Direct from Shelf Awareness (11/10/08):
‘The Library Has Always Been a Window to a Larger World’
“More than a building that houses books and data, the library has always been a window to a larger world–a place where we’ve always come to discover big ideas and profound concepts that help move the American story forward. . . . .
“Libraries remind us that truth isn’t about who yells the loudest, but who has the right information. Because even as we’re the most religious of people, America’s innovative genius has always been preserved because we also have a deep faith in facts.
“And so the moment we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold into a library, we’ve changed their lives forever, and for the better. This is an enormous force for good.”–President-elect Barack Obama in a speech at the American Library Association annual conference in June 2005.
[Many thanks to Donna Paz Kaufman and Janet W. Loveless of the Nassau County Public Library System, Fernandina Beach, Fla.]
September was National Library Card Month. I remember getting my card as soon as I could write my first and last names; what great excitement and responsibility! The card was heavy cardstock with a metal plate indicating the patron number; it slipped inside a small envelope for safekeeping. I wonder if any older/rural libraries still use those. Do you have memories of getting your first library card?
I don’t remember getting my first library card, but I clearly remember my first library as a kid. Didn’t take me too long to accumulate a huge TBR pile. I remember going there one day with a friend and her mom when I was about 5 or 6 and coming home with a stack of books nearly as tall as me!
I actually remember…can’t remember last week, but I remember filling out the information on an index card…lol! God, I am so old.
Hey, I am having a Support Your Library Reading Challenge for 2009. Don’t know if you saw it or not.
Should be fun.
I actually still use my first library card. I got it when I was six; since I couldn’t handwrite yet, (or print very well, for that matter), my mother signed it for me.
A couple of years ago, one of the librarians told me I could get a swank new card if I wanted. “I’m actually pretty attached to this one,” I said.
She looked at me like I was crazy.
It’s cracked in one corner and will probably fall to bits someday very soon, but I refuse to replace it until I absolutely have to.
Anna – when my parents let me bike down to the library with a friend, I was in heaven! I filled my bike basket to the brim
J. Kaye – yesterday? that’s old news! Thanks for letting me know about the library challenge … how timely. I’ll join you (will it be as much fun as meeting at the pub?)
Memory – hold on to that card as long as it works – what a fun blast from the past!
Great quote – and I totally agree! I am so excited for the day my 3.5 year old little reader can get her first card – though it will be a while.
Shana – when we moved here 1.5 years ago I took the kids to get their cards. My younger daughter was not yet 5 and could write her first name (9 letters), but we hadn’t worked on the last name. We found out that she needed to sign both names, went home and practiced non-stop for the afternoon and evening and went back the next day for the card. That little one is as stubborn/determined as I am!
i believe that Barack Obama is the president that the US needs in these hard times. I do not like the local and foreign policy of any Rebublican.