on so many marvelous things (books are only one of a library's many assets) that those of us who do visit on a regular basis should be
lined up murmuring laments on your behalf—but, sorry, we don't have time
because we're so immersed ourselves in said marvelous things. Also, it's pretty
hard to feel sorry for someone who doesn't take advantage of marvelous things
that are there, free, for the taking.*
In the last
month, my life has been forever changed by the three most recent books I've
read: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by
the Taliban, by
This weekend,
as I hungrily and regretfully finished the final chapter of The Invention of Wings, I found
myself thanking God for words, and language, and the edification and connection
that comes from written communication. We take it so for granted, but without
the ability to read and write, without words to read and write, our world would not
only be scary and confusing, it would be small and dull. I love nature and its
many manifestations, but is our experience with a bird's bright feathers and
merry song not enhanced by reading about that creature's lifestyle and unique
characteristics? Is our encounter with ocean and mountain not deeply enriched
by reading of others' encounters, as well?
I do not ever
take books for granted; reading has been among my greatest pleasures for my
entire life and I mourn the thought that, a hundred years from now, books and
bookstores—even libraries!—as we know them may not exist. All the more reason
to arise at this very moment and travel to a library near you to select a title
(or two . . .or three!) that will transport you to a place you've never been, a
place you dearly love, or a place you can only imagine.
See you in the
stacks!
*Alas, unless
you come on foot, you cannot experience the library for free at Greenville’s Hughes
Main Library. In what is an abomination akin to requiring payment to attend church,
one must pay to park at the downtown library. Therefore, I urge you to know
what titles you want so you can get in and out in under 15 minutes (no
charge!), go after 5 PM (no charge!), or patronize one of the branch libraries
instead.
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