Thursday, August 21, 2008

Booking Through Thursday--I Grew Up in Heaven


Whether you usually read off of your own book pile or from the library shelves NOW, chances are you started off with trips to the library. (There’s no way my parents could otherwise have kept up with my book habit when I was 10.) So … What is your earliest memory of a library? Who took you? Do you have you any funny/odd memories of the library?

I grew up in a small farm town in central Illinois (population 1800). My mother was a single mom back when that was a very strange thing to be. She raised me on a widow's pension and a variety of part-time jobs. Her primary job was librarian in that village. My mother was a bookaholic, and she gave birth to one. I grew up in that library, so that's what I mean when I say I grew up in heaven. To this day when I'm trying to remember a certain book, my mind's eye roves the shelves of that little library, which had a greater circulation than the county seat of Shelbyville (population over 5000)--all due to my mother, of course! I was Mom's chief cook and bottle washer from the get-go. I was responsible for keeping the large children's section at the back neat and tidy, and as soon as I knew my alphabet, I started shelving returned books. I did my homework at the big wooden table back in the children's section, and I certainly read a lot of books back there. When I was twelve, I started helping patrons choose books to read. The older ladies in town all seemed to read light romances. They'd call and tell Mom to have me choose anywhere from 8 to 12 books for them, and they'd be in to pick them up. They always told me that I chose the best books for them when all I was doing was checking the cards to see if their library card number was on them.

I have many memories of that library. Of the huge jacks in the basement that were holding the floor up. Of one of my classmates trying to sneak a racy novel in with the stack of books she was checking out, in hopes that Mom and I wouldn't notice what she was up to. Of the old guy who'd check out books and use a black marker to cross out any words he considered swear words--only to write a table of the words and their page numbers inside the back cover. Of all the people in town who would come in for gossip, laughter and the latest books. Of Mom's motto for the children's section: "Keep it to a dull roar back there, kids!" Of having book shipments come in and being the first to open the big cardboard boxes of wonders...of being the first person in town to touch each and every new book...of being allowed to choose the ones I wanted to be the first to read.

You've got me all nostalgic now!

19 comments:

  1. Hey, I am not that far from Shelbyville! I go there about once a month.
    The town has grown quite abit since when you were little.
    :)

    I loved your answers! My mom was my favorite library memory too!

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  2. Oh, wonderful! I bet many of us who answer these BTT questions would love to have spent so much time in a library!! :)

    I really like that the ladies had you pick out their books, too.

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  3. Thank you for a lovely post. You bring it to life so beautifully and clearly have so many fond memories of growing up in a library.

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  4. Wow what a great childhood...you definately were in heaven ;0)
    My answer is here:

    http://lyndasbookblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/booking-through-thursday-21808.html

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  5. What a great post! What a dream childhood...I can only imagine the bliss. Lucky girl!

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  6. Wow! You have such wonderful early library memories.

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  7. Wow that does sound wonderful! My answer sounds dull now.

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  8. What a great way to grow up! Thanks for sharing this wondeful, warm story.

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  9. What a wonderful post! You were truly blessed to have those experiences growing up.

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  10. What wonderful memories! You did, indeed, grow up in heaven! Even as an adult librarian, I still get excited when I open a new book of books!

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  11. I know that feeling of wanting to be the first one to read!

    :D

    Library memories

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  12. Me, too!

    I want to be you as a kid!

    What wonderful memories!

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  13. That is funny about guy who use to black out the bad words. lol

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  14. I thought I spent a lot of time in libraries! I'm so glad you have such wonderful memories.

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  15. That sounds so wonderful!!

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  16. Oh that's a wonderful memory! The library is you home, huh? :)

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  17. That sounds amazing. I would have loved to grow up in a library like that! And the guy who marked out words- how funny. Why would he write them in a list, I wonder? Eccentric.

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