Thursday, November 17, 2011

Day 321, November 17

Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that
of an ignorant nation.
- Walter
Cronkite

Some of my happiest childhood memories involve my sister and me piling in the car and our mother taking us to the library. We scoured through the books, finding treasures such as Little Women, The Scarlett Pimpernell, and Robin Hood. We devoured those and others. Such trips to the library were a regular part of our lives.

Fast forward fifteen years. I was a young mother with two little toddlers. Again, libraries played an important part in our lives. Every week, a friend and I took our children to the library's story hour. There, the children listened as dedicated librarians read aloud stories.

When I started writing, libraries played a new role in my life as I researched any and all topics. Librarians helped me mine for obscure bits of information, those golden nuggets finding their way into my stories and articles.

So, for today, I am grateful for libraries.

2 comments:

  1. I believe it was inspiration that led to the idea of a lending library. I really do. Think of the cost of books, even now that they are cheap. I could never afford to buy everything I want to read. It would be difficult for me to justify going exploring through new books at such a cost. Besides, I suspect that the availability of books at libraries keeps the cost of books lower than it would otherwise be.

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  2. I'm grateful that you took us to the library and encouraged us to read.

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