Tara Blair By Jill L.
Libraries influenced my life from a very young age. My parents, both teachers, were dedicated patrons of our local public library in Livonia, MI. I systematically worked my way through the fiction and non-fiction collection; the beginning of a life-long love of reading.
By Aaron C.
I was in my 2nd year at GMI / EMI which is a school that had a calendar of 3 month CO-OP engagement, 3 months of schooling, 3 months CO-OP, and 3 months of schooling as a 5 year program. My CO-OP sponsor was in California and my family was in Michigan. I tried to lobby for a new CO-OP sponsor with the school but was told that in order to change sponsors I would need to find my own. I walked out of that office and straight to the library.
During the library introduction at the beginning of the semester I remembered them showing us the various company registries and how you could find any company in them. I spent hours pouring over the listings and creating a mailing list of the companies that worked in automation which is not only what I wanted to do but it applied to my degree program.
By Courtney C.
Growing up, I spent a good chunk of my summers at our public library since it was impossible to be bored there. My summer ritual was going to the library at least once a week and taking out a bag full of books to occupy my time until I could return them again. It was comforting to have a place to call my second home.
By Wendy H. The only private club my family has ever joined is an invitation only private library. From an early age through present day adulthood, education and a passion for reading has been passed down through the generations. As a kid, my parents would regularly take me to the library to read or to … Read more
By Shawn O. Libraries have been an important part of my life since I’ve been able to walk and talk. I remember story time as a child, checking records out of my home-town library collection, spending hundreds of hours completing research and writing papers in the library, and today checking out eBooks. My best friend … Read more
By Susan P. My 4th grade teacher walked our entire class to the local public library periodically. If we had a school library, I don’t remember it. This was a long time ago; I was in 4th grade during the Cuban missile crisis. Mrs. Petersen saw to it that we went to the REAL library. … Read more
By Melissa Rayner
Native American rights have been in the news quite a bit lately, especially as they relate to the Redskins controversy. That got me thinking: How were things back in our favorite century?
And what I found broke my heart, much in the same way reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison breaks my heart every single time (yes, normally, these blog posts are kind of hilarious, and I promise to return to hilarity next week).
My search turned up an autobiography by Joseph K. Griffis (formerly Tahan), Out of Savagery into Civilization, in which he recounts–and even dumbs down–his many adventures as a wild man of the plains and how he eventually found his place among learned, civilized society. Here, the introduction lays out his many experiences:
Read more19th Century Nitty-Gritty: Out of Savagery into Civilization
By Jennifer A.
I’m 30 now and don’t live near the public library in my hometown of Midland, MI, but I will never forget it. It doesn’t look the same as it did 20+ years ago – it now has a coffee shop, a teen room, and several updated and refreshed spaces – but it still has the feeling, that feeling you get when you walk into a library and there awaits endless choices of where your imagination can take you inside its shelves. My mother or father took me to the library every 1-2 weeks to pick as many books as I could possibly want from the shelves to take home. When I was little, it was picture books, and boy does Grace A. Dow Memorial Library have a lot of those. I competed in Battle of the Books at the Library. I participated in the Summer Reading Program EVERY summer to get the free TCBY coupons and free Pizza Hut personal pan pizza.
By Candice K.
Many of my memories from my own childhood are from visits at our local library. After all, it was a convenient and easy place for my mom to take us since it was right around the block from my house. I remember how excited I was to enter the children’s section and to pick out new Curious George and Amelia Bedelia books. Boy, was I excited to read them with my mom as soon as we got home!
By Sarah S.
Growing up my parents were both avid library users. As time went on Mom started working full-time and couldn’t always pick us up after school everyday. We ended up walking to the local library and staying to close (our choice) whenever we went there. We each would find a corner to curl up with our homework and latest personal reading book. Mom would have to search the building for us if she wanted to leave any earlier than closing time.
In high school nothing changed in my love of the library, except for adding a new favorite library. During study hall I would race to be the first one in class so that I would be granted a library pass. It was my hour of bliss during the day; my sanctuary within the school grounds. I did all of my studying either at the town library or in this brand new high school library.