My Ode to the Public Library

I don't know why people think that libraries are going out of favor - as if they are some dying relic of days gone by.  Before 2008 it seemed like there were a few posts and articles out there about it.  Probably not so much any more with the downturn in the economy and all.  Me?  I've always been a fan of the library.

I suppose if you read a book or two every now and again you might not appreciate the value of savings the library represents.  I tend to read a book every couple of days or so when the mood hits.  I've always been a fast reader - partly I suppose because if it catches my interest I am unable to put it down until I finish it, but mostly because I can read quickly.  You might think that once you have children reading books for your own pleasure would be out of the question.  Surprisingly I've found that not to be the case - you'd be amazed at the time you can find along the way.

Nursing mothers for instance often find themselves graced with a comparatively abundance of time.  There are evenings after J and L have gone off to bed that I start out laying in bed next to Baby M as she drifts off to sleep while nursing.  While I enjoy gazing into her eyes more often than not, sometimes it's nice to use a bit of the time for yourself.  Using the computer is certainly a possibility, but since I prefer to nurse her while lying down that's typically out of the question.  Reading a book, though, requires no special equipment and no electricity either.  During the winter I find this particularly appealing.  Who could pass up on cuddling in bed with baby while the wind howls outside your window.  More often than not even after the little bean has fallen asleep I choose to remain there listening to the cadence of her breath, my eyes following the words on the page in sync.

When I was younger the books I read were usually works of fiction heavy on the Christian schmaltz (Janet Oke and Lori Wick to name two).  To some degree High School and even more so college and it's prerequisite English courses broadened my horizons a bit.  The introduction of literary analysis and the assigned works ("My Antonia", "Anna Karenina", and "Glengarry Glen Ross" for just a few) deepened my passion for reading.  Nowadays you'll find me in the non-fiction section, though I'm thankful my love for a good story more often than not can still be met.

I have this tendency to read a bit from several different books.  Sometimes I'll be reading three or four books at once.  Other times I'll have a couple of pages read here and there in a few books before one in particular catches my attention while leaving others in the dust.  On the top of my dresser you'll find "Green Metropolis", "Simplicity Parenting", "An Altar in the World", "The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter: A Memoir", and "The Road to Big Brother: One Man's Struggle Against the Surveillance Society".  One I've read before, a couple I've made some headway in and the rest wait in the wings.  On my nightstand you'll find "Do-Over!: In which a forty-eight-year-old father of three returns to kindergarten, summer camp, the prom, and other embarrassments", "Eating: A memoir", "Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land", and "The Mom & Pop Store: How the Unsung Heroes of the American Economy Are Surviving and Thriving" (yes, I know I'm breaking the rules by putting the commas outside of the quote marks - I don't like the way it looks when you do it the "right" way).

Having access to a public library enables me to read far more than I'd ever be able to if I had to buy each book individually.  I also appreciate the fact that I don't have to store any of the books once I've finished them - let alone figure out what to do with a dud.  I can be reckless with my choices because if I don't appreciate it I can always return it.  Inter-library loan is even more special to me as I've often been able to track down slightly more odd titles or at the very least a wider variety than any of the libraries in our system could themselves realistically afford.

Talk to my kids about going to the library and they'll likely tell you about all the puzzles there are to play with there.  Well, that or tell you about the trucks and other vehicles they've checked out.  You know, those large wooden vehicles that were it not for the generosity of a certain Uncle we'd never be able to purchase.  Before his gift of the wooden semi we only experienced these kinds of toys for a few weeks at a time.  Typically a trip to the library begins with a visit to the puzzles and the big wooden barn and ends with a jaunt over to the shelf where the wooden vehicles are kept.

Of course, talk to J about it during the Summer and he'll likely tell you about the large bag of books we bring home every week during the summer reading program.  Some of them chosen by me and others gleefully pulled from shelves by J or L.  There's no need to be stingy here (although a few less than appropriate choices, think advertising in disguise, find their ways back to the shelves without much notice) as the opportunities are vast.

As for Hubby - I'm not quite sure what his criteria are.  More often than not it seems you can find him in amongst the CDs or movies, though he's been known to bring a book or two home here and there.  Books on CD were a big favorite of his when he was driving 45 minutes one way to work.  Without the library none of it would be possible.

I read recently where one family talked about the wonderful worlds they've been introduced to through television, but to be honest I'd rather read a book.  That isn't because I somehow think that books are any less guilty of rampant commercialism (Frank Navasky's ramblings about the death of the mid-list novel in "You've Got Mail" come to mind - I'll leave it to you to mull over the irony of my using a movie as an example here given my less than enthusiastic thoughts on television) or our choices are any less pre-determined by a company's bottom line and profit margins, but rather because I appreciate it's pace.

Rather than being taken along by the quick cuts and fades all predetermined by someone else, I'm able to take things at my own pace.  Tracking back to reread a portion of a book is much simpler than trying to rewind to the exact spot in a VHS or DVD in my opinion.  Never mind the fact that you can't rewind a broadcast television show without specialized equipment or premium services - the same services necessary to view the "wealth" of shows out there mentioned by that particular blogger.  All of which require a certain level of affluence not necessarily in reach of all.  Of course, there is some loosening of some constraints given the recent influx of TV shows on DVD (though that still doesn't change my thoughts on television as it concerns my children - my parental philosophy diverges sharply from the blogger linked above).

There's just something about a book that appeals to me - a combination of sensory experiences when you consider the feel of the paper, weight of the book, and smell of the pages.  All of which is brought to me by my local library making me far richer in resources than possible on my own.