“When I was 9 or 10, I was playing down at the creek (small-town upbringing in the 1950s) and I found what was to me a huge turtle. I took the poor thing and ran all the way to the library and asked the librarian for a book about turtles. Did she tell me to get that disgusting creature out of the library? No, she did not. She found me a book about turtles, and I went home very happy and excited about my new pet. I’m pretty sure my mother made me put him back in the creek. My first library research experience!” — Patrice Marcks, Riverside, Calif.
“Here’s to the Berea (Ohio) Public Library and the limitless lending policy that would allow a 12-year-old all the books he could carry. The best book of all time though was William Pene du Bois’s ‘The Twenty-One Balloons’ (yeah, long before our current balloon obsession) and we were off to Krakatoa, diamonds as big as the Ritz and adventures galore.” — Joseph A. Kopec, Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
“I discovered a new world when, as a 12-year-old, I checked out the ‘West Side Story’ cast recording. Listening to it today brings back some of my happiest childhood memories.” — Luz Reyes, San Diego
“When I was in middle school my mom had to work late on Wednesdays; walking from just a few blocks up Main Street, I spent most Wednesday afternoons in the library doing my homework until my mom came to pick me up. Though I could have gone to one of the study rooms, I continuously returned to the children’s room to be with the librarian, Bonnie, who had been there since I was very small. She knew me, and if she didn’t, she pretended well enough that I felt safe and happy there. Now in college in Massachusetts, libraries still feel like home. Despite being much larger than they were in my small hometown, there is a sense of familiarity in the space. I love libraries, you are my heroes.” — Talia Feinsod, New Paltz, N.Y.
“Raising four children on a very limited budget, the library was a haven. It was the one place we could all go and not spend a dime, but be filled with everything we needed for our minds and spirits.” — Stephanie Stauber, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
“I travel six months of the year in my R.V. One of the first things I do when entering a new place is check out its library. I have never found one I didn’t like. Same for every one of the hundreds of librarians.” — James Taylor, Buenos Aires
