21st Century Literature discussion

Reading this article in the NY Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/bo... - got me thinking about my early library experiences and how important having that library was to me. I was ecstatic when I received my first library card. I was probably 6 years old and my grandmother took me to get it. I loved my public library in Pittsfield, Maine - http://www.pittsfield.lib.me.us/index.... I spent a lot of time there growing up. One of my favorite memories is when my sister, my father, and I would visit the library and each take out as many books as allowed and then share them. We liked a lot of the same things - mysteries, science fiction, and historical fiction. Without the library, having sufficient reading material would have been very difficult for my family of readers.

LindaJ^ wrote: "Reading this article in the NY Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/bo... - got me thinking about m..."

What a lovely little picture of your childhood! Thanks for sharing!

What a wonderful article, LindaJ^! Thanks for sharing. I, too, am a library lover. Still, one of my favorite places to go--just to be surrounded by all those books. The idea of collecting and sharing all those stories and knowledge still seems to me one of the best inventions humans have ever conceived. I, mainly, went to the library with my father and always found it a huge treat. I loved wandering into different sections and reading about unfamiliar things.

When I was in elementary school, each class would walk together to the public library once every three weeks. We would then spend the afternoon there looking for books and checking out more than we could ever read before our next visit and we had to return them. Looking back and knowing the route we had to walk (through some downtown streets) I am a little surprised walking was how we got there - the rules of the 1970s were not the same as the rules surely would be now - but we didn't ever lose anyone or get hit by a car! The worst thing that ever happened was someone (and there was always someone) would forget to bring their books to return and incur the dreaded fine (maximum 25 cents for children's books).

Libraries are so important. I was an avid reader from a young age so my parents got me a library card for a lovely small local library, even then, run by volunteers. I managed to read all the books in the girls’ section (no we weren’t PC in the 1960s) so I read all books all the books in the boys’ section as well, and liked them even better. By the way, when polishing off the girls’ books I also read books marked ‘for girls over 16’, I was just 11 at the time, so the librarian asked my father if I was allowed to these read books, (the library was run by the local church so they paid attention to things like this) my father just turned to me and asked: ‘Do you like these books?’ ‘Yes,’ I answered. ‘Well, in that case it’s fine,’ my father said. He was a lovely man and a reader himself.

Libraries were a big part of my childhood. When lived on an indian reserve we first had a mail order library service. We would choose the book via a catalogue and on Wednesday they would arrive in a green canvas bag. After my parents discovered the library in the Pas and we would spend two hours there i would always leave with a stack of books and records. Later on when i moved to kenora there were 2 good libraries but the one at the school i attended had an AMAZING library with a great librarian, who later inspired me to choose school librarianship as a career

As a child I went often to the library. We had one in elementary school, where I bascially spend all school breaks reading and getting new reading material. I remember, how I had the "record" of having the most cards filled (we had cards, where our names, the book we lent and the dates were noted). In high school two of my friends also volunteered in the school library and I spend most of my time with them there.
We had a big local library in the next bigger town, where we went on weekends with a huge bag and filled it completly to get us through the next weeks.