Wednesday, October 5, 2011


Last week, my kindergarten son's school newsletter announced that the library was going to be open after school for parents and kids.  Not exactly believing my good fortune, I questioned his teacher at pick-up on the designated day. She confirmed I could go up, only slightly taken aback by my enthusiasm. I rushed into school  announced to the guard where I was going.  She wasn't sure parents were allowed up, but I was only armed with permission from the teacher and she relented. And then we were there in the library. The only ones. The librarian was shutting down and she said we could stay because the parent coordinater would soon be there. Would she need to turn the lights back on or would the natural light be okay? You bet it would.

My kids thought this was bliss and so did I.  We sat on the rug and read book after book. They kept asking me why we were they only ones there and I said I didn't know. I couldn't imagine why there wasn't a line of parents down the hall and a bouncer at the door.  I mean this was the library. I'd been smiling every day that my son came home after a library visit. I had been dying to get in there myself and take a look. For as long as I can remember books were friends and the library was a haven.

We had the place to ourselves for awhile. Only later did a few tween girls show up and start quietly reading some books of their own. No one made much noise These were girls I could totally relate to. When I was about 10, I volunteered at the local library in my city. I know I organized and put books back on their shelves, but mostly I enjoyed having access to the special area behind the information desk where I could sit and just read.  These are happy peaceful memories of adolesence.  And it's pretty amazing that all those words can live together in one sentence.

At my son's library there was a teeny little part of me that, recognizing the Papa clan's enthusiasm, heard the word "nerd" repeating again and again in my head, but I fought that.  I used to get in trouble in class for reading books under my desk, thus drawing more attention to the reader (nerd) that I was. I don't want my children to ever be ashamed of their love of books. So we chose to celebrate this exclusive privilege we had to be in this special place. It was better than any velvet roped VIP room.

And since we were talking about what our education was and how and why we became writers, I have to say that the reason I am a writer is all this time spent in the library.  I hope it will also provide the education to my kids for whatever they chose in life. Though now I am a strong supporter of ebooks and ereading, libraries will always make me a little bit breathless and a big bit in awe.

Ariella Papa's ebook Momfriends will hopefully be available in a library soon.  In the meantime, you can find it wherever ebooks are sold.  Visit her at


  1. I heart libraries, too--one of my favorite places to be! Thanks for the great post!

  2. Kindred! I loved my local and school librarians and thought some day I would become one...or a book store owner. :) To this day, one of the first things I check out when I move to a new town is the library. At 6 months old, I signed my son up for Wee Ones at the library on Tuesdays and we travel to another library on Friday mornings for a drop in Infant Storytime. Great post!

  3. I was book and library-crazy too as a girl, Ariella! My sister and I used to go to our room after school and read and read and read.

    I'm on the board of the library in my hometown now--hopefully it will stay the heart of the town for many years to come.

  4. Oh, how I love libraries!! Great post.

  5. Library lover here, too! We moved around a lot when I was growing up, and the first thing I always wanted to do was find the nearest library, get a card, and check out books. :-) I can't imagine a world without libraries. Wonderful post.

  6. Yay, I'm so happy to see so many kindred spirits. Thanks all for the kind words and loving libraries as much as I do. Viva la library!

  7. I love to read and buy books for children, my children love the books written by Amy MacDonald, they said they like the stories so much and the illustrations of the books as well