Linda N, one of the commenters, sent this picture of people cheering the opening of a library

Thanks to all you library-lovers out there, plus FFLL (Friends and Family of Library Lovers), I have exceeded my goal of $50 and raised $62 for the Louisville Free Public Library!  I especially like this number because I grew up on 62nd Street, so any flash of resonance is especially pleasing.

Thanks especially to Emily and Ginger, whose guest posts brought in fresh sources of fun and funds, and to those wacky pals at Vermont College who commented in droves.  I must admit that part of the reason I undertook this challenge was to kick-start myself back into blogging, and I really enjoyed the dialogue.  Maybe some of you will even come back!

Off to have brunch at a new place (new to me, I mean)–

~Jess

And now, the final post for the Library-Lovin’ Blog challenge, from my good friend Emily!  She told me recently about how much she loves Sylvester, the librarian at Louisville’s Eline Library, and I thought, “She must do a guest post for me!”  Thankfully, she has ceded to my command, and now you get to hear this sweet story.

Also thankfully, you readers have raised at least $40 for the library with your comments this week!  Think you can get it to $50?  Do I hear $55?  Comment away, me hardies, and thanks for visiting!

And now for Emily’s post (ooh! Like Emily Post!)

When I was a little girl, my family used to go to Cape Cod for two weeks

every summer, and the local library was within walking distance. I’d roll my little red wagon there, and the librarians greeted me each year with a “Welcome back!” I’d fill the wagon with books, and on the way home we’d stop for blue raspberry slushies and possibly, if my mother was in a very good mood, a Ring Pop. So libraries fill me with warm, fuzzy feelings, and also a desire for slushies.

Not Emily's actual toddler, but look! Cute toddler!

When I was pregnant with my first child, I knew I wanted the library to be special to him as well. As soon as the doctor gave me the go ahead to take him out in public, and as soon as I got over my fear of driving with him in the car, we went to the library. Now he’s a sturdy toddler, and I can no longer carry him into the library. He must walk, thank you very much. The entrance to our particular library is a long hallway, with the children’s section on the right, the adult section on the left, and panes of glass dividing the hallway from the books. Every single time we go, my son gets so excited to see the books (“Story!” he says. “Story!”) that he presses up against the glass. He’s so eager to get to the books that he cannot fathom he has to walk down the hall and around the glass. Instead, he bangs on the glass in frustration. He can see the books! Why can he not get to them?

But what makes the library really special is the librarians. First of all, they greet my son by name. Second of all, when he pulls many books off the shelf in his sheer joy at being surrounded by stories, they manage to hide their exasperation really, really well. And finally, when he cries in despair at having to leave, turning bright red and wailing as loudly as he can (which very loudly, in case you were wondering), they smile and make clucking noises and tell him they’ll see him soon.

The Ur-Sylvester. Am I right?

And if that doesn’t work, we see Sylvester.  Sylvester is my son’s favorite librarian, and mine too, I admit. Partially because his name is Sylvester, which is awesome, but mostly because he’s a very nice man. The last time we were at the library, my son had a fit because I wouldn’t let him bang on a computer keyboard. Red-faced, tears streaming down his cheeks…he was pathetic. All the little old ladies there looked very concerned. So I took him to the check-out desk, and there was Sylvester.

“Hi, Evan,” he said cheerfully.

The screaming stopped, and Evan eyed him.

“Tough day today, huh?” he asked.

Sniffles from Evan.

“Here are your books!” he said, and handed them to me.

A tiny voice piped up. “Thank you. Bye bye, Sylv.”

I kind of want to take Sylvester home with me and have him hand me books every time a tantrum occurs, but I think I’ll have to stick with regular visits to the library.

Again–leave a comment below, or here, here, or here, and Jess will donate $1 so librarians like Sylvester can have consistent hours and help kids like Evan and moms like Emily.

Also, thanks to Jennifer Hubbard, author of The Secret Year, for brain-childing the Library-Lovin’ Blog Challenge!  See all you library fans next year!

To add spice to our week, I’ve asked my friend from the Vermont College MFA program, Ginger Johnson (whose blog you can read here), to share her love of libraries.  I had a strong hunch that there was a long and varied romance here, and I was right!  This time in the comments, maybe you’ll share little library memory from your childhood.  Or you can always say, “I love libraries!” and I’ll donate a dollar for that.  (For more details on this challenge, go here.)  And now…

Love Song for a Library

the author and her sister

In the beginning was the Word. In her beginnings, there was a book. Her mother told her she could read before she started kindergarten, and she started kindergarten at age four. Each week, she would walk with her grandmother and older sister the nine or ten city blocks to their local branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, a low brick building down a side street.

