I’m going to be totally honest: this post is kind of random and all over the place. I just wanted to talk a minute about the library. (Sorry Leslie Knope and everyone in the Pawnee Parks and Recreation department…) I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t discover the wonder of the library until this year. That’s right, it took me twenty-five years to realize how amazing the library is!

Why I never went to the library growing up:

• They never had the books I wanted
• The books were old and gross
• Nobody goes the the library anymore
• What did I need the library for when I had Barnes and Noble?

Since then, I have changed my mind about the library, as you can see from my picture of the billions of books I have currently checked out.  Below am going to refute each reservation I listed about going to the library, because they are all silly and incorrect:

They Never Had the Books I Wanted

Before the library, this was pretty much the way I lived my life:

“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.” ―Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus

Well, something you learn as you start adulting is that you kind have to start budgeting and watching where your money goes. In my attempt to save money on books I started seeing if the books I wanted were at the library. I knew it was going to happen, but I was still disappointed to learn that the books I wanted were always checked out. But then, I discovered this amazing feature of the library: You can put books on hold! And then they email or text you when your books are ready! And then you can read them for free! Sure, you have to wait a while, but if you are continuously putting books on hold, eventually it gets to the point that you’re getting a text every week, sometimes every other day, that a book you’ve placed on hold is now available. It’s like a constant rotation of books to take home and read, which is fantastic.

The Books Were Old and Gross

Okay, sometimes this one still stands, but mainly with children’s books where sometimes you find some weird crusty green substance in the corner of a page and wonder if it’s a booger. But the adult books… not so much boogers as ripped and bent pages. Yet, as a bibliophile, there’s something comforting to me about an old, well-read book. When you pick up a worn-out book, you know it’s been well loved, because it’s been read! I am not one of those people who prefers perfect, pristine books that are only meant to look pretty on a shelf. Just like children are meant to go outside and get dirty, books are meant to be used and worn. Of course, you should take care of your books. (I physically cringe when I see people purposefully creasing a paperback spine.) But a rip or stain or fold here and there isn’t going to hurt anyone. To me, that’s preferable to a perfect book that is never taken off a shelf. Lonely books make me sad…

Nobody Goes to the Library Anymore

Not so! Holy crap, the library is so busy all the time! I was shocked when I first realized this. There are still people in the world that study and read! And it’s not just nerds like me. There are all kinds of people at the library either studying for school, meeting with business partners, checking out books with their kids, or utilizing the free wifi. The library has not died, and the amount of people I see going to the library has pretty much restored my faith in humanity. There are few things as heartening as seeing people carrying huge stack of books in and out of that place, especially when it’s children who can’t decide which book to read first. My nerd heart does a little flutter at the sight.

What Did I Need the Library for When I Had Barnes and Noble?

I’m not going to even pretend that I don’t still love Barnes and Noble. However, before the library I always had to deal with the problem of buying books that I didn’t end up liking. They’d sit on my shelf until I would hopefully find the interest to read it one day, but I never did. By the time I realized I was never going to read it, I had lost the receipt. The nice thing about the library is that you can try out books and then if you don’t like them, you can just take them back! Amazing! Mind-boggling! Totally obvious to everyone but me!

Now this isn’t me saying I no longer have B&N in my life. Not that long ago I read this book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo, and in it she talks about only holding on to things that “spark joy”. My definition of books that “spark joy” are books that I know I will read over and over again. If it’s a book I know will be well-loved and read by me to the point of falling apart one day, then I will break down and buy it. This way the only books I have are the ones I love the most. So now I try the book out at the library, and then if I absolutely love it, I can go to the most beautiful store in the word and buy it to keep forever and ever!

So this is my nerdy tribute to the library. If you haven’t yet discovered the wonder of the library, you need to try again. Start how I did, by going online and putting books on hold. Pretty soon you’ll have a constant stream of free books in your life. 🙂