Seeing as the Michigan Library Association (MLA) just held its annual Library Advocacy Day on April 30, I wanted to take a moment to highlight how impactful libraries have been in my own life. This year’s MLA theme was “libraries light the way,” and that couldn’t be more true for so many that turn to them for information, materials, and their multitude of services.
My family and I have been utilizing public libraries and its many resources available since I can remember. Growing up in a rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii, the library was a go-to place for me and my siblings to check out books, use computers for free, and to just have a safe place to read anytime of the day. The local school librarian when I was an elementary student was a good friend of the family, so I loved visiting and looking at books with her whenever I had time, during and after school. Until middle school, I’d tell people I wanted to be a librarian when I grew up because of the positive influence she (and all those children’s books I checked out) had on me and the way I read books.
The library became a special place and memory early in my childhood. Not only do I remember the excitement of getting my first library card as a kindergartner, but I remember the joy it brought me and my fellow Girl Scout troop when we had the unique experience of being able to sleep overnight at our school library. It must have been around second grade because I distinctly recall being so happy to be considered one the Girl Scout brownies. We did a number of hands-on activities/arts and crafts, but the storytelling time led by our librarian was my favorite part of the sleepover. We also watched different movies from the library’s extensive videotape collection and did a scavenger hunt. For a second grader that loved reading, staying the night in a building full of books was the equivalent of a kid being in a candy shop.
Fast forward to middle and high school then into college and till today, the library continued to be a vital part of my day to day activities. My high school didn’t have a library, so a lot of the kids that had to do research beyond what could be done on a computer eventually ended up at the town’s public library to get things done, too. And I was in a library almost every day in college especially, utilizing the expertise of staff and accessing materials that I couldn’t at home (like books, computer labs, and printers). As an adult, I still visit and use our public libraries, albeit not as frequently, but I never would have thought that it’d be a place I’d invest so much time into.
Public libraries have always served as a dynamic resource for communities across the country. Without the access to professional staff and the materials and books in my own hometown library, I probably wouldn’t be who and where I am today. They give us the opportunity as individuals to be lifelong learners by providing resources we otherwise wouldn’t have. They’re known as the epicenters of our communities for a reason, and that freedom to access knowledge and learn is something to celebrate, support, and not take for granted.