There, she and her sister would settle in the children’s section, while their grandmother browsed through paperback mysteries and Regency romances. She remembers little of that library—windows, low shelves, Ezra Jack Keats’ A Snowy Day, and the front desk, where a stereotypically severe-looking librarian stamped their books with a heavy rubber stamp—ka-thunk!

By the time she was in fifth grade, her mother was in graduate school studying to become an elementary school librarian. Long Saturday afternoons were spent in Lockwood Library at the university: Mom at the copier with piles of coins, sister claiming the best of the blocky chairs available. The options were limited. Ride the elevator up and down, up and down. Run out to the vending machines, having first snatched a quarter from her mother’s towering pile. Quarter in, press F8, curly-cue swivels around, out pops frosted nut brownie. Or, of course, there were the stacks.

Mostly, she spent time in the stacks. One single row of children’s books, mostly books that sported shiny gold Newbery stickers. Somehow she got her hands on a bookmark that listed all the Newbery award winners, and she decided she would read them. Some of her favorite books were Newberies: A Wrinkle in Time, Tuck Everlasting, Bridge to Terabithia, The Westing Game, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. They were quickly joined by Summer of the Swans, My Side of the Mountain, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The Great Gilly Hopkins, A Ring of Endless Light.

She remembers, though, mostly spending those afternoons with E.L. Konigsburg. Oh, they weren’t on a first-name basis, she and E.L., but nevertheless, she became great friends with Claudia and Jamie, wishing more than anything that she could stay in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that she could go to an automat (What was an automat, anyway?). She thrilled to the sound of Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth. She gobbled up About the B’nai Bagels, while developing A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver. She even became Father’s Arcane Daughter for a while.

Those Saturday afternoons ceased, but she found other libraries to haunt. She could make a dot-to-dot design on a map of the United States of libraries she has frequented over her lifetime. It would undoubtedly look like an open book. Some of those libraries don’t exist anymore; some of them have expanded. All of them have been important to her. This one is the one she went to in college, studying with her roommates while wearing large hats (to channel the brain-waves, of course). This one she frequented when she was first married, borrowing books with unlikely plots and even more unlikely heroines. That is the one she walked to with her first baby, borrowing books on child development, as well as board books and movies for cheap date nights.

This library, here, was one of her favorites. She brought her toddler there for story time, but also to see the fish in the fish tank, and to work the puzzles on the table, and to borrow picture books to read to him, and CDs to listen to (a compilation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poems set to music was her favorite). It was there that she returned to her love of children’s literature, often grabbing Anne of Green Gables off the shelf to read while her gingerbread boy played quietly. It was here that she realized she liked children’s literature better than literature for adults.

Now she frequents her current town library, an old schoolhouse built in the 1800s. It is a place where the librarians not only know her name, they know her library card number. She also volunteers in the elementary school library, where she returns dozens and dozens of books back to their places on the shelves. Sometimes, though, she sees a book that catches her eye, and she sits down right in the stacks, caught up in the pleasure of a book, just like she did when she was in fifth grade. Some things never change.

Ginger today. I don't think she's even seen this photo!

The Library-Lovin’ Blog Challenge continues!  As you may remember, or would know if you read this, between now and Saturday, April 2nd, I’ll donate $1 to the Louisville Free Public Library for every person who comments on this blog.  Never one to expect new results with old enticements, I thought I’d add something new to the mix: a top ten.  (Well, let’s see if I can get ten.)

Here are my top ten libraries in literature and life, in no particular order, although some favoritism may be noted toward those at the top of the stack (get it, stack?  Yuk yuk yuk.)  If you want to leave a comment, feel free to write about your favorite library, or you can just say, “I love libraries!”

1) Sunnydale High School Library, aka Buffy’s hangout, aka Giles’s lair.

I know, I’m always going on about Giles.  Not only is he incredibly sexy (The Ripper…), but hello, he’s allowing for multi-disciplinary, hands-on learning with the Scooby Gang!  Did even Jenny Calendar offer that opportunity in her classes? I think not.

2) The Hogwarts Library

Best collection ever, and the books that snap shut on your nose?  Fun to read about, and the fact that the librarian, Madam Pince, never wants anyone handling the books always makes me laugh.  I think she should get a spin-off series.

3) The libe in Library Lion by my friend Michelle (Mikki) Knudsen.

One of those great books where an animal is indispensable.  Plus, kudos to Madam Merriweather, the librarian, who sticks up for her feline friend.  And kudos to Mikki, who wrote this NYTimes best-seller!  (I can’t believe I know a best-seller!  Two, actually, but that’s another story.)

4) New York Public Library as portrayed in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie, although I can’t quite remember why (another involves Holly Golightly sharing one of the few Italian phrases she knows, “I believe you are in league with the butcher!”)  Is this the scene where there’s sneaking?  J’adore sneaking.  And j’adore the fact that Paul (George) Varjak finds a copy of his book at the NYPL.  I need go to the Brooklyn Public Library one of these days and find Nice and Mean.

