Another Love Letter to the Library.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it before, but I love reading.

And I love the library.

Scratch that.

LOVE the library.

LOVE.

I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, but I do have my library card number memorized.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, then you know I practically lived at the Cabell County Public Library last summer.

In what is perhaps my favorite post I've ever written, I talked about how I don't need self-help books because books are my self-help.

I will be spending the majority of the summer living out of town, and I've done nothing to prepare but see if I'll be able to get a library card in the local area.

Yesterday afternoon I took 10 students from our school's chapter of the National Junior Honor Society (I'm the faculty adviser) to volunteer at the Gallaher Village Public Library, the library closest to our school. This library also happens to be the one where I grew up; the one where Kathy took us all summer long every summer when I was a kid. The librarians at Gallaher Village are attempting to reorganize their nonfiction section, and our task yesterday was to take a list of titles, find them, and pull them off the shelves. It was like a big scavenger hunt! Simple, right?

There we were, tightly squeezed in three aisles looking for our books when, about 10 minutes in, I realized what happens when I take a big group of nerds (self included) to the library.

"Miss Lafferre, look at this!"

"Wow! This book looks cool."

"I think I'm going to check this out." 

And my favorite ...

"Miss Lafferre, how many words do you think are in this library?" 

"I don't think I know the word that means that number, KG. Quadrillions? Quintillions?" 

... and that was only from the kids who WEREN'T sitting on the floor looking through their books.

As I was looking for one of my titles -- a book about Lewis Carroll, I believe -- it just hit me (again): there is nowhere on earth I feel happier or more at home than the library. I just can't explain how I feel when I'm there. I LOVE it.

All those words. All those stories.

All those books that are full of the same 26 letters, arranged, and rearranged, and rearranged again.

It's magic. Words are magic.

Valentines that my little sister from Big Brothers Big Sisters and I made when we spent Valentine's Day at the place I love most, the library!