The sweetest thing I read this week was a note from Cecilia Hogan, a reader in Tacoma, Wash. While waiting to pick up a book at her local library, she saw a 5-year-old boy applying for his first library card.
“The boy swam in excitement,” Ms. Hogan tells me, “bobbing from foot to foot, gurgling over each development the librarian devised. ‘Can you sign the back of the card?’ she asked. The boy nearly exploded. ‘You don’t have to write your whole name. How about just the first letter? A ‘Z,’ right?’ The boy took the pen from her and, after carefully executing a ‘Z,’ he added an ‘N’ and an ‘A.’ The more letters, the better, right?”
Then it was time to put the card on a lanyard — his own lanyard. “The boy was ecstatic!” Ms. Hogan adds. “It was magic as old as libraries and still possible in the world we occupy today.”
Amid all the shameless assaults on librarians– like this real-life horror story – that little boy’s delight reminds us what’s at stake and why it’s worth defending everyone’s freedom to read. […]
Sunday marks the start of Library Card Sign-up Month, a national effort to connect children with libraries and books. The annual drive started in 1987 after then Secretary of Education William Bennett said, “Let’s have a campaign. . . . Every child should obtain a library card and use it.”
If there are young people in your life, consider how you can help them get a library card and begin a transformative engagement with the world of books.
— Ron Charles, from “The Book Club” (Washington Post, August 30, 2024)
Photo: Ivo Rainha, Porto, Porto, Portugal
My heart just filled up.
Right!?!?
BIG time!
Great stuff. We need more of that.
We do. A lot more.
I could not love this more
Me too!
Experiences like that make my heart exploding with joy and hope. I didn‘t know that this existed in the USD. Pls do everything possible that ALL kids can have library cards. And their own lanyard. And kind librarians. And open doors…
Yes!
Hurrah !!
Yes!!!
So good just wonderful!
WOW, what a great library.
And a great message. A library card for every kid!
Thanks
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yes! Thanks Klaus!
so grateful for my wonderful Mom who got me my very own Library card as I started school- I can remember the feeling of a book bag so full I had to almost drag it behind me. LOVE!! I stopped watching TV during the pandemic, I read news and books daily. It’s still my favorite hobby, just started my 50th book YTD. “With a book, you can go anywhere and never leave home …” My Mom . YAY! MJ
Wonderful memories MJ. Thanks for sharing. 50th book YTD, wow! Great for you!
I have vivid, core memories of the boys each getting their library card. At the time, we also had a BookMobile from our local library that for some reason (we live on a no outlet street) used to park on Wednesdays, 40 feet from our front door. Best day of the week for this Mom, who loved the convenience of finding literature.
Sadly, for the first time in 15 years of teaching, I had close to a 50/50 split of students who read the summer reading book.
Let us encourage more reading. Please.
50/50 for 1 book? Meaning 50% of your class couldn’t read 1 book over the summer?
I have 88 students on the grade level. 51 read the book. Worst participation in 15 years.
Discouraging…
Such a Wonderful moment when a child takes ownership of a library card, such a gift 🙂
It sure is Christie!
Love. This. Remember my childhood trips to the library so clearly. I could scarcely contain myself as I vaulted up the steps, then hurriedly shuttled to my favorite sections to carefully consider what I would check out that day. The smell of books, the comforting cream of the wooden floors, the soft murmur of other patrons….a melange of sensory memories that fills me with joy to this day.
Creak, not cream. Grr….
Beautiful memory Lori. Thanks for sharing.