I love the library. I love the idea of libraries. I love the storage of books and the lending of books and the smell of books. Triple points if it's a tiny and quaint library, if it's an older library (think mid-century), or if it's historic in some way and has that quentissential library feel of dark wood and library tables and lamps and is comforting, even if slightly foreboding. Our local library is none of these things really except that it houses books that I may cheque out. It's this huge, garish building completed in the mid-late 1990's. I'm all for history, but the mural painted around the cathedral-like ceiling is kind of tacky. And while the Mississippi Room upstairs is very old fashioned looking and kind of nice, there's a tower that you aren't really allowed to access. Who in heck was it built for? That back right corner? Well, in the back right corner of that back right corner is my favourite spot. It's the most interesting section of Non-Fiction and no one ever goes back that, so I can be alone, which is nice. Also, there are places in this building that I don't think they've ever used and there's at least a whole third you're not even seeing in that interior photo. And pretty much that entire right side is nothing but computers. I'm a purist. Computers in libraries? Pah! The top photo, which none of the locale photos are mine, is the original library. It is now The Cultural Center and has a teeny tiny city museum inside with Cultural/Art offices at the bottom, and the upper story is an art gallery. The bottom photo is the county library. The left side of those doors are technical work rooms, so it's really only the right side of the building that is the library and that entrance. The main point of this story however, was not to show you a ton of libraries. It was to say that I'm officially a re-instated member of the city library. See, when I was twenty or twenty one, I chequed out three books. ...and somehow I lost them. I've never lost library books in my life. Not prior and not since. They were just gone. Aliens abducted them or something. So, they charged me for the books, which I understand. Except that my fine was $150. These were books without real covers, from the sixties, that no one had chequed out since the library moved. Who knows how long before that. They were bound to end up in their sale pile within a year or two I'm sure. But, they wanted $150. But, I haven't noticed that the library is a lot nicer since they first opened this new building. Then it was like this secret club and only the most special people did they seem to want gracing their doors. They really did seem cliquish and rude. But they've been on this campaign for a few years now. Including the public in things, having film showings, kids things, wanting to make the library easy and accessible for everyone. It's probably because people weren't going because libraries aren't the hot thing they once were for books/knowledge and also because Mississippi keeps cutting funding for libraries. So, I'm sure they want all the people, patronage, and community funding that they can get. I'll get to the "new" library in a second, but as for millennial library, they wanted THE books back AND the $150 fine. How is that fair? So, it ends up that my grandmother passed away. A grandmother who was both rather wealthy and educated. She bought books like they were going out of style. Very nice books, very library and educational appropriate books. Lots of new books. We donated about $500 worth of very nice books to them, and were assured that this would take care of my $150 fine. It didn't. They took the books and ran and my fine stayed put. So, I chucked my card and basically became my sister, as in I used her card. For the past 16 I've been incognito at our library. I'd been living a lie for almost two decades. It really was sad. Then this month they started up the Food for Fines program. Every item was worth $2 off your fine and all of the food would go to a local food bank. Something must have happened in the past 16 years because $150 was now only $72.95. 35 items would get me in the clear. My dad stocks cans of food like the world might end tomorrow. I don't know why. I think it's a Mormon thing, but it could be an old thing. Anyway, he paid off his $13 fine (what he had left of a book that our cat Bunny ate, which he had to replace) & offered to pay mine off in food. He's big on food. So, we were 12 items short. So, for $5 I paid off my 16 year old fine, switched the email on my sisters account back to her (I was in charge of getting books renewed or back on time), and got myself a brand new card. A card all my own. My own name, my own pin number (for checking your account online). I almost cried right then and there because I was so happy. I can't really explain why I was so happy. A burden had been lifted? I could actually enjoy the library without hiding? My grandmother (whose books stocked that library) would have been ashamed at me for having the fine in the first place, and would have been pleased that I was finally fine free? Though thinking about it, I remember the day that my sister and I got our own library cards. My grandmother was still living at her home, and not in a home yet, and she congratulated my sister on getting a library card. With me she said, "Well of course you would." and smiled. Because I was so much like her and that's why we got on so well; she loved the library and learning too. My sister had never shown that much interest in either. So, thinking about it now, I'm sure my grandmother wouldn't have been ashamed of me, since she knew I was so good about the library and due dates. Humans do make errors. And had she still been alive should would have squared that away for me really quickly. A donation of books and very strong, authoritative words like only she could give. But, I think that I kept automatically thinking that I had somehow failed my grandmother, my namesake, all of these years. That she would have been ashamed of me. Though now that it's all over, I don't think that would have been the case at all. Is this why I almost cried that day? Being a human is really weird. But onto more library-ness! I belong to two libraries, yes. See, we live in the In Between. Not the Upside Down, just the In Between. We're next door neighbours with the city, as in I could spit and hit the city, literally, but we're not a part of the city. Aren't allowed to vote in city things, nor sign up for city recycling, ect. We're also not a part of the closest city in the county that we reside, so we can't vote in their city things.
But, as we're literally in spitting distance, and the city library pulled out an actual map to see if we could be card carrying members back in 2000, and deemed us as worthy, we're allowed to use the city library. But, we reside in this county right next door, so we get to be members of this library system as well! There are some downsides to living in the In Between, but there are some nice perks too. Two libraries for one. Another is that we can decide to have a yard sale whenever we want, for however long we want and we don't have to purchase a permit for it. Though we did have some bitchy towny stop by once and try to reprimand us. "Not in the city, lady, we can do whatever we want." We don't have leash laws, however, and I wish we did, but that's neither here nor there. So, county library! They were raising funds for their library and selling Mississippi shaped cookie cutters for $5. I'm not a $5 for a cookie cutter kind of gal, but I do like supporting libraries and $5 for the library is a great deal. Plus, I do dig my home state overall, and I do love to bake cookies, so it was all a win-win for me. It even came in a miniature paper bag with a hand-written note! It's a miniscule-tiny library, especially compared to the city one. It would be like saying this library were held in my very small closet, whereas the city one is The Library of Congress. I showed pictures above. You can see that library in an hour. And I mean walk slowly, parusing every single book seeing. The city one? Well, I've been going for the last 20 or so years and I still haven't seen everything! Seriously I feel like I need a tour guide and a map. Anyways, so I'm fine free and can be me at the library again which is really exciting and nice. I supported the library and walked away with a fab cookie cutter. And I also live dangerously by belonging to two libraries.
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AuthorA girl from South Mississippi who finds herself in exploration. Archives
November 2019
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