Reasons to be Grateful: Libraries

I got COVID pretty badly last September. While on quarantine for over a week, I often thought about what a marvel libraries are. There I was, symptomatic and contagious as hell, yet undeterred in my ability to access countless e-books, audiobooks, movies, and television series. From the comfort of bed at my mom’s house in Ohio, I logged on to my Pittsburgh library’s website, selected, checked out, and downloaded a Zora Neale Hurston book within minutes. Best of all: it was FREE.

As a home-free nomad who rarely stays in any given geography for more than a couple of weeks, relying on traditional book lending is impossible, so digital lending has been a lifesaver. However, my love for libraries goes back much farther than the digital era.

My parents regularly took me to visit the libraries in our neighboring towns. My check-out piles always contained far more books than I could read in a single lending period, as well as a stack of Wee Sing Silly Songs cassettes and songbooks that taught me how to read sheet music years before I began piano lessons.

I occupied countless hours at my parents’ part-time jobs immersed in library books while they were bookkeeping, landscaping, cleaning, delivering pizzas, engraving trophies, and so on. When my dad began attending the local community college, he often deposited me with a very kind librarian who was generous with her time. The availability of books for folks my age was understandably limited. Still, she guided me through their offerings and introduced me to classics like The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, and Tuesdays with Morrie.

Even as a widowed single parent, my mom continued finding time for regular library visits. In junior high, we often had two of my friends in tow, and together, we badgered the reference desk with nonstop inter-library loan requests. We were committed to reading all the cool alternative magazines and rock biographies they didn’t carry at the local branch.

It was during this era, when CDs were still a new format and I only owned about 10, that I began checking out as many albums as you possibly could at any given time. Often, I didn’t even recognize the artists whose albums I checked out; I just grabbed anything with an interesting name or cool cover art. Since it didn’t cost anything, there was no pressure to be selective; I could test out anything I got my hands on, ranging from early rock n’ roll to jazz standards and ballads to movie soundtracks.

A similar exploratory dive occurred when I first began dabbling in mindfulness and meditation a few years ago. I’d never heard of Thich Nhat Hanh, Tara Brock, or Deepak Chopra, nor did I know how to locate the topics in the library filing system, so I beseeched the friendly guy at the reference desk to help. As he guided me around a few different sections, he told me about his own mindfulness practices, offered recommendations, and reassured me that it was okay that I was “bad” at meditation. The conversation was a real comfort at a difficult time and provided some much-needed redirection in how I was thinking about my spiritual journey.

Outcomes of library visits are not always so profound. Still, I’ve learned I can turn to the library for much more than books and other media. Here are several more examples of expansive ways the library has been a blessing in my life:

• During gaps in my pet-sitting schedule, I borrow wifi hotspots to use for freelance work while I’m staying at my mom’s in Wayne County, Ohio.
  
• When I found myself seeking a career change, the library supported my job hunt with books on resumes, programs on job hunting, and printing services.
  
• I’ve hosted community events at several Pittsburgh branches and have immense appreciation for the convening and connecting that libraries make possible.
  
• As a nonprofit professional, I’ve relied on resources provided for free at the library, such as access to Candid (a website used to research potential funding sources).
  
• Many happy memories were made toting my nieces off to story time, anime club, and crafting events.
  
• When I began experiencing breathing issues, I turned to the library’s air monitor program to assess whether indoor pollution in my home or workplace was part of the problem.
  
• The library has always been a cheaper and more pleasant option than Staples, Office Depot, etc, for basic printing and scanning.
  
• When I became curious about electronic music gear, I was able to check out drum machines and samplers from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

In the post “Cultivating Gratitude,” I mentioned that I make a daily list of reasons I am grateful. Since I began that practice, libraries and librarians have repeatedly appeared, and I am sure they will continue to!