Library Love

My personal journey

The following post is part of a Seed Pod collaboration about libraries. Seed Pods is a SmallStack community project designed to help smaller publications lift each other up by publishing and cross-promoting around a common theme. We’re helping each other plant the seeds for growth!

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 I am currently reading The Library Book by Susan Orlean, her love letter to this valuable institution.

My love of libraries goes back to summers before boys and cars were a high priority. The heat took my breath away as I walked the six blocks to the closest public library, nestled in the local elementary school on Washington Avenue, named appropriately Washington Grade School. The WPA built the building in 1937. This is a picture of the school as it looks now. Instead of a grade school, it's now a middle school. They also used to have massive wood doors. The public libraries were pulled out of the public schools around 1963 due to funding issues.

It had those creaky, scuffed wood floors with tables and chairs that were hard to sit on. However, I was just there to pick up my reading material and head home to our cool basement to relax on the couch with one of the books and a sweaty metal glass filled with Kool-Aid. In those days, there were no backpacks; we carried our finds in our arms. Unlike my sister, who loved Nancy Drew, I read a variety of books, but primarily teenage fiction. It’s funny that I can’t remember what I read, except for one book when I was a little older. It was about how friends could be family. I never knew how much I’d think about that theme over the years.

I started using the Central Library in Downtown Evansville in high school, where I caught the Bellemeade Street bus to Main Street. I walked a block to this massive Art Deco building that opened in 1932. It continued serving the city until the new, shiny, modern building opened just a few blocks away in 2004. The Children's Museum moved into the library building in 2006.

EVPL eBooks - The First 50 Years: EVPL, 1935

When approaching the library, I remember the large windows, much like those in the department stores that lined Main Street. They showcased ever-changing displays of new books or season-themed reading material, luring those passing by to enter. Once I walked through the front door, I'd head straight toward the card catalog area. It was encased in a wall, away from the enormous wood bookcases that lined the large rooms. If I had questions or needed a librarian to retrieve a book from the stacks (that place where the obscure books or old books lived), I would stop at the information desk.

My feelings about libraries changed a bit once I was in college. When not in class or working, I was in the University of Evansville library researching or reading. It was a beautiful place, but not where I wanted to spend my time.

After graduating from college, I spent most of my library time attending or hosting meetings in one of the libraries’ meeting rooms or teaching and attending art classes. Theresa, a librarian at one of the local libraries, found my art website and asked me to teach a few classes at the East Branch Library. They didn’t have funds to pay me, but it was a fun way to be part of the small art community she was forming. Marbling fabric was one of the classes I taught.

Although I continued reading, I focused on art magazines and books to increase my knowledge and skills. The publishers sent me many of the books to review on my website. Because of this, I didn't visit the library as I had in the past.

However, about ten years ago, I started visiting Willard Library when I was hit with the genealogy bug. It was built in 1885, and in addition to being a fascinating old building, the whole top floor is dedicated to genealogy. I can sit for hours at those long wood tables, with library lamps for each person pouring through the old books and maps. The staff here is so knowledgeable and helpful, too. It's a true treasure for this area. Oh, it's also said to be haunted by the "Grey Lady"! The website has several Ghost Cams where you can watch for her from home in the areas of the library.

For the past three years, I've visited my local library in Newburgh, Indiana, several times a month. Almost every morning, I spend 30 minutes reading with my first cup of tea and Molly, a perfect start to my day.

Libraries have changed over my lifetime from being all books and research to fun activities, classes, book clubs, computer stations, and even maker spaces. They are such an essential resource in our communities.

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