Much as I don’t want to sound like the old guy starting a story with “When I was a kid…” and immediately eliciting eye rolls from the younger generation, it really is appropriate here.
When I was a kid…further back than the days when Amazon was just a bookseller (“What? Amazon used to only sell books?”)…even back before the existence of chain bookstores…one of the easiest ways for kids to get their hands on a book was the Scholastic book orders in school. But an even better route was the public library, where the books were free.
I use the past tense “were free,” but obviously it’s still the case today, and before I continue, stop and think about that for a moment.
Free books.
You don’t get to keep them, but you don’t have to pay to “rent” them. Our library even stopped charging late fees. I’m struggling to think of anything else in modern society that matches that.
Not only could I get free books, but I could check out movies as well
So the library was a great friend to a young avid reader like myself. After college, I admittedly lost track of the library, but years later, when I moved back to Utah as a single man with no friends – well, no single, childless friends – I rekindled my love affair with the Cedar City library after I discovered they had upped their game. Not only could I get free books, but I could check out movies as well. In those pre-Netflix days (I know, I know…there I go again), on nights when nothing else was going on and I didn’t want to go out to a bar full of strangers who were either too young or too old, a movie was the perfect solution.
A couple years later, I joined the ranks of the “married with children,” and going to library became even more magical. The library is perfectly situated next to the city park. What better way to spend a summer afternoon than carousing on the playground and then winding down in the cool quiet of the library?
Our library isn’t sterile and stuffy. It’s airy and open, with tall ceilings and a wall of windows that looks out on the playground and the mountains east of town. The dedicated kids’ section has little nooks for reading books (that sounded like a Dr. Seuss sentence) and is cloistered away from the rest of library, safe enough that you can feel comfortable letting your kids roam the aisles.
When my kids were little, it wasn’t unusual to leave with at least a dozen children’s books that would be on the bedtime reading roster until our next trip back. And sometimes we loved a particular book enough that we would buy it for our personal library…often from the kids’ Scholastic book orders (but we also have a great independent bookstore).
As my kids grew older, our trips to the library together became less frequent, and soon they started going on their own. But a few years ago, I remembered my old friend when I needed a new book but my shelves at home were tapped. It wasn’t that I had a shortage of ideas of what to read next; most of us have a TBR list, with friends and family often wanting to add books to our lists. I want to trust all my friends and family, but let’s be honest, some recommendations are stinkers, and many of them never make it off my TBR list, especially if it means I have to buy another book for my already overcrowded shelves.
“Not a lot of money” + “Not a lot of space” = “If you like it that much, friend, you’ll have to loan it to me.”
And then I remembered the library – the “friend” that was always willing to loan a book to me.
There had been a particular recommendation on my TBR list for quite some time, largely because I was on the fence about it (name of book and friend who recommended it redacted to protect the innocent…or at least the feelings of the innocent), and on a whim, I checked the library. Ta-da!
Not every book I’ve sought is at my local library, but I’ve been able to find enough to keep me occupied
I have since found several books at the library recommended by friends, family, various forums, or lists, including my own TBR. To be certain, sometimes I’ve had to wait for one of the few copies of a particularly popular book if all of them were already checked out. And not every book I’ve sought is at my local library, but I’ve been able to find enough to keep me occupied. And although I’m not an audiobook or ebook reader, the library’s addition of those options has expanded its offerings considerably.
And just because I was curious, I called the library to find out what would happen if waiting for a checked-out book (which can be hard in today’s instant gratification world), picking another book, reading an ebook, or listening to an audiobook just wouldn’t work for me. I learned that I can request that the library order a book to add to their shelves (not necessarily a guarantee), or for the low price of $3, I can get an interlibrary loan, where the closest library that has the book sends it to my library in Cedar City so I can read it.
Speaking of today’s world and coming full circle, that’s a pretty amazing service that you don’t get very often (although now that I’ve said it twice, someone will certainly comment with other examples).
And if I love a book, I can choose to buy it for my personal collection (and loan it out to friends when I make a recommendation). And if I don’t love it, I’m not overburdening my already overburdened shelves with books that don’t “spark joy.”
Marie Kondo would be so proud.
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Paul D. Dail 