National Library Week ended on Saturday, but our library love continues year-round here at Teenreads! We asked our Teen Board members to share a fond memory of their library or librarian --- read below to see their responses! If you’re interested in more library memories, click here to see last week’s blog post, where we shared our reviewers’ answers.
I can still remember the day I got my library card. I was five, the age my mom decided was old enough to have a card. I remember being shown a box with different choices for the design on the card and picking a yellow one with a bridge in the background. The librarian gave me a handy plastic white bracelet to keep it on my wrist and sent me off for my first checkout. Over the years I accidentally bent the card right along the bridge and eventually just memorized the barcode number and lost the card, but the memory of that magical moment of being trusted with my own library card, my own ticket to reading, will always be clear in my mind. – Emily P
I always get really excited for our library's annual spring book and bake sale. All the books that have been donated over the last year are dragged out onto the front lawn and everyone stops by and picks through them, hoping to find something good. They also have a bake sale at the same time which is really quite superb. It's so special to see various people from town getting excited about finding new reading material. I mean with sunshine, baked goods and books, how can you really go wrong? – Charlotte L.
As a little kid, I regarded our county library with nothing short of awe. Shelves towered above my head, positively packed with adventure and mystery, the aisles snaking away into an infinity of shadow and daydreams. For my four-year-old self, the library bridged the gap between reality and fantasy, between what I had to do and what I dreamt of doing. I've always considered libraries intellectual playgrounds, the only true frontiers, replete with new people, places and ideas all begging to be explored.- Alison S.
It started when I was around seven, and Miss Mamie, the head librarian, took notice of the shy girl who stayed in the library for hours on end, content with the simple pleasure of books. She asked if I'd like to help shelve books, and slowly it expanded into shelf-reading, CD-marking, spine-stickering, paper-cutting and any other hyphenated work that needed to be done. She's been a cheerleader for my own writing, an editor, book-recommender and friend. She's everything a librarian should be and more --- and to her, much thanks, for encouraging a quiet bookworm in her pursuit of literary love. – Mary M.
Seeing the dedication of my local librarians inspires me to continue reading and appreciating books. – Aliza M.
There was this really cool librarian at the public library who I used to see practically every day the summer before freshman year. We were on a first-name basis and would always joke around with each other (until her boss showed up, that is). Sometimes I'd go in there and she would just hand me books she thought I would like. She was an absolutely amazing person. - Sydney L.
My fondest memory of a library happened to take place just last year at my school library. I had just finished reading The Mortal Instruments series within five days during HSPA (High School Proficiency Assessment) week. Each day I would go to the library, the librarian would have the next book at the checkout counter for me. When I told her I wanted to read the prequel series, she ordered the books and when I got back from spring break, they were waiting for me that Monday morning. Her unfailing enthusiasm to give me the next book and Cassandra Clare's amazing writing made me fall in love with the Shadowhunter world very quickly and easily. – Katherina T
One of my favorite librarians ever has to be my middle school librarian. I became really close to her and I loved talking to her about books and everything else. Plus, she did the best thing imaginable: handed me the application to be on the teen board - Pranshu A
With honesty, I can say that all of my memories of being in the library are fond memories. I use the library for two reasons: a) to study and b) to read. When I study in the library the process is hard, and requires hours of concentration. However, because I always leave feeling productive and better prepared for my classes, studying in the library brings me joy. When I read in the library, I enter into forbidden worlds and uncharted territories. Books consistently give me humor, tears, friends, emotion and magic, and I experience all of these elements while reading in the library. For this reason the library is a domain unlike any other, and thus has become one of my favorite places in the world.- Cadyn D.
My middle school library was where I spent all my time when I wasn't in class. The librarian even allowed me to eat my lunch in there. I'm so thankful to this day because I didn't have any friends to eat lunch with and I had some extra time to read my book. In 8th grade, the librarian had her baby so we had a substitute. However, she didn't know much so I technically ran the library. It was very fun and I made some friends too. – Thanh Tu N.
Because I've volunteered at my local library for the majority of this school year and have been constantly making trips for the past 5 years, I have had the opportunity to amass an array of fond memories, from participating in the events that the children’s librarians have hosted, like board games, to discovering novel novels (see what I did there?). Throughout it all, I feel that my most fond memories are of the relationships I have formed with the library staff, the other volunteers and the patrons I have been able to assist in my time at the library. They are always inquiring about my well-being and are willing to help whenever I may have a personal issue on my mind. All in all, I have found that in all these years together, the library has become a safe haven and the librarians my friends. – Sara J
My fondest memory of my librarian would have to be when I first entered high school. I had no idea what I was doing but I went into the library and the librarian immediately made me feel welcome! – Kate F
The Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, the library system where I live, hosts an annual book sale. The book sale includes donated books, so many of them are practically new. I have memories of going to the sale, searching the many rooms filled with books, and leaving with fifteen to twenty books that in total cost ten dollars. Because the sale runs for two weeks, I often returned for more books after reading some of my purchases. I have always looked forward to the next sale. – Rachel B
