People's Choice Winner Creative Essay Contest

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Oh, how I love the library - let me count the ways!  My love affair with the library began as a child at the Mesa Public Library in Arizona. I remember going with my mom up to the big counter and getting the coveted yellow card. It was like my own personal yellow brick road.  I soon was able to escape to where the wild things are and to find a wocket in my pocket!  Growing up with five brothers and an older sister caused me to need an escape on several occasions. Later as a teenager, I discovered the theatre and Shakespeare.  The library enabled my ‘crack’ addiction to these two loves.  I didn’t just want to read about these characters, I wanted to be and see those characters. So, I went to the library and picked up a book on how to sew. I dusted off my mom’s old sewing machine and was able to create costumes so I could see the characters that I had read about come to life on stage.  I learned how to act and sing and was able to see how the professionals did it by going to my library and picking up a video, CD or book.

As an adult now, the library has been a saving grace. You see, now I have four wonderful children. I am able to help them learn about the world around them by just going to the library and opening a book.  In Arizona we had a house full of books and a steady income. We now live in an RV in Oregon, while my husband goes to college to become a nurse. We no longer have room to have our beloved books around us or even a steady income. But we are not sad. We are able to go to the Coos Bay Public Library whenever we need and take a grand adventure or learn a new life skill if needed. I have helped my children discover Narnia, Hogwarts, and Middle Earth. When we finish a book together we are able to go back to the library and then bring the movies home, to then see the worlds we have so very much enjoyed in text.  Because of the library, I am able to mend my kids’ clothes when needed, I learned to cook, and I learned sense and sensibility. My husband has also been able to escape to the library to study. As you can imagine having four kids and two adults in an RV is hardly conducive to studying or to my sanity.  In the library, he can always find a quiet corner and also have everything he needs for his classes at his disposal. On days when I get discouraged and even sometimes sad, I know I can count on the library to provide me a good book and a safe place for my children to discover the world.  What a wonderful companion it has been to our family.

My hope for the future is that my children, and someday my grandchildren, will understand the importance of libraries in providing a constant source of unending knowledge and sometimes even a place of refuge from the trials of the world around us.  What a blessing it is to have a library! So, I say again, oh, how I love the library let me count the ways. The answer: unlimited.