Library Love by Joan Schottenfeld

Some people love movie theaters, concert halls, the beach. I love libraries. As long as I can remember there has always been a library in my life that was my second home. I remember feeling so alone during my freshman year in Israel at the University of Haifa. I felt out of sorts, out of place, out of comfort, so I headed for the university library. I sat on the carpeted floor amidst the rows of books and cried. But when I stopped, I looked up at the spines arranged so perfectly, one book after another, hundreds of rows, and felt comforted. I was in a world of books and I felt safe.

A future library lover

I was lucky. Growing up in Brooklyn, there was a library practically on every corner. True, they were small branch libraries, but that didn’t matter. There were still more books than I could ever possibly read. My memories are filled with librarians who were always welcoming to a small kid, smiling when the tower of books that I was checking out threatened to spill over onto the floor. I think there was a limit to the number of books that I could take home, but I was never told to put anything back on the shelves. The sound of the librarian’s stamp on every book was the sweetest music in the world.

The main library on Eastern Avenue was overwhelming. I was thankful for my mom’s safe hand leading me up the long staircase. The rooms were large and sunlit and I would sit in a corner with Mom as she read me book after book.

When I was 4, I practiced and practiced until I could write my name so that I could claim the greatest treasure of all — my own library card. Mom and I walked up to the librarian’s desk and I told her that I wanted a card. She asked me if I could sign my name. When I nodded, she passed me a card with a line printed on the bottom. I carefully formed each letter praying that it would pass her test. When she stamped it and congratulated me on my first card, I clutched it all the way home, lost in my own book glow.

When I was a senior in high school, the New York City schoolteachers went on strike. Schools were closed for three months. During those months parents tried to create off-campus classrooms, but most of us were at miserable, restless, loose ends. Our senior year was becoming a disaster. My haven during all of this was, of course, the library. I would spend my days there reading, studying, trying not to fall behind. It was my oasis.

When I arrived at Brooklyn College, I gasped at the size of the library. Floors and floors of magazines, journals, records, and of course books. But soon my sanctuary had a different purpose. College brought research papers and information that had to be unearthed. I could no longer simply browse the shelves looking for what interested me; now I had to find facts to fill my papers with.

At first I was resentful that my joy had become work, but soon I found a different kind of pleasure, playing literary detective. If I had a thesis, I had to prove it. It was a new challenge and I plunged in.

But once I had my kids, libraries changed again. There was story time, arts and crafts, and films and music. It became a place to meet parents and exchange ideas. A place for Lisa and Mariel to meet other kids and to listen entranced to the soft librarian’s voice weaving tales and poetry. It was their turn to carry towers of books home. And the Canton library’s tiny, underground children’s room became their second home.

Over the years the library has changed once again, keeping up with our community. Books are just a part of what is offered. When you walk through the doors of the Canton Public Library you can borrow an audio book, a film, a museum pass, obtain a passport, use the computers (or learn how to use them), learn to knit or scrapbook, or join us in our Maker Space where you can use our Cricut machine for your creations. If you wish, you can join one of our seven book clubs for all ages, day or night. You can read the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal or simply sit quietly in a corner and read.

We have games for you to take home, hotspots and laptops if you need one. Last spring we started a seed catalogue housed in a much-loved old-fashioned card catalogue.

Have you wanted to learn a new language? Sign into Mango or join us Monday or Wednesday evening for Italian lessons.

The future brings us Tai Chi classes and two new grants that will offer cooking classes and the “Access to Justice Initiative,” which will provide assistance to people who need to attend virtual court appointments.

For me, the library is both past and future. And now that I have recently become a brand-new grandparent, its future is more important to me than ever. I want my little Rosie to always have a library in her life, because for her parents and grandparents, libraries have always been the very center of their lives.

Joan Schottenfeld is currently running for re-election to the Library Board of Trustees.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=123080

Posted by Joan Florek Schottenfeld on Mar 29 2024. Filed under As You Like It, Featured Content, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.