5) Another New York Public Library, this time in All-of-a-Kind Family

Oh, that scene in chapter one where responsible Sarah forgets her library book!  And the librarian is so nice to them, endeared by them standing in a row at her desk and scratching their legs because Mama’s stockings make them so itchy.  It’s just a great scene.  Plus, the librarian becomes a very important person in their lives…read the book to find out.

Okay, you know, that’s probably enough for now, because I am racking my brains and not coming up with enough, even though I know I am neglecting many!  So I’m excited to have you all chime in on your favorite libraries in books and movies (and hey, if you have a song about libraries, bring it on!)  But I got very swoony while writing this, which I think goes to show that having access to books in a place of learning brings out a primal sort of love , and we should support our libraries!  Don’t forget to comment, my friends!

Welcome to the second annual Library-Lovin’ Blog Challenge!

Who doesn’t love a good library?  All those books lovingly wrapped in plastic, and free.  All those quirky librarians, making your day just a little more interesting with their banter and going out of their way to help you find resources.  All that programming, without which many families would find themselves bored and disconnected, and all that technology to help people find jobs, houses, and internet boyfriends.  That’s all thanks to public libraries, but it ain’t free.

YA author Jenn Hubbard (The Secret Year, 2010) came up with this great idea that during the first week of April, kidlit writers and bloggers would donate money to their favorite libraries based on the number of comments they receive.  For every person who comments on this blog between now and Saturday, April 2nd, midnight EST, I will donate $1.00 to the Louisville Free Public Library, which has kept me in books, in company, and out of debt more than I can say.  And I promise to post more often so that you actually have things to comment on!  Today’s comment question: What do you like best about libraries? I’ve put some options in the poll to your right, but if you want a library to earn money from your opinion, editorialize in the comments below.

In addition, whomever among you comments the most will win a copy of my middle-grade novel, Nice and Mean, either to keep or ask me to donate to whomever you choose.

Finally, this link will connect you with other bloggers who are participating in the challenge, so if you are feeling particularly swoony about libraries, you can read even more and quintippleipple your impact (quintippleipple is to multiply something by 50.  If you don’t believe me, look it up.)  And please!  Spread the word about this challenge–on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, whatever.  The more comments, the more money, the more our beloved libraries will be able to do the things that make us love them.

So stay tuned for love songs about libraries (stories, too), and if you don’t have a blog but want to guest-post about your love for libraries, let me know in the comments!

We Need You Badly, Badly, Madam Librarian—Miss Shannon!

That phrase doesn’t scan as well as “Marion the Librarian” in The Music Man, but Louisville’s Portland library does indeed need its Miss Shannon. 

Here to get Miss Shannon’s take on the fun, power, and yes, quiet, of working in a library is my after-school reading class. 

 Aneesha: What do you do most of the time?

Miss Shannon: I help people when they’re working on the computers.  I also answer questions like, “Who was the forty-first president?”

Malcolm: Do you have to be quiet to be a librarian?

Miss Shannon: No.  That’s an idea from a long time ago.  Twenty-five years ago, this job was just about libraries.  Now, it’s about helping people find information, and it’s important to be able to give information back and forth. 

Phillip: Is it fun to be a librarian?

Miss Shannon: My job is just wonderful.  I love best to read, and I love stories and crafts.  I love finding information for people and learning new things.  And I like meeting new kids, too.  You know, my dog died on a Sunday, and first thing on Monday morning, I went in to read to kindergartners because I knew it would make me feel better. 

Daryl: When I went to my dad’s house one day, a dog got ran over.

Miss Shannon: Do you have a question about libraries? 

Phillip: If somebody wants to check out a book, can you help them with that?

Miss Shannon: I can do everything. 

p.s. Miss Shannon would also like you to know that she is not, technically, a librarian.  She does not have her Master’s of Library Science and is therefore a Children’s Library Assistant.  I say, we are just glad you are here for us!

The Music Man’s Marion is, of course, an excellent librarian, but my favorite librarian is my friend Judy, whom I worked with several years ago.  Judy was obsessed with cleaning the gunk off the binding labels, and whenever I’d stop in to chat (often), she’d say, “Let me just get my cleaner,” and she’d stand there and attack the binding with a wet cotton ball.  She had a fantastic collection of colored pens and paper clips, and while she’d clean, I’d arrange the paper clips in rainbow order.  Often, I’d find that one of my favorite students, a Judy fan as well, had beat me to it.  Judy’s that kind of librarian–loyal fans, long talks.

