I only live a few blocks from the library, so I tend to go a couple of times a week. I'll drop off a book or two and pick up whatever holds have come in. My interactions with the librarians tend to be "hello" and "I have a couple of books on hold" and "you should try to get outside - it's lovely today" and "have you read this book?" and I try to just get in and out and cause no bother.
(I have a bit of a worry that the librarians are going to somehow block me from using the library. Like I use it too much. Or the wrong way. Or something. This is silly because they WANT people to use the resources, right? I think it's sort of left from when I was a child and the library was far away and my parents didn't really care if books were returned late and we always had late fees that we never paid. ANYWAY. I try to be inconspicuous at the library because I don't want them to notice me and maybe take away my library privileges, which is intellectually not going to happen, but emotionally I am an eight-year-old child.)
Today I was behind this woman. She was with her daughter. Her daughter was immaculately dressed in the happiest of spring fashions - a colorful tunic over some leggings and the cutest sandals. Her hair was braided. She was begging her mom to browse the shelves and her mom was joking with her about already having a dozen books at home. It was obvious that she was going to let her browse the shelves some more, though.
The mom herself was dressed in absolutely serviceable clothes - ripped jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair was a mess and when she smiled, it was obvious that she needed some dental work. One of her shoes had a hole in the toe. Now, I 100% assume that this woman came from work, picked her daughter up from school, and they headed to the library. I think these were her work clothes.
And that's what got me in the gut.
Here was this woman who was working so hard so that her daughter could have a beautiful spring outfit and be gleeful at the library. Her love and her pride in her daughter was so clear in their interactions. They both seemed so happy with one another and pleased to be together.
It was just a tiny moment in a small town.
What's the last small moment that gave you a jolt of happiness?
Love this vignette. And I love the library so much. I do sometimes worry if the librarians are judging me for all the books I order... but probably they aren't? I usually try not to bother them, but on the few times my kid has had requests or questions, they are SO helpful and lovely.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I'm picking up a stack of romance novels, I have to wonder if the librarians are giving me the a side-eye! I've never found any of our librarians less than helpful and they generally seem like wonderful people.
DeleteI never really have many interactions with the librarians, and sadly, I'm not there enough to worry they will ban me. lol. It is such a great place though. I'm really hoping to get over there a bunch with my boys this summer. My younger one has been reading a bit less than he used to, and it is concerning me. He used to read constantly....I don't want him to lose his love for it! Hoping maybe with some frequent trips/ a fun, fresh stack of books + some more free time, he will get back into it more again.
ReplyDeleteI used to read SO MUCH on road trips. Hopefully you can get him back in the swing of things.
DeleteI have a somewhat similar small town experience in our now defunct movie theatre. A boy and somewhat rough hewn woman were sitting in front of us, but they had such a beautiful relationship that I chastised myself for being somewhat judgemental at first.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to overcome that first impression, but sometimes we just need to take a minute and remind our brains to be kind!
DeleteThis is just wonderful. It makes me so happy.
ReplyDeleteI think you and I are similar in our library usage. My library is 1/2km away and I'm there a few times a week to return or pick up books. I realized that so far this year I've read 62 books and only about 4 of them are books I own, so think of all that cost saving! At an average of $20/ book that's $1160!
I do think we're similar! I have read about 75 books this year and have only spent money on about 4 of them. My library does a cool thing with the receipts where it shows how much money you've saved getting books at the library based on the publisher's price and I've saved over $1300 this year according to them.
DeleteWhat a wonderful story - thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI just got a talking-to today (from a family member) about how my library use is a bit over the top. As in, said person carried the books to the car - a GIANT Costco sized bag overflowing with books - and said it was a bit "much." All that to say: libraries are my jam. I love my librarians and know most of them on a first-name basis. I don't spend as much time there now because of the pandemic, but used to take the kids their weekly to play with the toys. The library is a HUGE part of our life.
Hmmm. The last thing that gave me a jolt of happiness. Likely my son. He's home with some sniffles from school (but happy and energetic; not "sick") and to have one-on-one time has just been really special. We've played a dozen games of Sorry and he beats me almost every time and I try so hard to win...and it just made me very, very happy.
I always find it strange when people don't make use of the library! It's such a great resource.
DeleteI love that your son is making you happy - not all "sick" kids want to play Sorry with their moms!!
I love that story! So sweet! I wish my younger self had had access to a library. I lived in a tiny town of 500 people so we did not have a library. I was a voracious reader back then, too, but had to get by without a steady access to books in the summer. I would beg my mom to buy me books at B Dalton, though, and she would usually cave and buy a couple each summer. But I would have read stacks of books if I had access!
