Be quiet, this is the library
My son doesn’t see how anyone in Chico could manage to check out more library books than I do. He can’t believe it’s possible for people to enjoy reading so much — not when there are so many wondrous worlds to explore in cyberspace. That's where my son spends his spare time.
I like to boast that I read about a book a day, but I don’t really know if that’s true. I don’t keep track. I almost always read non-fiction, which is so much easier for me to dive into than novels. I can’t possibly afford to buy 365 books a year, so I have to get most of my reading material from the library.
I’m so grateful for free, public libraries, and I’m especially grateful the city of Chico has seen fit to give money to the Chico branch of the county library system so that it can stay open a decent number of hours a week.
We live in the inner suburbs of Chico, so we’re not within walking distance of a lot of services. But we’re just a few doors down from the library, so it’s no trouble for me to pay it a visit at least once every couple of weeks. I hit the new titles shelf and then head for the non-fiction stacks. It’s so pleasant to browse in libraries. In a world of escalating noise, it’s one of the few places where people are still expected to be quiet.
Harry Ames, a used bookstore owner for almost 40 years — first in Whittier and now in Grass Valley — always liked to say that librarians and teachers are among a community’s most valuable workers. I heartily agree, and I applaud the financial sacrifices they make in deciding to pursue such important careers. Our society doesn’t always reward the people who do us the most good. The claim some people make that teachers are underworked and overpaid is contemptible.
Reading is my default activity. Whenever I’m sitting down, I almost always have a book in my lap. I have to give credit to the libraries in every community I’ve lived in for making it possible for me to satisfy my voracious appetite.
I look forward to a day when reading library books electronically becomes as comfortable as curling up with the printed versions. When that happens, I will have no reason to dispute my son’s belief that cyberspace offers wondrous worlds to explore.