Libraries at Christmas

 

Find my BWL page here!

Here in Bellows Falls, Vermont, we're getting ready for our annual Holiday Party, the first one in a couple of years. We are so excited. Some local musicians are going to come and play old-time music. My fellow Friend of the Library Leslie and I will be leading a Christmas music sing along. We'll have treats and a pick your own present raffle. 

Lots of great choices!

My son-in-law Teddy make cute tags for the raffle gifts

My donation is two of my BWL YA novels and a bead ornament made by a local Abenaki craftsperson.

Do you have a favorite library story?

I grew up in a house without books, so the library was where the stories lived. I couldn't wait to get my library card. To achieve this passport to wonder, I had to be able to write my full name. I had a long last name, and like many young children, I was slightly dyslectic. I practiced and practiced, but as the librarian watched, I had a crisis in confidence over which direction the "b" in Charbonneau went. I hesitated. This prim, kind lady gave me a hand signal that opened up my world! Big thanks to her.

Happy Season of Light from Patience and Fortitude welcming all to the NYC Public Library!

Show Your Library Some Love by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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Click here to visit Eileen O'Finlan's website and sign up for her monthly newsletter

I love libraries! I'll bet if you're reading this post, you love libraries, too. Libraries are like portals to a multitude of other worlds. Entering a library offers nearly limitless access to anywhere you want to go or anything you want to learn. You can even travel to other time periods, planets, alternate universes, and more. Of course, the many books in the library are the vehicles that will take you there. 

But there is more to libaries than books. Libraries connect us with technology, media, programs. They also connect us with one another, offer a community, invite us to events. Libraries are just plain awesome!

We are in the midst of National Library Week. This year's theme is "Connect With Your Library." Today, specifically, is Take Action for Libraries Day. By clicking on this link you can access the American Library Association's information on how you can tell Congress to fund libraries.

So, show your library some love today and let those hard-working librarians know how much they are appreciated!

What I Miss About Libraries

 

 

Ah! The feeling of a hardbound book in my hands! The rows upon rows of texts, stacked five high! The quiet, studious atmosphere!

If you’re like me, you are surely missing your local library. With the pandemic, my library has been closed for months. It seems like an eternity. In these days of Zoom meetings and digital readers, here are a few things I miss about libraries:

 1)      Librarians: Yes, Google helps me track down reference materials, but search engines are only as smart as I. Many an instance, librarians have taken my searches in directions I didn’t imagine and found surprising answers to my questions. And I can have a conversation with a librarian; the computer remains mute.

2)      A place to concentrate: I write at home. But, like most writers, I need to get out regularly for the creative juices to flow. At home, distractions abound: the television, family members and even the dog. At the library, it is just me and my thoughts, and ideas flow so much more easily.

3)      Conversations. This might contradict the previous point, but one of the things I enjoy about libraries are the random conversations with interesting persons. Yes, they can be distractions if overdone, but are refreshing and energizing if done intelligently.

         4)      Cozy corners and enchanting places: This is especially true with old libraries, with their long wooden tables and reading chairs hidden in unexpected places. These places transport me into a mood where, unsurprisingly, I become easily absorbed in my reading.

        5)      Heading home with a stack of books: Somehow, there is a special feeling of contentment and fulfilment in spending a couple of hours in the library, wandering through the stacks, exploring dozens of texts, choosing the appropriate ones, checking them out and planning which one to read first.

             Hopefully these dreadful pandemic restrictions will end soon, and we can all get back to our normal lives. And with any luck, my local library will open soon!

 

            Mohan Ashtakala (www.mohanauthor.com) is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy, and "Karma Nation" a literary romance. He is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)