When I was a wee lad, we lived in the Brightwood area of Indianapolis and didn't have much, but I did have the Brightwood Library. I would go there to check out books and sit and read. It was a welcome break from the pressure of trying to feel better about how things were going. I still feel that sense of peace when I go to my Carmel library
Libraries were a consistent safe place for me growing up. In elementary school I always checked out and read the limit of books weekly. In middle school I worked in the school library in exchange for my lunch…I loved the cafeteria food! But in the summers! The public library was uptown, a walk of maybe a mile, and I visited two or three times a week. The summer reading club always had a great prize for meeting the quota for my current age. I don’t remember many of the prizes but the books told me about a world of people and places that both excited me and helped me realize my expectations could be realized. I went to four different high schools but the library was a welcoming place in each.
As a retired public librarian I am always gratified to see vibrant local libraries whose community of users spread like a net throughout the greater community and indeed help to create a neighborly community of the mind and the secular soul and spirit. I was fortunate enough to be able to help create and then serve in such a space. Nearly 20 years after my retirement I can look at that library and see that what I helped build was only the foundation of what was to come. I've visited a few times in recent years and am in awe of what they have built.
If we are lucky we can build on the work of those who built things before us and leave a solid foundation for those who come after. The thing is, I didn't know that at the time, I was just trying to do a good job. Now I can see that by by reaching out into the community, the community is inspired to reach back creating a strong web. It's incredibly hard when suspicion on the part of funders, community members and elected officials threaten to disrupt that web. Sometimes the web is torn, seemingly beyond repair. In our case persistence paid off and community support helped turn elected officials' attitudes from suspicion about "what you are doing with our money" to pride in the library and the services provided to the community.
Now, 30 years after those days, I can see I was then and now "standing on the brink of everything." Now I know that while I may not see the future, I gain hope because now some of the past makes sense. So I try to take what I have today and build the best out of it hoping that someone will find it useful tomorrow.
Edited to add: If you thank a librarian, remember to also thank the funders that support libraries, the Friends of the Library group in your community and support the library budget requests at budget time. Thank the Library Board too. What they do varies from state to state but they are generally there so the politicians don't run the Library and they often have strong financial responsibilities. Serving on a Library Board is a great way of giving back to a community and learning the mechanics that allow library magic to happen. Strong community support can take a load of weight off a librarian's shoulders.
My dad's sister (my aunt) is my favorite person in the whole world. She married for the first time when she was 50, so I had many visits with her when it was just the 2 of us. I remember the first time I was going for a visit after she married I wondered how it would go. Her husband found a moment when it was just the 2 of us. He said to me, "thank you for coming, it means so much to your aunt that you are here" At that moment, I think I welcomed him into our circle. The amazing thing is that he would say that to me each time I visited for over 30 years. It always touched my heart.
My stories of giving and receiving deep appreciation feel a bit too tender to share today. But my life has been “filled with kindness that I didn’t earn.”
When I heard the news that library funding was going to be drastically cut and books considered unsuitable were suggested to be removed from the shelves, it made me realize how our local librarians must be feeling, so as I approached the desk to ask for help, I asked her what I as a regular, happy and long time user of the library could do. She went on to explain how hard the director was doing to save jobs and maintain all the wonderful programs they have. She went on to say how much she appreciated my asking. I came home and immediately wrote a card to the director thanking him for his efforts and letting know what an amazing library we have. I've been telling my friends to stop by the desk when they are in the library and say thank you and to offer a word of support. I love the idea of a postcard campaign and will send an email with the suggestion to everyone I know who uses the library.
Such a beautiful story. Thank you Gracia for supporting our local library and for being the kind of person that lets others know they are appreciated. You are a light in the world.
a poignant pride post, thank you for using your voice so compassionately carrie. i will also add that libraries are often literary harbors for lgbtq+ youth who cannot read any stories with characters who resemble them in their school libraries, or more importantly, consult with nonfiction books of support and advice for coming out to loved ones, friends, and teachers to begin the long climb out of shame. everyone deserves to tell their truth 🏳️🌈
Thank you Skott, Yes, libraries have become important safe harbors for young people in the lgbtq+ community to access stories that include them, honor their experience and support a vibrant diverse world.
