An Ode to the Library (yup, another one)

"When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”
~Maya Angelou

It's been six months since I sang the praises of the library. I am overdue for a sequel.

I am 100% certain that we would not have made it through the last ten months without access to the library -- albeit the electronic branches of our own Sonoma County Library and the Phoenix Public Library. The latter is thanks to my mother-in-law, Jackie, whose surname I will not use for fear she might be jailed for inappropriate sharing of her card. 

We miss the library. We are a family of bookworms. You might reasonably call us obsessed. Our bikes practically ride us there without instructions; we know the children's librarian by first name. We visit biweekly, if not weekly, and check out enough books to make other patrons stare. Dillon's stack of chapter books is, perhaps, the most notable, as he can read faster and more voraciously than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. 

The library is a treat, a comfort, a gift that literally keeps on giving. It was one of the worst parts of the pandemic for my family to be locked out of the building for over a year. Yes, we participated sullenly their in backdoor pick up, but it was hard. We just wanted to go inside, sniff the books, browse the shelves, admire the covers. You know?! When we finally got back inside, I felt our collective nervous system relax. 

I guess, in hindsight, the year away was good training for this time abroad because we are locked out in a different way. And, yet, we have been blown away by the vast number of electronic books available to us-- mostly via Libby, an app used by libraries -- everything from Curious George to Mercy Watson to Gus Loves Cinderella to our favorite graphic novels (Hilo, Dog Man, Wings of Fire, and Amulet) to Trevor Noah's Junior Memoir, to Spy School. to Lego Building Books to books in Spanish (Sobreviví, La Casa del Arbol, Bilingual Fairy Tales) to my own choice fiction, including two of my recent favorites, Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being and Xochitl Gonzalez' Olga Dies Dreaming. 

For the record, while Paul has been reading on his Kindle and phone for years, I prefer turning down corners, flipping to the previous chapter, inhaling the binding. But this year has taught me that the Kindle  is a fine alternative (and it is certainly better than NO books).

I often reflect back on my Peace Corps years when we had highly regulated waitlists for precious books -- when every volume of Harry Potter made its run through every volunteer, when my closest neighbor forced herself to read all of Proust. And I honestly do not know how our family could have survived without the e-library and the Libby App. Here I go again pushing an app; I promise I make no money off Libby. I just appreciate it enough to want to sing its glories.

The Libby App allows us to search using our phones or the Fire Kindle for books at both libraries, see which ones are available to check out, put holds on books that are not available, alerts us when they are ready, filter for Spanish books, and allows us to read the ones that are not readable on kindle (mostly picture books and graphic novels). The amount of available content is not infinitesimal but it definitely meets our needs.

To date, we have checked out over 420 e-books. These are 420 books we would not otherwise have access to. Ecuador has scattered poorly stocked public libraries no national library system and certainly none exists in La Josefina or even in La Maná, the closest city. The 50 pounds of books we brought with us, mostly in Spanish, position us as the impromptu town library, as many kids (and a few adults) come frequently and borrow books from our shelves. It warms my heart to see local kids reading.

Do me a favor and make a little donation to your local library. Thank them for their real books AND for expanding their electronic resources for those of us who otherwise could not physically enter the library. And, if you are planning a long trip or want to try e-reading, even with your kids, check out Libby.

I will close with my Ode to Library

"Delighted is the child whose 

eyes light upon a book,

whose ears ache in anticipation of 

the cliff-hanger that pulls them forward

to the next chapter

to the next book

and to the next opportunity.

Delighted is the  adult who reads to the child

and to themself, even, in the dark of tonight's night. 

and the dawn of tomorrow's morning,

and 

Delighted am I who to know the library

as a refuge for books and defender

of knowledge

of openness

of safety

and of possibility."