Sep 21 2008
matilda knew what was good for her
i always loved that her favorite place was the library and that it was what set her free. my impression is that all kids are well-seasoned library veterans, but i might be wrong about this nowadays. i know i went at least once a week to check out books, and videos, participate in events, and play games on their computer. there is absolutely nowhere else i can imagine giving access to timeless vhs gems such as the babysitters club (tv show), the paperbag princess, and oh, basically anything produced by random house. later i went on to volunteer at the library one summer, and now i still consider mself semi-involved by working at my university’s library. but nothing is quite as precious as a public library, with lovely crazy left-wing old ladies and children’s centers. my absolute favorite children’s center as a kid had a whole structure built with rooms that illustrated scenes from classic stories like homer price and charlotte’s web. it also had puppets. puppets in a public library are like an invitation to contract pink-eye, but still who can resist? in fact, the whole library was awesome because it looked like a greenhouse. i also remember transitioning from the children’s section to the young adult in that library. it was an almost guilty feeling like “is this stuff too old for me to read? with the library police come blow the whistle on me?” but it was nicely placed right next to the series such as nancy drew and goosebumps, which were like the nice safe area for kids who were on the cusp of moving into young adult. well back to the point, public libraries are the most lovely places on earth created by tax dollars. open to everyone, always temperature controlled, warm, safe, and providing an endless array of free entertainment. meeting someone who didn’t go to libraries as a kid makes me almost as sad as meeting people who say they don’t enjoy reading. which are typically probably the same people (i sense a correlation) and then i probably never see them again in my life. one of my teachers in middle school was like this. we were reading a novel out loud in a group and she mentioned that she never got used to reading shared books. apparently she always needed to read brand new books that were her very own when she was a kid and never got over that. what a sad life she must lead. i remember thinking that it was the most ridiculous thing i’d ever heard while she talked of it as if it were something to be proud of. books are always there, ready to provide so much for us whenever we deign to open them, but how often does a book really get read in its lifespan? why would she have an issue about having someone else read that book and sharing the wealth when it would otherwise be sitting on her (diamond) bookshelf? anyway back to my point…
once i found a business card in a library book and it simply said: “you are special”. that sums it up