I love these thoughts! It reminds me of how often I (and others) tend to brush off compliments or words of appreciation from others thinking "it was nothing!"! We need to remind ourselves that it is okay to be appreciated! And we also need to remember to state our appreciation to others! Sometimes a statement of appreciation, like a random hello to a stranger, might be the only positive word a person may hear in a day!
I also need to share that these thoughts of a library, on a lighter side, remind me of a song. It is "The Librarian" by Ann Reed. Hilarious! It reminds me of "Please don't put me on hold" by Carrie! A smile to share!
Support your libraries! Support the causes you care about! Call your congressmen and women! Let's support each other during these difficult times!
I grew up in a small town in East Tennessee in the 1960s - 7000 people, I think. But we had a wonderful public library about two blocks from home. To this day that library is still one of the most valued images and influences during those formative years. I read thru all the children's level book I was interested in by age 10, so the librarian made an exception and gave me an "adult" card. The world was wide open at that point - not just books, but periodicals and records. As I've moved during adult life, one of the first things I do is look for the closest library.
Yeah! When you wrote to me, of all poets, about appreciating “Take Love for Granted.” And from then on that gift led to what I never thought would be there enriching a whole new joyful insert into my life.
I am a life enrichment coordinator at a large retirement community and I work in the rehab center. One activity that I do is share nature photos that I have taken and let the residents make cards out of a photo that they like. One resident wrote me a thank you note that the photo reminded her of her healing journey in the rehab. I have a box at work that I put special things like that in. When I need a boost I look in my box. Community and giving thanks are so important.
A little while ago I went to a local fair- with booths displaying wares and services. It wasn’t my usual thing but I felt strongly that I needed to go. At the end, I took one last look and was surprised to hear my name called out. Behind the table was a young woman I recognized. I had been close to her family when she was little but lost touch when I moved away. She remembered a trip to the beach when she was maybe 5. There was a photo taken of us walking on the beach, holding hands. I was most certainly listening to her astute observations on life. She said “I loved you so much. I have kept that photo on my nightstand ever since”
I was stunned. And grateful to have been a positive part of her life. And even more grateful she shared that with me.
It is such an affirmation, when the love and care you gave that little girl ment so much to her. We never know the ripples that expand out from the stones we drop in the water. I have a sense that you have so freely given so much love and kindness and decency in your life time that it might not just be ripples, but great waves of love :-)
"Champions"-I have learned to call those who reflected back to me my worth thru their generous and loving heart. A postman who would stop and talk to a sad and lonely 11 year old boy who looked forward every morning during the summer to see him come. I would receive his time and his kindness to ask me how I was. He did not have to do that. Coach Teeters at highland High School-7th grade. A very overweight young man with little athletic ability but he put me on every team he coached and made me feel special. A High School teacher (Mr. B.C Smith) who taught the only Philosophy class in Indiana (Madison Heights High School in 1973). I was known as a troublemaker in high school and so teachers were wary of me. I dropped out at 16 and did not return back until I was 19. I chose to return rather than do the GED and so I was considered the O'G'. The moniker of troublemaker still hung around my neck. Mr. Smith allowed me into his Philosophy class even though you were suppose to be an honour student. I clearly was not. Mr. Smith elevated me to the front of the class and I worked hard to learn and show him I was capable of far more than trouble. He saw it. I remember his writing on my test papers encouraging words and once said in front of an entire class that in all his years of teaching no one had truly understood Emmanuel Kant like....well..me.
These moments of champions were true oxygen for a troubles soul. And inspire me today to be that for others.
What a truly amazing and touching story. I have a high school teacher I hold in my heart with a similar kind of gratitude. Yes….the love and decency and kindness we give and receive does shift the world and changes lives each and every single day. Thanks…and I love that you read Kant in high school….about the same time I was reading Gandhi…I think we would have had interesting conversations at a school lunch table.
