Magazine Room at the Whitman College Library |
On occasion, the room was deserted. Even as a child I was acutely aware of rooms
devoid of adults and chattering kids.
Those were the times when I could pull a book from the shelves, any book,
sit on the floor and wander off into fairytale worlds. Eventually, my mom would return from shopping
and retrieve my sister and me from the tall wooden stacks in the pink stucco
public library. I would always carry
home a small pile of books to read in the solitude of my home.
Whitman College students have not returned yet, so last week
when I found myself only a block away, I made a small detour in my route. I
crossed campus from the parking lot and entered the front door of the library, taking
an immediate left into the light-filled magazine room. When I worked nearby at the childcare center, I would catch
myself making the promise that upon retirement, I would visit the library
often. I think about it, but haven’t yet
gone as frequently as I would like to go.
I appreciate paper clips, rocks, a cat’s purr, clean
underwear and libraries. Even busy
libraries suit me. I find it pleasing
that in an era when it seemed that books might become passé new libraries are
being built. Stunning ones.
Entrance to Montreal's Reserve Book Room |
Art Exhibit in Montreal's Library |
View from Seattle's Main Branch Library |
Hallway in Seattle's Main Library |
In November, I was in Vancouver, Washington visiting a friend
and had the opportunity to go to a new library.
On a Friday evening, every floor was humming with people. The children’s area was packed- a great
combination of play area with visually appealing displays of books. It wasn’t the quiet room of my childhood
library, but I think that I would have found books anyway. The words up the lobby wall were inspiring
enough. I can imagine a small child
looking up at those huge incomprehensible letters in code and wishing to be
able to decipher them.
The Whitman Library remained quiet my entire stay. I left without a stack of books. But in my head, my brain was still busy shelving
new ideas, old words and gratitude for libraries.
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