I’ve been to the library, hundreds of times. What I l;ike best is the reference librarian. I grew going to storytelling in the library. I’ve picked up new magazines and even rented movies and video games. I love my library card. However, not every kid had that experience and they may not even know what to do when they go to library or what the library is for.
I still remember the feeling of filling my arms with books at my local library as a child, taking them up to the counter and watching the librarian stamp the inside page. My library card clutched in my hand I held a passport to the whole word. Then that rush of excitement as the books were handed back to me to take home. For free!
Over the years, signing up to my local library is one of the first things I’ve always done whenever I’ve moved to a new place. I signed my son up for his own library card when he was six weeks old.
But libraries are easy to overlook. Often situated in nondescript buildings and clad in that most universal of blue carpet that is only found in schools and municipal buildings, they can blend into the background of our high streets. But like so many things that are easy to take for granted, the gap that would be left if libraries weren’t there would be vast.
