My Favorite Library Memory by Stacy

This week, our library will begin unveiling all our plans for National Library Week which will be held April 8 through April 17.  We’ll have fun events and several contests, one of which is an Adult writing contest.  We’ll ask you to write about your favorite library memory or why our library is so important in your life.  

Having worked in libraries over sixteen years and being an avid visitor all the rest of my years, I have a ton of great memories, but obviously, the one that stands out the most is a common rite of passage that (hopefully) every child gets a chance to enjoy:

I was five years old.  Turning five was a big deal in our household, mostly because five year olds no longer had to take horrible baby naps while Brother and Sister played.  Five year olds got to walk to school with Brother and Sister. Five year olds got their first bike.

On the morning of my fifth birthday, my very busy Father took me and only me down to Otasco to pick out whichever tricycle I wanted.  I’d never known that a kid was allowed to make such a giant choice. I picked the sparkling red one.  The day could not have been better.

But later, the unthinkably marvelous happened.  My parents packed me into the car and drove me to my favorite place in the world-the library.  Checking out a big pile of picture books would have been awesome enough, but this time, we bypassed the kid’s books, went straight to the checkout desk AND THEN MY MOM SAID IT!  “We want to get Stacy a library card!” 

I couldn’t believe it!  In one day I’d become a full grown adult!  First, my very own mode of transportation and now this--the coveted library card.  The card with shiny silver numbers that somehow made it okay for people to take home wonderful, delicious books that were not their own.  The pristine white plastic encased in its own crisp yellow sleeve with your very own name written on it in the librarian’s spidery handwriting. 

So, I thought, this is what it is like to be an adult…

I don’t remember much more about the day, but I will never forget how important getting that card made me feel.  It is one of my best childhood memories and one for which I will thank my parents for the rest of my life. 

This year during National Library Week, share with us your favorite memory.  And if you are a parent, give your children one of their best memories by bringing them to the library to get a library card.