One of my favorite Judy Library stories involves the Poppleton books for young readers.  Poppleton is a great character: large and pink, what he lacks in intellect he makes up for in kindness.  In one Poppleton book, he carries, among other things, a suitcase and–I believe–a pink hanky.  Judy, being the great librarian that she is, assembled miniature Poppleton items for her class to hand around, including a tiny square of pink Kleenex.  One of her first-graders, on seeing it, looked up at her anxiously.  “Is this Poppleton’s?” he asked.  “Should we be careful so we don’t mess it up?”

Or at least I think that’s how the story goes.  The point is, Judy is a librarian who makes magic happen, whether she’s solving your problems over a stack of gummy books or cutting a tissue down to imagination size. 

Saturday, March 27th is your last day to have a comment counted toward the Library-Lovin’ Blog Challenge!  Leave a comment and I’ll donate $1 to the local library.  If I amass 10 comments today, I’ll make it $1.50 per!  And thanks to Jennifer Hubbard for starting the challenge in the first place!  You are a visionary!

[I am on hold with American Airlines.  Perfect opportunity to update the blog!]

[Note once again: if you comment on this or any post, I will donate $1 to my local, recently flooded library!  I’ve got something like 20 comments so far–I hope you’ll take me up to my goal of $40!]

So I’m participating in the Library-Loving Blog Challenge, started by fellow Tenner Jennifer Hubbard.  I talked in an earlier post about how libraries are helpful to me, but now I’d like to talk about how librarians are helpful to the community.  (Sorry if I sound a little like a game-show host.  Blame the hold music.)

One of my part-time gigs is working at an after-school program housed in a Louisville library.  The librarians have enough to do keeping up circulation and helping people use the computers, but they’re always extra friendly and helpful to our program.  One of them volunteered to come and do story hour with us once a month (yes! 20 minutes I’m not in charge of!), and the other is On Top Of It when it comes to making sure the space-sharing goes smoothly.  Another group has been in there before ours recently, and she routinely comes down to ensure that the transition is going as scheduled.  She doesn’t have to do this–there’s a steep flight of stairs involved–but she always does.

Before I took this job, I never realized the extent to which libraries aren’t just book houses and computer stations, but community centers as well.  The local hospital comes by to provide free health checks and information in the lobby.  AARP runs tax consultation sessions.  And hello–we’re there with our elementary-schoolers who take forever in the bathroom!  There are probably a million other partnering organizations I’m not aware of because I’m only there a few hours a week. 

In and among all this, the librarians I work with always make me laugh and help me feel welcome.    So thank you, Miss S and Miss R (I will spell out your names if you give me permission next week), for providing such a resource to our entire community.  And please note that I do my best to get those kids out of the bathroom!

Welcome to the library-loving blog challenge!

 Whether you’re a bookstore lover or a library devotee, chances are that your local library is doing something awesome right now. 

 They may be finding a book that your non-reading child will actually like.  They may be helping someone use the internet to look for jobs, or trying their dangedest to find the name of the book that you only remember as, “Oh, it had a pink cover, it maybe it was blue, and it had the word ‘girl’ in the title.  It came out last year, or maybe the year before…”  They may even, if you beg the right way, be forgiving your library fines. 

I don’t know what I’d do without the dedicated and hospitable staff at the Louisville Free Public Library.  It must be an effort for them to smile when they see me coming, because I always ask them to pull so many books for me from around the city.  But they are always well-informed and kind, even though they’ve had a horrible year. 

In August, a flash flood that covered the city in two feet of water—the city!  Not the country!  We have regular city streets!—ruined the sorting and storages facilities at the main branch.  Many people pitched in for the recovery effort, but the library is still in need of funds.  The picture below is from the week of the flood.  Imagine already struggling with funding your multi-service operation and coming in to find this in your basement.  (The truck is the Bookmobile, drowned.) 

 Here’s where you and I come in: I joined writer Jennifer Hubbard’s Library-Loving Blog Challenge.  For every commenter on this post between now and April 6, 2010, 12:00 pm, I will donate 50 cents to the Louisville Free Public Library, up to an amount of $40. 

How easy could it be?  You comment, I proudly find two quarters, and the library gets a gift.  If you don’t know what to say in your comment, “I love libraries” will do. 

Note that my pledge is “per commenter,” so if a single person leaves 50 comments, that still only counts once.  But you can do more by spreading the word.  Please link to this post, tweet about it, and send your friends here so they can comment and raise more money. 

If you’re moved to make a flat-fee donation to your library, or to start your own challenge, you are quite welcome, and please leave that information in the comments.

For a complete list of participating bloggers (and to visit other sites where you can help libraries just by leaving a comment!) visit the writerjenn blog at http://writerjenn.livejournal.com/

Thanks for joining!  I look forward to seeing comments in the name of library love.