Dear friends,
One of my favorite summer activities is the Summer Reading program.
Our kids are grown now, but we always enjoyed earning free books and going to the library more often in the summers. Story time, free bookmarks, special summer programs. It was the best!
Libraries have been in the news a lot lately. I will not go into the politics of the situation. But I will tell you my passion for libraries and their power to ignite the imagination of young people, as well as be a hub for a community will not change because of politics.
My love of libraries started in elementary school. I had an awesome librarian who knew how much I loved to read and re-read biographies like Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller and Clara Barton. She also knew my favorite week of the year was the Scholastic Book Fair. Our small town didn't have a normal community library. By normal, I mean, supported by a tax and open regularly. Our library was run by volunteers and books were mostly donated. It was housed at our high school inside a spare classroom. My mom would volunteer there on Saturdays sometimes, and I would tag along. It was only a couple blocks from our house and I liked shelving books and organizing them.
When I got older I realized other towns had big libraries where people worked, the books were newer and they had programs about history or animals and such. Our little town library had moved into an old church by then, and later closed.
As an adult I saw the bigger picture. Libraries were used for access to computers, tutoring, reading programs, movies, CDs, and so much more...PLUS books. People who didn't have access to a computer or the internet, had a free resource. The programs became more creative. Jazz musicians, zoo animals, local history, Lego robotics, gardening...PLUS books. You could research your family's genealogy and read the local newspaper.
Nowadays, less people checkout the CDs and movies due to streaming. Though I still have to wait in the hold line for new releases. But I believe the library has risen to the challenge and provides more support and programming in the community.
This girl once campaigned FOUR times to get a library tax passed for my rural county to create a library system with three branches and a bookmobile. We lost FOUR times. The vision got lost in the word tax. Now our citizens pay the fee to use other counties' libraries or just don't go. I hear people say, “Oh, I can just order it off Amazon.” But for me it is not the same. To peruse the shelves and stumble upon something I didn't know I wanted to read and find out I loved it...well, that is what I'm talking about. I love to watch my nephew search the stacks. He'll come back with a travel book for his Uncle, a movie for his brother and a graphic novel for himself.
How you consume entertainment is up to you. And if you are a parent/guardian, then how your children consume entertainment is up to you. You don't have to like what I like, and vice versa. There are some books I choose to read simply to learn about a culture other than my own. A good example of this is books about Native Americans. I have read three in particular the last couple years that really stuck with me – Killer of the Flower Moon, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, and Lakota Woman. Are the stories hard to read? Yes. But that is the reality of their world. I believe it is what we do with the “entertainment” that is important.
If we become more knowledgeable about a subject or culture, my opinion is, this is a good thing. We can apply what we learn. If we are simply entertained in the moment, what is the harm? If we idolize it and make it a priority, my opinion is, this is not healthy. This is the slippery slope of today's world.
Children are honest and impressionable. If they see a rainbow in a library display they may recall a book their teacher read about seeing different colors in the world; or they may remember in Sunday School learning about Noah and God's promise; they may think about art class and the color wheel they learned about; or they may live in a home where a rainbow is a symbol of pride; or all of the above. I say first, we cultivate these young imaginative minds with goodness and kindness, before we fill them with our adult reasoning. They will learn soon enough that our world is overflowing with opposition.
They are looking up at us, to see how we react. What will they see? In my case, I hope they see a middle-aged woman who still gets excited about books and libraries.
Your Friend
B
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