For the love of libraries

This is a love letter to libraries and the people who work in them

the library cards still in my possession. 8 years of military life will help you accumulate them really quickly.

I love libraries.

Over the years, I’ve accumulated library cards like talismans. Every time we move to a new place, the first thing I do is locate the closest library and get myself a card. Now that all 3 of my kids are old enough, I get them library cards, too.

I’ve had library cards in 7 states: Maryland, New York, Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Colorado, and Michigan. I’ve actually had 3 different library cards in New Mexico — 2 for the different towns we lived in and 1 for the library on the military base where we lived.

When we moved to Alamogordo, New Mexico, I got a library card even though I knew we’d only be there for 4 months. I really loved that library, too. It had an incredible kids section where I was first introduced to Fancy Nancy, where locals sometimes hid painted rocks among the books, and where my kids loved to play indoors when it was too hot or too dusty to be outside because they had a really cool playset in the middle of the kids section.

Libraries have always felt like a sanctuary and a welcoming space, no matter the politics of the town they exist within.

When we lived on the military base in Clovis, NM, we were the only Jewish family for miles — not just on base, but in the town as well. Clovis was likely the most aggressively white, Christian town we’ve lived in so far. My kids faced some real ugliness from fellow classmates and parents of “friends” and we didn’t have a local Jewish community to anchor into for support.

And yet, both the library on base and the library in town always had books with kids just like them. We found books about Sukkot and Rosh Hashana alongside books about Christmas. Although we have plenty of books like this at home (thank you forever to PJ Library), finding them in a public space in a town where no other kids were like them was a gift.

We also found books about kids who wear hijabs and kids with dads who wear turbans (hair twins). We found and read books about kids with eyes that kiss in the corners and kids named Thunder.

We lived in a town that lacked diversity, so the library brought diversity to them.

And the diversity isn’t just in different religions or cultures, but different body types and different abilities and different ways of existing in the world.

We found books featuring kids in wheelchairs or kids with body hair that is less conventionally accepted. We read books about knights who fell in love with one another and penguins who formed a family out of love. We read books about kids who don’t fit into typical gender norms and about kids who are bullied for how their bodies look. We read books about kids who struggled to read and kids who helped others learn how to read, too.

Libraries are some of the most inclusive spaces. Everybody’s stories are welcome. Everyone belongs.

What’s even better is that the opportunity to read other people’s stories, particularly stories about people who are different from you, is that your world expands. And your curiosity and compassion can expand with it.

Libraries offer us the opportunity to expand beyond our own experience, our own identity, our own community, and into something bigger.

Libraries are beautifully familiar everywhere you go, but also fantastically different.

I know that no matter what library I go to, I will find books. So many books. Board books and picture books, comic books and graphic novels, mysteries and romance, fiction and non-fiction.

There will be brand new, hot-off-the-presses books and beloved classics. Cookbooks and computer coding books.

Thanks to the Dewey Decimal system, they will all be organized in roughly the same way. You won’t find a thriller tucked away among biographies.

And while every library is organized in slightly different ways, there are many similarities. Brand new books are usually near the front. Movies usually are, too – at least in my experience. There are always smaller rooms for individual use. Computers for those who need them.

But every library has its own vibe.

Some are fancier and newer, while others are more worn in and a little shabby. Some have enormous kids sections that are often boisterous and colorful and full of kids. Some have massive music collections – I remember when I lived in NYC, my boyfriend and I would check out lots of different CD’s from libraries all across the city. It was one of the ways I expanded my musical knowledge without Napster.

The Cannon AFB library has an entire aisle of lego sets and board games you could check out. So does the library in Cheboygan, Michigan – which also has several fishing poles you can borrow if you need one.

I’ve been to plant swaps and seed swaps at various local libraries. One time I remember a woman brought in a few small trees!

One of the local library branches in the town I live in now has a plant section where you can take a plant or bring a plant — like a mini plant library. I haven’t been yet because it’s not the closest branch to me, but I’m planning on checking it when life is less busy in the summer.

A few of the libraries I’ve been to in places with large senior populations have extensive collections of large print books.

One of the libraries I used to go to even had art supplies you could check out.

Really good libraries are geared toward the needs of their communities, which is a beautiful thing.

Libraries are phenomenal public spaces for families.

Every library that I have ever been to has a children’s section. Some are small and contained, while others are huge with play areas for kids.

Most libraries also have regular events for kids and their adults.

Libraries have been a lifesaver for me in this way, particularly when I was in long stretches of soloparenting and needed something fun and easy and inexpensive to do with my kids to get them out of the house. I’ve brought all 3 of my kids to countless events at libraries in 4 states. When we lived in Florida, we’d go every Wednesday evening for whatever family event was scheduled. Sometimes it was learning about a specific topic, other times it was arts and crafts. Once they got to meet an astronaut!

At the library on Cannon AFB, they held themed events, decorating the entire library and with librarians dressing up as various characters from a book series. Once they did a Harry Potter day and had a scavenger hunt where they had to complete different HP related tasks, looking for clues hidden through the library. Another time it was Star Wars themed.

