Josie at the Library

 

The Rugby Library

The Thomas Hughes Public Library  absolutely took my breath away. It contains over 7,000 books from the Victorian era, most donated new by the publishers.

This is the best preserved of the Rugby buildings with all the original furniture.

And the books! Books were so beautiful back then. . .

I could spend hours looking through the collection.

The cane backed chairs look quite comfortable . . .

How I'd like to peek into this volume . . .

Oh, well done! to those far-sighted folks who preserved this treasure of a library

 for so many years!

 

Library Week - Memories

 

It's Library Week -- a good time to think about showing your support and appreciation for your local library. Most all of them are in trouble -- budgets being slashed -- just when they're the most needed.

My love affair with libraries began in Tampa at Roosevelt Elementary school in the early Fifties. My third grade classroom had a small library with lots of what we called 'little orange books' -- simple biographies of famous people as children.

 I blazed through all of these little orange books but my great joy was the weekly trip to the school library. I could walk in right now, I believe, and put my hand on the Oz books. 

There was one that featured a sea of vegetable soup and big soft pillowy, buttery rolls -- not unlike those served by the school cafeteria. Though I own most of the Oz books, I've never been able to track down that particular scene. Ah, but I remember it fondly...and the rolls.

At about this time I also accompanied my parents to the 'downtown library' once every few weeks.  Oddly enough, I have no memory of getting children's books here -- I was in a serious cowboy phase and Will James and Zane Grey were my choices. 

The library at Wilson Junior High was well stocked with horse books -- all the Walter Farley books -- as well as various series  --the  Cherry Ames , the Nancy Drews, the Dana Girls ... 

But the Hyde Park Branch Library -- just a short walk away from Wilson -- ah, that was the library of my dreams. My first library card (orange, with a little metal inset) was issued there.  And there, in the children's section I found the Narnia books, Enid Blyton's Adventure series, more horse books, Noel Streaton's Shoes series, and title after title of YA science fiction -- Heinlein's The Rolling Stones, Andre Norton's The Stars Are Ours!, a wonderful time travel adventure, (with a title I can't remember) involving Vikings landing on the Yucatan peninsula  ...


When I'd exhausted the childrens section, I was at last allowed (it took parental permission) to check out adult books -- historical fiction, books on ancient history and archaeology, and Richard Halliburton's travel books were my reading choices as I moved into high school.

Every week I checked out a great stack of books and every night I read late -- traveling, learning, experiencing other times, other worlds, other lives.

As Emily Dickinson put it, "There is no frigate like a Book/

To take us Lands away . . .' 

 

What were the frigates of your youth?