Since I can remember, I have always had a fondness for the library. The smell of the books, albeit musty at times, the crinkling of papers, the whispered conversations, and the now-obsolete but then very important subtle thwack of the library stamp hitting the ink pad and depositing its return date on your book, all added to the specialness of the place. And if you were so fortunate to have a smile thrown your way from an unusually happy librarian, which was just icing on the cake. Owning a library card was like owning a very unique key. A key that could open up doors to all kinds of places, real & imagined.
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| Nehru library |
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| Nehru library |
During rare occasions and living situations, I could actually walk to the library. It soon became apparent however, that my mountain of books few selections were too much for me to carry in one trip and required the use of a car or some such thing. Before my children were born, I would often use my lunch hour (when I
worked 'outside the home' - what's that? - don't recall it now
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| Nehru library |
ha!) to wolf down the contents of my brown bag and race over to the library and spend as many minutes remaining perusing the stacks of books. With my arms laden with treasures, I would race back to work in the knick of time and wait until the end of the work day so I could merrily drive home and anticipate the leisurely time with which I could look at, drool over & read (once in awhile) my loot.
The habit only continued after having babies. When my children were preschoolers, the library offered a quiet place to study and to breathe. On a weekday evening or part of a Saturday afternoon, I would leave my husband in charge of the children and steal away to the library for some alone time. Of course, I still came home with a truckload of free items that I had borrowed with my library card. The only difference was that my arms became heavy with picture books and reading books and easy readers and books on tape.
When my children were old enough to
realize that every book on the library shelves did not have to be taken
off its shelf to stand on or to throw, and they finally decided that they'd
rather actually read a book rather than play with the toys in the kids'
area, they accompanied me to my favorite place. Getting their very own
library card was a big deal with some minor pomp & circumstance added in
accordingly. And practicing our 'library voice' was also a big deal so as to
not upset the librarians. On our Library Day visit, we would traipse
together into the world of imagination or reality, depending on which genre of
book we/they/I chose. My children were happy with their selections; I was happy
with a quiet and free outing.
That is, until the library fines!
But this post is not for mentioning
that. This post is about how wonderful and free (minus fines) the
library is. It offers lots of things to read watch and do for people of
all ages. (I've only scratched the surface as to what our present library
offers.)I still have a Library Day
once in a week even though the actual day might change from week to week.
I still return home with boatloads of
books .
Really, our Nehru library is a great
'invention'. And the University
xoxo
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