In praise of the public library
Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 12:14PM
www.carnegielibrariesiowa.org/library/sac-city/
Well, I missed it. National Library week was last week. How could I have let it slip by?
While my career centered around school libraries, I have been a devotee of public libraries since I was a kid. The photo above shows the old Carnegie Library in my hometown of Sac City, Iowa, looking much as it did in the 50s and 60s. Although I lived on a farm some nine miles out in the country, it seemed that I still was able to get to the public library every week.
Sitting on Main Street hill just a block or so west of downtown, the library was not exactly handipcapped accessible. There was a back entrance in an alley that required fewer steps, but the inside of the library was two stories. The lower level had the children’s section that I didn’t use much. It was the glorious second floor where I spent my time. The circulation desk was in the aisle that divided the east and west halves of the main floor. On the right was the card catalog with its separate drawers for title, author, and subject. As I remember, the non-fiction section was on the west, the fiction section on the east. Each section had a few tables where one could sit and read.
I was an avid reader of mysteries written for kids - Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, especially. I hit the science fiction section hard, Heinlien being a favorite. But what I remember checking out most were books from the library’s wonderful mythology section. Greek and Roman myths were my favorite, but I also dipped into Egyptian and Viking lore. One of my proudest days was when the librarian informed me that I had read every book in the mythology section that the library owned. If there was interlibrary loan in those days, I was unaware of it.
Until my retirement, I have to admit I had not been a big user of the public library as an adult. I took my kids to story hour in Mankato at times and I served on multi-type library advisory boards (being the school representative), but I rarely used the materials themselves. In fact, I wrote a rather critical editorial for the local paper, describing the things our Blue Earth County Library could learn from the newly opened Barnes & Noble bookstore. Embarrassingly, it happened to be published the same day the public librarian came to speak to the Kiwanis Club where I was a member. She gave me the cold shoulder as I remember.
Today’s library system here in Dakota County where I now live, is probably the best one I have ever encountered. The physical facilities are beautiful and open everyday and in the evenings. Their collections are superior and the librarians easily work with library cooperatives on interlibrary loan. As I have written about before, their digital collections, especially Libby, have saved me a lot of moola! Volunteers deliver physical materials to homebound users. Just before I retired, the Dakota system and my school district created a mutually advantageous plan that made sure every 6-12 student had their own “digital” library card that guaranteed fine-free checkouts.
The public library has come a long way since my childhood. May it continue to evolve and stay relevant when my great-great-grandchildren discover it.
Reader Comments (5)
I grew up in a small town with a tiny library and I was allowed to read anything from any section of the library by the wise and warm librarian. And I did. Mein Kampf in eighth grade, Scarlett Letter in seventh grade. That experience shaped my career as a librarian and my outrage at the current climate of banning books and the new censorship laws. Thank you, Mrs. Haley.
The health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries. —Carl Sagan
Hi Sara,
I can only hope the kids we served will have similar memories of the services we provided.
Doug
Great quote, Jim!
Hope you had a good Easter.
Thanks,
Doug
We had no library in our community, and no transportation to the nearest one. However, the bookmobile came every two weeks. We were allowed to check out as many books as we could carry home. I loved that bookmobile. It was a Godsend.
Joy,
Nice to know this post sparked some memories.
Doug