Long Overdue

What is it with the library these days? I remember it being a large building where you could go and borrow books. Not so much anymore. It has become like a town hall, or at the very least, a neighborhood club house. Surely there is some other public gathering spot people can use for their so called meetings. Some of us would actually like to check out these used books, thank you very much.

I have always loved going to libraries, even as a kid. There used to be this big thing called a card catalog, which was someone's anal retentive way of keeping track of all the books. Now everything is bar coded and computer inventoried, and the card catalog is nowhere to be found. It has gone the way of so many things...TV antennae, dial telephones, white dog crap, to name a few. But for me, the library was always about the books. The endless supply of titles and pictures and stories waiting to be taken home and occasionally lost. Library books even have their own smell and look, somewhere between old lunch box, mildew, and stale cigarettes, as well as a collection of crayon scribbles, pen marks, and disturbing mystery stains. These books, shared by us all, are clearly well loved.

My husband doesn't share the same enthusiasm for the library that I do, as he feels most of the books are covered with fecal contaminants or flu virus. And he might be right, but I go every week, and I have yet to report one case of bacterial meningitis. The truth is, I don't think I can afford my reading habit. Well, I can, but the risk is great. What if I buy it and don't like it? I am pretty sure Barnes and Noble won't take a book back because you think it sucks. If I don't like a book at the library, I turn it back in and get another one. Which I do frequently, at least once a week. I have discovered many writers I love at the library, writers I would not have given a chance at a book store. Does that sound cheap or practical? I' m voting for practical.

Which (finally!) brings me to my point. Since when is the library no longer about the books? I tried to go to my local branch three times on three different days last week, and each time I drove away in disgust because there was no available parking. On Monday, the old people took over. Buicks were everywhere, parked haphazardly on curbs and crookedly in parking spaces. I don't know if it was knitting guild day or just a rush after the spotty weekend hours, but either way, I couldn't even get to the drop off box.

On Tuesday, a political rally was held in the large conference room. Trucks plastered with conservative bumper stickers had taken over, and I kept thinking, couldn't they do this at a church? I like to think of a library as being neutral or possibly left leaning, what with its many volumes devoted to learning and educating a free mind. How dare the people who want to burn or ban half its contents use its building to influence more people to vote for someone who will pull funding from such things as...libraries!?!

Wednesday was less politically charged but no less irritating. It's story time on Wednesday, and every stay at home mom with a young child and its home schooled siblings come to decimate the shelves and fill the trashcans with used diapers. The parking lot was overrun with mini vans all driven by the proud parent of a Star of the Week! I again left in disgust, but at least I didn't catch a cold or the pox.

I tried once more on Thursday, and was lucky to find the last parking space in the lot. I grabbed my oversized library bag and hustled in, only to find the entire front area filled with men and women and a cloud of cigarette smoke, Old Spice, and Jean Nate. They were milling about the new book section, taking over all the benches as if waiting for the doors to open at a WWF match. I was mildly curious to know what all these people were waiting for, but not curious enough to ask anyone. My nosiness paid off when I saw several people with Home Depot aprons waltz in, heading straight for that overused conference room in the back. The crowd stood up and slowly made their way to the back of the building, and it appeared to be a library once again. I find it hard to believe that there was no space available in a Home Depot to conduct whatever it was they were conducting here. It's a warehouse, for Christ's sake. At least now I know why you can never find anyone to help you at Home Depot. They are all at the library.

I want my library experience to be like the days of old. Don't write in your books. Turn them in late and incur the wrath of the return desk matron. Cover your mouth when sneezing or eating and reading. Read your magazines in the bathroom, not a book handled by who knows how many other people. No sleeping in the corrals. And above all else, Sssshhhhhh! But if I could add one tiny request, have your community meetings at the back room of the Ryans. Some of us are here to read.