I am a retired school librarian. School librarians are a misunderstood and underrated lot. Most people thought and probably still think today that our role is to sit behind a desk, checkout books and shoosh students for talking too loudly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Modern school and public libraries are vibrant places of individual and collaborative learning. They also provide a place for students to go where they can feel safe, for whatever reason. And librarians don’t just check out books. We are trained teachers. For 30 years I tried to instruct students in how to locate information and differentiate the good from the bad, a skill that was not considered as important as other skills being taught in the regular classroom. Now look where that has gotten us today! Unlike other teachers librarians do not always know what impact we are having on students. We, for the most part, do not give tests or evaluate student performance. Most of the time we must have faith that what we are doing counts and is appreciated. Sometimes that acknowledgement comes years later. For me one of the best rewards I ever had was receiving a note from a former student long after she had graduated telling me what a difference that I and my library had made in her life. That short note made it all worth it for me.
I have a school librarian friend in a rural community. She loves her work and is adored by her students. Many community members also support her in return, as she recently transitioned out of a destructive situation to a now happier life!
Thank you Linda! I was hoping a librarian by vocation would talk a bit about how many things librarians do…and often there is misunderstanding about the wide range of services and expertise librarians offer to students and community members. I’m also glad you mentioned, providing safe space and learning the skill of how locate information and how to judge good from bad sources (such an absolutely essential skill now). I know some libraries provide high speed internet, private spaces for Telehealth, access to professional software, and long lists of things we don’t always associate with modern libraries….and of course reading, reading programs, language programs, vocational preparation, free access to ideas and literature, poetry, music, art, periodicals…and I’m sure I’m missing tons of things. I’m so grateful for your life’s work…I am one of those people who was changed forever by libraries and librarians. You’re all superheroes and angels. It breaks my heart that libraries and librarians and free access to diverse ideas are so under attack. I travel a lot….and a town without a library is a poorer place, a place with hampered potentional. Thank you Linda!!! For explaining a little further and for the affirmation that when a person takes acknowledge the work and love you’ve put into your vocation…. it means so much.
When I was a wee lad, we lived in the Brightwood area of Indianapolis and didn't have much, but I did have the Brightwood Library. I would go there to check out books and sit and read. It was a welcome break from the pressure of trying to feel better about how things were going. I still feel that sense of peace when I go to my Carmel library
.
Libraries were a consistent safe place for me growing up. In elementary school I always checked out and read the limit of books weekly. In middle school I worked in the school library in exchange for my lunch…I loved the cafeteria food! But in the summers! The public library was uptown, a walk of maybe a mile, and I visited two or three times a week. The summer reading club always had a great prize for meeting the quota for my current age. I don’t remember many of the prizes but the books told me about a world of people and places that both excited me and helped me realize my expectations could be realized. I went to four different high schools but the library was a welcoming place in each.
As a retired public librarian I am always gratified to see vibrant local libraries whose community of users spread like a net throughout the greater community and indeed help to create a neighborly community of the mind and the secular soul and spirit. I was fortunate enough to be able to help create and then serve in such a space. Nearly 20 years after my retirement I can look at that library and see that what I helped build was only the foundation of what was to come. I've visited a few times in recent years and am in awe of what they have built.
If we are lucky we can build on the work of those who built things before us and leave a solid foundation for those who come after. The thing is, I didn't know that at the time, I was just trying to do a good job. Now I can see that by by reaching out into the community, the community is inspired to reach back creating a strong web. It's incredibly hard when suspicion on the part of funders, community members and elected officials threaten to disrupt that web. Sometimes the web is torn, seemingly beyond repair. In our case persistence paid off and community support helped turn elected officials' attitudes from suspicion about "what you are doing with our money" to pride in the library and the services provided to the community.
Now, 30 years after those days, I can see I was then and now "standing on the brink of everything." Now I know that while I may not see the future, I gain hope because now some of the past makes sense. So I try to take what I have today and build the best out of it hoping that someone will find it useful tomorrow.
Edited to add: If you thank a librarian, remember to also thank the funders that support libraries, the Friends of the Library group in your community and support the library budget requests at budget time. Thank the Library Board too. What they do varies from state to state but they are generally there so the politicians don't run the Library and they often have strong financial responsibilities. Serving on a Library Board is a great way of giving back to a community and learning the mechanics that allow library magic to happen. Strong community support can take a load of weight off a librarian's shoulders.
