A little library love

Greg is always coming into the studio with library books. He inspired me to start using my library card again. So many books right there for you.

I had not been using it for a few years and had gotten into the habit of buying novels. As soon as I would finish a novel, I would pass it on to someone and tell them to keep passing it. My art, poetry, and reference books are the only ones I keep. These I need sometimes but I don't re-read novels, so I like to see them circulate.

I have had a long relationship with the library. On my way home after school I would drop into the brick town hall that held our library in one room and roam the shelves. The librarian was Rita Murphy, who was also the only woman in our town that still hooked rugs. It was there that I discovered The Little House on the Prairie and I went through those books one by one. My imagination soared with those pale yellow soft covers. 

Through out my teenage years I kept reading. I remember staying up til three in the morning reading, "The Captain and the Kings" by Taylor Caldwell. I read everything from a "Tree Grows in Brooklyn" to "Valley of the Dolls". I think reading took me beyond the little Newfoundland town I lived in. It was my first glimpse into a bigger world.

In the last few years I have gone back to the library again. I always have six or seven books checked out. I like to have a decorating book for my breakfast in the mornings. I pour through the pictures in my small kitchen and see these glorious homes. Mostly, I am looking for small things. I always scour the images to see what books are on the coffee table, what are the patterns in the fabric, how things are arranged. I am not aspirational in looking at these for it is too much to ask. Instead I am inspirational, looking for unusual beauty.

I also usually have a non fiction and several fiction books out at once. I don't read them all but I try them all. I go online now to order my books. I just type in my library card and I can order books from all over the province. I get an email when they come in. So the librarians all know me and it is a friendly place for me. Whenever I have a few minutes I show up there. There are always people doing the community puzzle, using the computers, or participating in classes and activities. There are sometimes people reading or studying. It is a people place these days more than a book place. A community space where you can just show up and visit.

I also have two free apps on my phone from the library, Libby and Hoopla that allow me to download audio books, courses, magazines, and even movies. So I usually have one audio book to listen to while I hook. I also use Kanopy on my computer with my library card and can watch free movies and tv series through it. Some of these things I have access to because I also have a library card from Halifax, our capital city with a big modern library. You do not have to live in the city to have a library card from there. I love that, so I have my Halifax library card that I got online and was mailed to me. 

You can tell I have a little romance going with the library. It is my go to when I hear about a book. I saw a big decorating book recently and I put in a request that they buy it. I know I only want to pour through it for a few hours. I do not want to move it around the house for years. So we'll see if they get it. And authors in Canada receive public lending rights for everything but how-to books, so they get paid something when we borrow their books. So it's all good. 

Thanks to Greg, the library and I are back together. We have never been truly apart but we have had long separations. Sometimes for years. Now I wonder why because it never really expected anything from me, it just wanted to give. I guess I must have forgotten how nice that feels. 

Thanks for reading. I am glad you do.