Do you have fond memories of a library you’ve visited? If so, you’ll relate to the following recollections from Mechanics’ Institute staff about libraries they’ve loved—and never, ever forgotten. (Scroll to the end for info on how to share your own story.)
From Pit Stop to Passion
My first real love for a library was by accident. Riding my bike to the local park and rec center in San Francisco during summer break, my mind was on meeting my friends to play on the playground. The library was more of a pit stop, where I used the restroom and water fountain before going back to the monkey bars. Then one afternoon I noticed that a librarian was giving out prizes. But there was a catch: you had to read books to receive those prizes. The librarians recommended fun books and taught me how to use the card catalog, and before I knew it, I was hooked. It was a place of sanctuary, a place that held magical texts that transported me to different worlds and opened my eyes to new possibilities.
—Cherilyn Banson, Library Assistant
Books and a Bunny
As a child, I remember riding my bike to the Alameda Free Library. The children's branch, behind the main library, was in an old house. I used to love to go there for story time and to browse the child-sized bookcases for books to check out. The librarian who read us stories had a pet rabbit named Peter Rabbit. She always took him out of his cage at the end of story time so we could pet him. We loved hearing the stories, but we also eagerly awaited the end when we'd get to pet Peter. I was hooked on libraries because of a rabbit.
—Deb Hunt, Library Director
Love Requited
This is not about me, but about my paternal grandmother. She reached the age of 87 living in the same small town (Sparta, New Jersey) for 57 years. On the 50th anniversary of the founding of Sparta’s public library, the librarians thought it would be nice to go through their records to find out who had maintained a library card for the longest period of time and give that person an award. They found that only one person had signed up for a library card the day the library opened, and then renewed it every year without fail: my grandmother. One of my cousins still has the little plaque they gave her.
—Steven Dunlap, Head of Technical Services
Fun in the ’50s
The first library I ever used was the Sunset branch of the San Francisco Public Library. An Andrew Carnegie building, it was built in 1918 and replaced a previous structure, an old barn that was being used by boys for target practice. Since my elementary school did not have a library, I did my homework assignments in the children’s room of the Sunset branch. I thought the library was fun even before I started school, since my parents used the library a lot and brought me along with them. This was all back in the 1950s. Long before computers! I didn’t know then that I would go on to work in libraries, including San Francisco Public Library, for over 35 years.
—David Campbell, Library Assistant
Pre-Literate Perfection
I fell in love with libraries before I learned how to read. When I say libraries, I really mean the children's room in the Victorian-era public library in Concord, Massachusetts. One of my strongest early memories is sitting cross-legged on the gray industrial carpet in the children's room listening to a librarian (who in retrospect, I realize, bore a striking resemblance to Eleanor Roosevelt) read during story time. I was in heaven. Such a beautiful space! So many books! And people to read them to you. Even after moving on to doing my own reading, I have always found libraries to be one of my ideas of heaven.
—Lisa Braider, Library Assistant
Have your own library love story to share? Send your brief recollection (one paragraph maximum) to [email protected] by Tuesday, May 5, for possible inclusion in an upcoming blog. Please note that submissions may be edited.