My dad's sister (my aunt) is my favorite person in the whole world. She married for the first time when she was 50, so I had many visits with her when it was just the 2 of us. I remember the first time I was going for a visit after she married I wondered how it would go. Her husband found a moment when it was just the 2 of us. He said to me, "thank you for coming, it means so much to your aunt that you are here" At that moment, I think I welcomed him into our circle. The amazing thing is that he would say that to me each time I visited for over 30 years. It always touched my heart.
My stories of giving and receiving deep appreciation feel a bit too tender to share today. But my life has been “filled with kindness that I didn’t earn.”
When I heard the news that library funding was going to be drastically cut and books considered unsuitable were suggested to be removed from the shelves, it made me realize how our local librarians must be feeling, so as I approached the desk to ask for help, I asked her what I as a regular, happy and long time user of the library could do. She went on to explain how hard the director was doing to save jobs and maintain all the wonderful programs they have. She went on to say how much she appreciated my asking. I came home and immediately wrote a card to the director thanking him for his efforts and letting know what an amazing library we have. I've been telling my friends to stop by the desk when they are in the library and say thank you and to offer a word of support. I love the idea of a postcard campaign and will send an email with the suggestion to everyone I know who uses the library.
Such a beautiful story. Thank you Gracia for supporting our local library and for being the kind of person that lets others know they are appreciated. You are a light in the world.
a poignant pride post, thank you for using your voice so compassionately carrie. i will also add that libraries are often literary harbors for lgbtq+ youth who cannot read any stories with characters who resemble them in their school libraries, or more importantly, consult with nonfiction books of support and advice for coming out to loved ones, friends, and teachers to begin the long climb out of shame. everyone deserves to tell their truth 🏳️🌈
Thank you Skott, Yes, libraries have become important safe harbors for young people in the lgbtq+ community to access stories that include them, honor their experience and support a vibrant diverse world.
When good words are banned,
we double down in good works.
Written, spoken, sung.
I love these thoughts! It reminds me of how often I (and others) tend to brush off compliments or words of appreciation from others thinking "it was nothing!"! We need to remind ourselves that it is okay to be appreciated! And we also need to remember to state our appreciation to others! Sometimes a statement of appreciation, like a random hello to a stranger, might be the only positive word a person may hear in a day!
I also need to share that these thoughts of a library, on a lighter side, remind me of a song. It is "The Librarian" by Ann Reed. Hilarious! It reminds me of "Please don't put me on hold" by Carrie! A smile to share!
Support your libraries! Support the causes you care about! Call your congressmen and women! Let's support each other during these difficult times!
I grew up in a small town in East Tennessee in the 1960s - 7000 people, I think. But we had a wonderful public library about two blocks from home. To this day that library is still one of the most valued images and influences during those formative years. I read thru all the children's level book I was interested in by age 10, so the librarian made an exception and gave me an "adult" card. The world was wide open at that point - not just books, but periodicals and records. As I've moved during adult life, one of the first things I do is look for the closest library.
Yeah! When you wrote to me, of all poets, about appreciating “Take Love for Granted.” And from then on that gift led to what I never thought would be there enriching a whole new joyful insert into my life.
A joyful addition to my life too my friend! A deep bow of gratitude.
I am a life enrichment coordinator at a large retirement community and I work in the rehab center. One activity that I do is share nature photos that I have taken and let the residents make cards out of a photo that they like. One resident wrote me a thank you note that the photo reminded her of her healing journey in the rehab. I have a box at work that I put special things like that in. When I need a boost I look in my box. Community and giving thanks are so important.
What a beautiful story…I love that you bring art into what enriches a life. I bet that box if so full of amazing stories.
A little while ago I went to a local fair- with booths displaying wares and services. It wasn’t my usual thing but I felt strongly that I needed to go. At the end, I took one last look and was surprised to hear my name called out. Behind the table was a young woman I recognized. I had been close to her family when she was little but lost touch when I moved away. She remembered a trip to the beach when she was maybe 5. There was a photo taken of us walking on the beach, holding hands. I was most certainly listening to her astute observations on life. She said “I loved you so much. I have kept that photo on my nightstand ever since”
I was stunned. And grateful to have been a positive part of her life. And even more grateful she shared that with me.