At the library off base, in Clovis, I brought my youngest to weekly preschool storytime with Miss Ashley. She read books to them, they played some simple games, and always did a craft at the end, connected to the theme of the books she read.

Afterward, the kids would play on the old, low-to-the-ground treehouse in the middle of the kids section. It’s a shabbier library, with well worn books but the kids didn’t care. They played happily, chasing each other around the treehouse and through the stacks. Before I was able to (finally) get my youngest into pre-k, this was one of the few opportunities she had to socialize with other kids her age. It was a gift.

In Cheboygan, my kids have gone to art classes, movies on the library lawn, nature hikes, and a foam party – all of it free. They’ve participated in the annual summer reading challenge, my 2 older kids even winning it one year. And one summer they got to hold a miniature alligator. Or crocodile. I can’t remember, even though I got to hold it, too!

Libraries are places that encourage children to explore and learn and create and connect. They celebrate kids, making them feel welcome and seen and allowed to exist in whatever way they choose.

I’ve also never heard a librarian actually shush a child.

Librarians are, in fact, some of my favorite people in the entire world.

They usually love books as much as I do, if not more and are enthusiastic book pushers.

Librarians love helping. They get legit excited when a kid (or an adult) asks them to locate a book. If the book isn’t on the stacks, they’ll help the kid request it. And then suggest other books they can read in the meantime, if they want.

They typically have fantastic memories, too. Either that or my kids and I are very memorable. It might be both. But still, in many of the libraries I’ve frequented in the past 8 years, at least one of the librarians there knows me or my kids by name. At the library on Cannon AFB, I rarely needed to use my library card. They just pulled up my account when I brought my stack of books to the counter. I even did a few book swaps with the head librarian there.

This is actually the only reason I don’t love self-checkout, which is a feature at so many libraries now. I can check out my own books without interacting with a librarian. And I love interacting with librarians. Inevitably when I bring my stack of books, they’ll comment on the books I’m checking out.
“Oh, I love this one — I used to read it to my kids.”
”I haven’t read this one yet, but I love this author. You’re going to have to tell me what you think when you return it.”
Comments like this spark conversation and connection and community.

Libraries make learning accessible.

The really incredible thing about libraries is that everything is free. Except maybe using the copy machine, which usually costs a quarter. And in some places, you actually have to pay for using the computers and the internet if you use them for more than a certain length of time (looking at you, NW Florida).

But otherwise, the entirety of the library is free to read and enjoy. You can stay for as long as you want to — or at least during the hours the library is open.

Technically, you don’t even need a library card to enjoy the library. You could simply come in, grab a book off the shelf and read it in the library.

The library is a great place to go on rainy days with kids if you can’t or simply don’t want to be in your house. I’ve done this more times than I can count.

I’ve also used the library several times when my internet went out and needed a place to work.

Libraries make reading, learning, and even working accessible to the general public. Libraries don’t discriminate, either. So long as you’re being respectful and quiet-ish, you are welcome to stay.

I think this is what the current administration is most afraid of because libraries not only make learning accessible, but libraries and the people who work there, ENCOURAGE LEARNING.

Knowledge is power. And not just knowledge, but critical thinking. The more you read and the more you have access to, the more curiosity you’ll have and the more questions you’ll want to ask. Reading gives you access to worlds outside of your own, which can give you the tools to think for yourself — instead of letting the words and ideas of others blindly guide you because it’s the only thing you know.

I’ve heard stories from numerous women who lived in abusive relationships, particularly within Christian fundamentalist cult-like communities, saying that reading is what actually saved their lives and helped them get away.

Libraries offer many different perspectives, not just one “government approved perspective.” This is a really good thing. And while this also means that sometimes you’ll find books written by or about terrible people with really problematic beliefs, it also means you can get a wide range of views to help you guide your own understanding of the world.

Remember that in fascist regimes, this sort of thing isn’t allowed. Only certain views, certain types of books, and certain authors are allowed, which limits what the public can freely learn, study, and discuss. And while we’re starting to see the beginnings of this now, with book bans and libraries losing federal funding, libraries are still holding strong.

Libraries are actually an excellent example of how public services actually improve the communities they are in because they benefit the entire community, serving as many people’s needs as they possibly can, without discriminating.

They don’t only serve those who can afford it.

They don’t serve those who pay more.

They don’t only serve people who think a certain way or hold preferred beliefs.

They serve the public good by making reading, learning, and community accessible to all.

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I’d love to hear your library stories in the comments. Please share them! Or share some of the amazing resources your local library offers to the community.

And you can head over to the What Moves You chat for some amazing stories and reflections some What Moves You readers have already shared with me!

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Libraries are currently in danger. Please reach out to your people in congress to remind them of how important libraries are to their communities. Share stories about how you use the library.

Other ways to support libraries:

Get a library card. Go to the library regularly. Use their services. If you are someone who has a particular skill, offer to teach a class to support the community. There are ways to donate to libraries, too, but please check your specific library branch for the best way to do this locally.

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(quick note: all of the links you see in the book review section are affiliate links at Bookshop.org and if you’re thinking about buying any of these, please consider using my links instead of using amazon. For one, I get a tiny commission when you use my links. But also important, bookshop.org directly supports small bookstores, which is of great value to me.)