Remembering My First Library Visit
Libraries. Do you remember the first time you went to a library? I do. I don’t remember the book I checked out, but I do remember going.
Up until that magical day, libraries were grown up places and I was too young.
We were living in Bayard, NM and the nearest library was ten miles away in Silver City, NM. To drive to the library was a big deal. My mother would go to the library and take my older siblings, but I was not old enough yet.
Then one day I wasn’t too young and got to go with my Mom. I felt important. I’m sure I read the book I checked out over and over again. It was the start of a long relationship with libraries.
The Book Mobile
We used to have a book mobile come to our village too. I remember happy visits and checking out books. If a book was about horses or dogs, I was certain to be interested in it.
Speaking of book mobiles, I have a friend and fellow artist who used to be a book mobile driver/librarian. What a special job!
Buying Books Through School
Though I’m dating myself, I will say that there wasn’t a book store in our village. Periodically we could order paperback books through our school. I’d pore over the catalog and take my time in choosing the book I was allowed to order. It was special!
These were the days before computers and the internet changed our lives. And yet, I think libraries are still important, perhaps more so than ever.
Local Libraries
Local libraries are our communities’ repository for the written word. Thoughts, ideas, observations, musings and even gossip exists on the pages. Stories, pictures, histories, its all there. Rich and poor alike have access. The library is a “living” monument to what we think is important.
It did strike me as appropriate to be drawing and painting the library on September 11th. For me, the seeds of freedom can be sewn and nurtured in the library.
Our library in Talent is a branch of the local Jackson County Library System. It serves us well.