I’m embarrassed—maybe, even a little ashamed—that I’ve failed to adequately celebrate what should be a bigger deal.
By the time this paper hits the streets we’ll be at the tail end of National Library Week. The number of times I’ll have visited my local library: zero.
In my defense I tend to visit “our” libraries three or four times a month to scan the Friends of the Library book sales, the events board or take a gander at the “New” releases.
Also, four years later, I have yet to set foot on the viewing deck at the Chula Vista Civic Center branch. I hear it’s an enjoyable patio but when I’m there I’m typically overwhelmed by the offerings inside the library. The books, the magazines, the music, and computers.
Wanting to celebrate these public institutions with a boisterous party or parade seems antithetical to the nature of these repositories of thoughts and knowledge.
Ask anyone what they think of when they hear the word library and undoubtedly the first or second word to come to mind is quiet. Books being the other.
But how does one pay tribute to something without the noisy fanfare of music or fiery speeches?
Aside from donations or a visit and a book checkout or two (keep those circulation numbers steady and growing) maybe the way to celebrate libraries and what they represent is to commit to yourself or out loud to defending them.
Libraries have long been the target of those who fear the spread of knowledge, information, and ideas that run counter to their beliefs or value system. From the racists who protested against desegregating public libraries in the South to the far-right and religious fundamentalists who picket and disrupt Drag Queen story hour.
You can systematically undermine a peoples’ humanity when you erase their history and blot out any traces of their existence when you get rid of books and make ideas disappear.
Libraries are a fundamental part of a society’s effort to preserve history and information, offering hope through the ideas contained within the seemingly unending supply of books, periodicals, music and other communications. They and the staff who serve them are worthy of unwavering support.