ReplyDeleteWe live about a mile from our library and are there weekly. I do not know any of the librarians, though! I would love to, but I'm usually in and out, or I'm there with the kids so can't do anything besides monitor them. But in my dream world, I'm friends with my librarians and they recommend books to me.
Speaking of book recommendations - I think you should read "Lessons in Chemistry." It's a buzzy book that came out in April and it's worth the buzz. I'm certain it will make my top 10 list for the year. And it features a dog that is the sweetest. I'm totally evangelizing and trying to get everyone to read this (debut) novel because it's just delightful.
Let's see... jolt of happiness. Probably the weather! It's been really nice here this week and it really lifts my mood. The trees are flowering here so it's just beautiful outside and it really lifts my spirits.
I think we grew up in similar places. My hometown was only a few hundred people, so we had to go quite a bit away to get to a library. I would have LOVED to be able to walk to a library like I can now when I was a kid.
DeleteI put Lessons in Chemistry on hold at the library, but I'm 105 on the list, so we'll see how long it takes for me to get it!
Aw... I love this story. One of the reasons I love it is i often see parents talking to their kids in ways that make me sad- so I love seeing (or reading about) a loving interaction like this.
ReplyDeleteNow! If your library is anything like mine, they will never, ever ban you. When my kids were small I had some, er, difficulties with our library. Like them saying a book was overdue when I was convinced we'd returned it, but I eventually paid for it but then later found it in my house and tried to get my money back. And one time my fine was so large they were threatening to send it to collections. Little things like that! But they always treated me kindly, ignoring the fact that I was the worst library patron ever. I will just add, now that my kids are older and I'm only in charge of my OWN books, I've become a model patron. I'm sure the library is pleased.
Our library doesn't even track fines anymore! There's no way they'd ever ban me and I KNOW they'd never treat me disrespectfully - it's just a leftover weirdness that I try to acknowledge and move on from. I bet if the library hadn't tracked fines when your kids were younger, you would have so much less stress in your life. I'm sure that's why so many libraries have moved away from fines - they want more people to use the resources.
DeleteI know this isn't answering your final question. But I'm a librarian, and I have to respond to the first part of your post:
ReplyDeleteWe absolutely love repeat patrons and getting to know what specific patrons are interested in. It either gives us validation that we're getting the right titles for our patrons or tells us where we should adjust our collection development strategies. For 99.5% of my colleagues, there is no judgement on the type of materials you are checking out! (As with any occupation, there are unfortunately the outliers....) We want you to feel comfortable to ask questions, give us feedback on what we're acquiring for the collections and what you want to see that we don't have. I understand anxiety issues - and that one reply on blog from a random librarian isn't going to change any of that. But if I can give you (or anyone else) a small moment of comfort: Get every and anything you want, as often as you want, and know that we love it. And that it helps us get more of exactly what our patrons want in the future. Seeing our books (or electronic resources used) checked out and used is the best kind of validation we have for our daily jobs.
Seriously: one of my favorite parts of my job is running usage statistics to see what topics/titles are being used so that I know we acquiring the right materials.
ok, sorry, librarian gushing is over. :)
Honestly, I also live in a small town. And I love observing tiny, small, every-day-life moments like these too.
Deborah! It's been so long since I've heard from you - it's great to "see" you here and I appreciate you reminding me that librarians WANT us to use their resources. Thanks for all your work you do as a librarian - the librarian appreciation runs deep in my world!
DeleteHi again, I know it's been a while! I don't comment much on anything any more, but I do love your updates and book reviews. I should show my appreciation for the work you put in here more often. My husband is a college professor, so some of those themes resonate exceptionally well with me. :)
DeleteThis is such a lovely post!
ReplyDeleteI live in a metro area so I have access to a whole bunch of different libraries, and the one closest to me is one of the smaller branches. But I love it and love the librarians there. I want to be friends with all of them and chat about books with them, but I'm always too shy to even make small talk! I just get the books that are there for me and leave.
I can see why you would want to use a smaller branch, especially if you can just request books from branches with larger physical collections. Developing a relationship with the librarians has been one of the true delights of small town living for me.
DeleteWhat a lovely story... and I love that you paid attention to the interaction and their appearance. Tells you something about people.
ReplyDeleteI had a very lovely interaction with one of the clerks at the grocery store the other week and went out of my way to tell her how much I appreciated her kindness.
Oh, this is wonderful. I can't imagine that ANYONE would question intensive library use - that's why we have them! And, you clearly recognize the value, and don't abuse your privileges.
ReplyDeleteI also love how supportive this mom was of her kiddo... and how she clearly put her first in her (the mom's) life. So many kids don't have this kind of relationship with their parent(s)/de facto parents... and it's so important for their development.