September 2014 | Page 2 of 15 | Gale Blog: Library & Educator News

Libraries as Relief From Tough Times

September 19, 2016September 30, 2014

By Joanne K. I was 12 years old when my father was hospitalized from June through August, and the library in the city of the hospitalization was within a few blocks of the hospital. My rural community did not have a public library. My mother arranged for me to get a library card as a … Read more

He Needed Help. Where Else Would He Have Gone to Get it?

September 19, 2016September 30, 2014

By Jennifer K. A man who had lost his job and had been semi-homeless for several months came to the Newport Public Library to use the public access computers. He had been offered a good steady job, but in order to take it he needed a copy of his birth certificate, which he’d lost when … Read more

Cute Answer From Freshman Library Orientation Survey

January 13, 2017September 30, 2014

By Kelly B. Recently, a fun answer came from a freshman during our Library Orientation survey. The question was “Are there any books that you think our library needs to have?” Most students answered with a simple yes or no or gave their favorite title. One student wrote a very thoughtful response to the question. … Read more

Escapism & Destiny

January 13, 2017September 30, 2014

By Lynette M.

All during my life, I was destined to be a librarian. I grew up in a tumultuous home. My parents were divorced and while I lived with my alcoholic mother most of the time, I was often in foster homes while she was trying to “dry out”.

I found that no matter which school I was in, what neighborhood I lived in or which family I lived with, I could visit the library and they were all the same. Different walls, different people maybe but the library itself was my friend. I could read a book and be lost in the movie that plays in my head with each book I read. It was escapism at its finest.

I Had No Idea

January 13, 2017September 30, 2014

By Kathy S.

Having a love for reading my whole life, and two years experience as an elementary school language arts teacher, I was excited to return to my Alma mater as the new K-12 librarian. My first year, there, I was assigned a junior as a student aide.

She was a quiet, well-mannered young lady who was a conscientious worker and a great typist. We were still typing cards for the catalog by hand back then, so I showed her how to type the cards and assigned her to accession the new library books. She did such a good job, that the following summer, I paid her out of my own pocket to help me get the library ready for the fall.

A Library Changed My Life

January 13, 2017September 30, 2014

By Martha V. I started working part-time in a very small (one-person) public library when my children were small. I hadn’t finished an even two-year college degree but the library didn’t require a degree. I loved working in the library, teaching people of all ages about the library and learning something new every day myself. … Read more

Libraries Forever……

September 19, 2016September 30, 2014

By Nann T.

Just because of the techy developments of today does not mean that libraries are to become irrelevant….look at History….Libraries have continued to exist for centuries due to their need….the need of people to research and to read, to collect and to write….their reflections of their lives, the events….The idea that libraries are to be diminished is ridiculous…like the microwave and the stove….Exist side by side, all of the collecting points that Man finds to be necessary.

Give a Person a Book…

September 19, 2016September 30, 2014

By Joni S. My mother-in-law immigrated from Italy to NY many decades ago. And while she embraced living in America and raising her children here, English was always a difficult second language for her. As she grew older and became more homebound, I learned that our local library was filled with an amazing Italian book selection.Those … Read more

The Treasure Trove

September 19, 2016September 30, 2014

By Jacqueline S. My mother was an avid reader. She passed her love of literature on to me. Each week when I was a child we walked to our local library and found new treasures. My mother set a wonderful example. Part of the reason I was a fine student and English teacher was because … Read more

Sacred Space

September 19, 2016September 30, 2014

By Cyn D.

The building is still there, though it’s used as a “performance” space now, I believe. But the majestic marble and wood rotunda of the Main Library in downtown Chicago was a magic portal, a grand and sacred space. The huge rooms surrounding the rotunda offered not just books but movies, vinyl recordings of the jazz greats and classics of all genres, art work you could actually take home and place on your own walls…amazing treasures.