Ssssh... Speaking Of The Library

The bumper sticker says I ♥ My Library. It's stuck to a car that belongs to one of my neighbors. I don't know which neighbor. I've never seen the car's owner. I do know one thing though, we'd have something in common: I ♥ My Library too. In fact, I go to the library more often now (as an adult) then I ever did as a kid.

As a kid, my library card gave me entry to ONE branch library. In Bellevue, Nebraska. The two biggest downers were that it was small and you had to drive there. This was long before I could drive, but long after the days when I could read. I didn't go often. And I was annoyed that the only reason I couldn't check out books in Omaha branch libraries, was because I lived in a certain country that belonged to Bellevue, not Omaha-- which, being a much larger metropolitan area, had numerous branch libraries. Sometimes, I'd sneak by and check out books at an Omaha library but I had to lie and give my grandmother's address. This worked until they started requiring address verification with a drivers license or utility bill. Gosh darn it. I was boomerang-ed back to Bellevue.

Today things are different. In Los Angeles, I can walk to my local library. I go all the time. Probably more often than I need to (or should), but hell, I'm making up for lost time. And when I've exhausted the books in the English language section-- I can choose between a number of other branches nearby. The Los Angles Public Library System is quite extensive. I can check out books, CDs and DVDs at any of these branches I'd like, including Central Library in Downtown L.A.

As bookstores continue to disappear, a library remains a treasured, beautiful place. Sure, we can sit at home and surf the internet and read books on our Kindles and text people we may never get around to actually seeing. The library, however, is a place of community-- a meeting place where children and adults alike can learn about the world in which we live.

I always chat with the librarians there. They all recognize me. No matter how many times I go there, I always discover something new. I lucked out last time. Currently, I have several books by Alice Munro and the book, I Found This Funny, edited by Judd Apatow. If you haven't visited your local library lately, I suggest you do. Because a library is something you may not miss until it's gone, but a world with no libraries is a world I don't want to see.

The Los Angeles Public Library

©2011 by KLiedle