Libraries: joy, love, value, history, culture, education, community, and necessary

My parents didn’t take my sisters and me to the library when we were children. My paternal grandmother unknowingly made up for that with many gifts of books for me. Once I was old enough to ride my bike about a mile to the Highland Park branch of the Saint Paul Public Library system, I was hooked on what the library held.
I devoured books that were designed for my age group and later progressed to books for teens. This branch didn’t have a large reference section at the time but what the main library in downtown Saint Paul held was akin to providing me with candy. I could take the bus to that library from home or high school. I loved browsing in the stacks, discovered old newspapers on microfilm, and a newspaper clippings index. I took my children and grandchildren to libraries.

City and county public libraries are golden. Many have access to scholarly databases, newspapers, and even some of our usual genealogy subscription sites. My city library, county library, and a neighboring county library system each have some different online sites. Some I can access from home and others with a visit to the actual library. For my county library, that means a chance to browse through the Friends of the Library used book area.

This is National Library Week and it’s in the midst of federal support for our libraries, historical societies, archives, and museums being taken away. We need to make our voices heard so we don’t lose these wonderful institutions.

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2 comments on “Libraries: joy, love, value, history, culture, education, community, and necessary”

My library experiences were similar to yours in many ways. We lived between the Ford Parkway and Merriam Park branches of the SPPL, and walked or biked to both. How I miss the old buildings.

Later I took the #3 Grand Avenue bus down to the main library. I can still hear my footsteps echoing in the marble stairways and clanking up the metal steps in the main reading room. My memories go back to grade school in Roseville, and field trips to the unique children’s room for puppet shows.

Thanks for the NLW plug. Free public libraries are a national treasure.

Barb Minor