Shhh. . .You're in the Library

As a kid, my favorite place was the library - some things never change. I read so fast that I went there at least once a week and sometimes more. The librarian became my friend and books my portal to anywhere more exciting than our little town. The best years were those when we lived close enough that I could go on my own without waiting for my mom to take me. I can still remember my mother and the librarian and any other adult within range telling us to be quiet in the library. I used to tell my own little ones to remember that it was a quiet place where people went to read and study and that they should use their library voices.

I've noticed a difference in the last few years. Our small-town library is largely unchanged. It's still a quiet place were whispering seems natural, but the main branch in the city is quite different. They have added a coffee shop, computers where people access the internet and even televisions where people can pop in a movie. Patrons sit at tables and carry on conversations in a normal speaking voices, and one day I got to listen to a very interesting, one-sided cell-phone call. I suppose you could say I was eavesdropping, but he spoke loud enough I couldn't help but over-hear, and of course my imagination started filling in the other side of the story. It will probably make it into one of my books someday.

It doesn't really bother me, but I do find it interesting. I see fewer people just sitting and reading a book than I used to. Now everyone is plugged in somehow and it has become more of a social gathering place. Personally, I prefer my little-small town library where the librarians greet me by name and often put books aside if they think I'd like them. And overall, it is still a quiet place where I can escape and be surrounded by the printed word. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get much better than that.