It is such an affirmation, when the love and care you gave that little girl ment so much to her. We never know the ripples that expand out from the stones we drop in the water. I have a sense that you have so freely given so much love and kindness and decency in your life time that it might not just be ripples, but great waves of love :-)
And it seems likely that those ripples and waves left signs in the sand.
"Champions"-I have learned to call those who reflected back to me my worth thru their generous and loving heart. A postman who would stop and talk to a sad and lonely 11 year old boy who looked forward every morning during the summer to see him come. I would receive his time and his kindness to ask me how I was. He did not have to do that. Coach Teeters at highland High School-7th grade. A very overweight young man with little athletic ability but he put me on every team he coached and made me feel special. A High School teacher (Mr. B.C Smith) who taught the only Philosophy class in Indiana (Madison Heights High School in 1973). I was known as a troublemaker in high school and so teachers were wary of me. I dropped out at 16 and did not return back until I was 19. I chose to return rather than do the GED and so I was considered the O'G'. The moniker of troublemaker still hung around my neck. Mr. Smith allowed me into his Philosophy class even though you were suppose to be an honour student. I clearly was not. Mr. Smith elevated me to the front of the class and I worked hard to learn and show him I was capable of far more than trouble. He saw it. I remember his writing on my test papers encouraging words and once said in front of an entire class that in all his years of teaching no one had truly understood Emmanuel Kant like....well..me.
These moments of champions were true oxygen for a troubles soul. And inspire me today to be that for others.
What a truly amazing and touching story. I have a high school teacher I hold in my heart with a similar kind of gratitude. Yes….the love and decency and kindness we give and receive does shift the world and changes lives each and every single day. Thanks…and I love that you read Kant in high school….about the same time I was reading Gandhi…I think we would have had interesting conversations at a school lunch table.
Teachers are so important. Glad you were blessed with some good ones
I am a retired school librarian. School librarians are a misunderstood and underrated lot. Most people thought and probably still think today that our role is to sit behind a desk, checkout books and shoosh students for talking too loudly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Modern school and public libraries are vibrant places of individual and collaborative learning. They also provide a place for students to go where they can feel safe, for whatever reason. And librarians don’t just check out books. We are trained teachers. For 30 years I tried to instruct students in how to locate information and differentiate the good from the bad, a skill that was not considered as important as other skills being taught in the regular classroom. Now look where that has gotten us today! Unlike other teachers librarians do not always know what impact we are having on students. We, for the most part, do not give tests or evaluate student performance. Most of the time we must have faith that what we are doing counts and is appreciated. Sometimes that acknowledgement comes years later. For me one of the best rewards I ever had was receiving a note from a former student long after she had graduated telling me what a difference that I and my library had made in her life. That short note made it all worth it for me.
I have a school librarian friend in a rural community. She loves her work and is adored by her students. Many community members also support her in return, as she recently transitioned out of a destructive situation to a now happier life!
Thank you Linda! I was hoping a librarian by vocation would talk a bit about how many things librarians do…and often there is misunderstanding about the wide range of services and expertise librarians offer to students and community members. I’m also glad you mentioned, providing safe space and learning the skill of how locate information and how to judge good from bad sources (such an absolutely essential skill now). I know some libraries provide high speed internet, private spaces for Telehealth, access to professional software, and long lists of things we don’t always associate with modern libraries….and of course reading, reading programs, language programs, vocational preparation, free access to ideas and literature, poetry, music, art, periodicals…and I’m sure I’m missing tons of things. I’m so grateful for your life’s work…I am one of those people who was changed forever by libraries and librarians. You’re all superheroes and angels. It breaks my heart that libraries and librarians and free access to diverse ideas are so under attack. I travel a lot….and a town without a library is a poorer place, a place with hampered potentional. Thank you Linda!!! For explaining a little further and for the affirmation that when a person takes acknowledge the work and love you’ve put into your vocation…. it means so much.