Library is Here!

January 19, 2011

I have fond memories as a grade school child of bookmobile day.  I recall the excited anticipation I felt as the allotted time drew near when our class was allowed to step into this amazing library on wheels.  I can still smell the scent of adventure bound in paper and the sight of beautiful covers that danced before my eyes, all begging to be the next to come home with me.

Then, of course, there was the overwhelming odor of perfume wafting from the purple-haired lady sitting behind the little librarian's desk at the rear.  She smiled at each student as she purposefully stamped the date on each of our chosen treasures for the month.  I was intrigued by this mysterious lady who apparently lived in this little rolling house of books.  It did not occur to my young mind that the "library lady" actually had a life outside the bookmobile. As far as I was concerned, she and this traveling library were one and the same.

I am faced with the irony of my young impressions and my current situation as I struggle down the hall of a local daycare center, toting my bag full of storytime books and puppets with a flannel board dangling from my arm. As the little preschoolers spot me coming, I hear murmurs of "Library is here!", "It's the Library Lady!", and "Hi, Library!”  I chuckle at the thought that I am the library in their eyes, and at the same time feel a little extra weight of responsibility in my bag of storytime books. As memories of my bookmobile days pop up fresh in my mind, I realize that though my hair may not be purple and my "travelling library" looks very different than the one I recall, to many of these children I represent all they know of the library.

Whether or not my early experience with the bookmobile has anything to do with my current career in the library, I can't be sure. It certainly did influence my feelings about the library and reading in general.

With these thoughts in mind, I unload my bag of books and set up my flannel board.  I feel renewed motivation to make this story time a positive experience for each of the excited faces before me. For the next thirty minutes, library is here.

Vicki I.
Grandview Branch