From Circulation Assistant Ashley:

Are books important? Does reading even matter? Friend, you are reading the blog of your local library, and I know you are the wrong audience for those questions because OF COURSE they are and OF COURSE it does! Get through one day without reading something. A clock? Your phone? Facebook? A newspaper? A road sign? A t-shirt? We are always reading, but it hasn’t always been this easy to get things to read. 

It’s easy for us in modern America, especially library patrons and workers, to feel like life is so full of books, we’re practically skipping through a meadow full of them. We can buy books, borrow books, look at books. We can order books from other libraries or from who knows where via the internet. We can access an ebook or an audiobook immediately with the effort it takes to tap a finger. We, dear readers, are spoiled, and we are lucky. 

Books have always meant everything to people. Back in the ye olde days (like the Middle Ages) there was only one book. It was the Bible, and there was only one person in your town who could read it. That was a priest because the Bible was printed in Latin. Since little European towns were very religious and since the only person with access to the religious text was the priest, he practically ruled the town. 

But we’re not in the Middle Ages, Ashley, we don’t care about that. But you should!!! For as long as there have been people, society has changed because of writing and reading! Cave paintings led to written language led to illuminated manuscripts led to the printing press led to pamphlets and newspapers and freer access to books led to stories being told on the radio led to them being told on the television led to the internet to us right now!!! We could talk about traders and merchants carrying books on horseback or in wagons to trade information to the world along the Silk Road. Or we could talk about wagon trains in the Old West. Or we could talk about a bookmobile bringing library books to underserved populations or the Scholastic Book Fair or even our very own Stephanie doing Homebound Delivery every month.  

When it comes to books and stories, where there’s a will, there’s a way. We, as humans, crave a story, a book in our hands, the tactile feeling of paper on our fingers, the joy of a great or even bad story. And we as librarians do our best to make that happen for you. We order things from other libraries or libraries outside the system. We fill library requests, once even to the Netherlands. They did request it go by plane though because the boat takes a long time. We will even take your book to you. We tell everyone about the library, including the girl who took my order at McDonald’s today. I hope she puts that book on hold. Basically, if there’s something you want, we’ll move mountains to move that book into your hands!