Libraries...A Life-long Love

"Reading makes me feel I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person...reading is bliss."

                                                           Nora Ephron


One of my grandmothers would always come and stay with us whenever there was a parent sick or she felt her help or presence was needed for anything.  This was a great comfort to the family as she was what would have been described as a "strong" woman back in the day.  In her suitcase she would always have Turkish Delight bars, gum and a Bobbsey Twin book for me.  I read the whole series and just loved Nan and Bert.  I also read all the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton before moving on to Cherry Ames, the nurse stories and Trixie Belbin.  My friend and I would save up  the eighty-nine cents to spend at Stedman's (the local five and dime store) on a certain Trixie Belbin book that we loved and would take turns re-reading it.
 Of course the library played a big role in my early reading career.  In Corner Brook where I grew up, the library was housed in a building with the most important name...the White House.  This had been originally built as an American USO building and opened in 1944.  Edgar Bergen and his puppet Charlie McCarthy were just one of the famous American acts that performed there to entertain troops.  Anyway, by my time, those days were long gone and the town now operated the building as a hall for dances and various community functions with part of it designated for the city library.  I loved the long windows and the creaking wooden floors.  I had a particular love of all the little drawers in the wooden cabinets that housed the library catalogue. So old-fashioned now.  This was definitely the start of my career as a library nerd.  
All of my life, I have used books to help me deal with life's experiences...whatever was happening to me.  I depended on  Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care for advice as a new mother; I relied on my library of books for entertainment, advice and wisdom, especially when I lived in places that were considered isolated. I still turn to books and my library time to soothe me and help me refocus and relax.