“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.”
— Mark Twain
The library seemed a bit formidable as I pulled the heavy door open. I stepped inside, surveyed the room, and moved toward the large desk that looked like a help station. I love libraries and respect them. I’ve supported them and even served on two Friends of the Library boards. I’ve been a reader to children and dressed in costumes, but it’s been a long time since I’ve actually used a library. I decided to use the library.
When I stopped using the library, books could be checked out for only seven days, maybe 14. It caused me great angst to think I might not finish the book before its due date. Racing through a book to meet a deadline lessened my joy of reading, so I bought books and eventually gave them away or donated them to the library. Now, I vowed to allow for more reading time and I would not be stressed by deadlines.
The young woman at the desk wore a name tag identifying her as Lynn. I leaned in toward Lynn and said, “I haven’t used the library in a long time and I need you to help me. I know that you don’t have card catalogs anymore so … how do I find books?”
“Over there,” she pointed, “is a computer and you can look them up.”
I turned and saw a lone computer and chair. I remembered how beautiful card catalogs were. Seems they were always made of golden oak with tiny little drawers. One set of drawers had cards arranged by authors and the other set cards arranged by subjects. I miss card catalogs.
Lynn ushered me to the computer and quickly demonstrated how to find books. She noted I now had access to many other libraries’ books and could request them. I saw several book titles that were old and out of print; I would now be able to read those.
Next, we toured the library stacks with Lynn explaining how the books were shelved, I noticed a “large print” section. I strolled through fiction, which I rarely read, picking out some Alexander McCall Smith for light reading. I toyed with some E.F. Benson as I had seen an online book chat featuring the “Queen Lucia and Miss Mapp” series.
At the service desk, I pulled out my library card and declared, “I think this is pretty old.”
Lynn agreed, “You’ll have a new card; it can be used online. You’ll have an account and can access it from your computer.” She showed me my account number and password. She brought it up on her desk computer, swung the screen around, and pointed out what all I could do from home. I’d be instantly connected to the library.
OK, maybe the card catalog couldn’t do all that.
I’ve returned to the library several times since, growing more familiar each time. I take chances on titles as they are free for the taking, can be easily returned, and exchanged for more.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
