I was first introduced to the library at the age of ten. I would pass it on my way to school and was itching to go in. One day I gathered up enough courage to do just that. Oh, what a treat. I walked up to the librarian and asked if I could look around. She was a real peach and took me over to the fairytale books and picked out a book by Hans Christian Anderson for me. I sat down and opened the book and the words came alive for me. I read and read, often looking up at the clock on the wall so I would not come home late.
I finally had to go and brought the book back to the librarian and thanked her for her help. I got home a little late and my mother wanted to know where I’d been. At the library! She smiled at me and told me to let her know if I was going there again.
“Oh yes, I will!” And I was delighted to know she approved of my going. I was in heaven and couldn’t wait for school to be over so I could get to the library.
I was allowed to get a library card in the children’s library, which I cherished. On Saturday morning I would return my book as soon as the library opened and take out a new one and read it in the park across the street. I read it as quickly as I could so as to be able to return it and take out another one before the library closed. This was the life; I was in book heaven.
Then came the time when I was allowed to get a card in the adult library. It was a day I will never forget. I stood at the top of the staircase and looked down upon the rows and rows of books in the adult section.
I said to myself, “I am going to read all the books,” and walked over to the “A’s” and took the first book and checked it out. What it was, I can’t remember, but it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the library and me. Today, I stand looking at all those books; my plan is to read them all. And I am still in there trying.