When You've Got a Library Card
Dear Readers,
As a kid whenever I was asked on what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answers were typically either an author or a librarian. Since I loved to read, I thought that writing was the logical next step. Now I certainly do write as a hobby, but I've come to realize I enjoy writing about stories more than writing them myself. Now my desire to work in a library derived from a misguided notion that librarians spend their days reading. I even said as much when I interviewed to be a page back in high school. I did not get the position then, nor do I work in a library today. Ironically enough, I feel I am a much better fit for library work now than when I was a starry-eyed highschooler with dreams of reading the workday away. I understand and appreciate the principles of library work much better now, and am intimately familiar with ensuring people from all walks of life are able to freely access art and culture.
A couple of folks in my life are returning to school, and I wouldn't be lying if the thought of continuing higher education hasn't occurred to me. I enjoy my current job, but I hesitate when folks ask for advice on how to break into the field. It's not that I dislike the work I do, but the field I'm in increasingly feels like a burning building with everyone fighting to get through a single door. The grass isn't greener on the other side, but that burning door is a smidgen wider in libraries and a MLIS would open doors - and not just library doors. Of course, there's always the possibility of being burdened with student loans and no better prospects in sight, no knowing what the state of the world will look like by the end of a program. Knowing many librarians at my home branch by name and being on good terms with them, I am also painfully aware of the problems that plague libraries (and librarians)! Being one of the last spaces people can exist without the expectation to spend a single cent, they are overburdened and stretched thin while budgets don't grow any bigger to accommodate the demands made of them.
A while back I embarked on a journey to visit every library in the city. While I'm a long way from my goal, I've seen time and time again the passion put into displays, programs, the careful curation of community resources to redirect folks when the libraries cannot help. I suspect much of the extra special touches that I see are the result of very passionate people who staff the spaces. Passion alone cannot pay the bills, and I wish we didn't live in a world where we have to sacrifice passion for profit. Still, I am immensely grateful for everything that libraries have been and continue to be for me. I'm sure this is cliche to say, but a library card expanded my horizons without ever having to leave my home. To quote everyone's favourite talking aardvark, "Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card!"
A branch I visited today had quite a considerable collection in library so that was utterly delightful. I walked out with far more than I see myself realistically getting to anytime soon. Now mind you, it's not as though I don't have 17 other titles checked out (10 of them being manga volumes), but even if I don't get to them, anything to help improve the circulation numbers (*￣▽￣)b!
Here are the eight titles I checked out along with the likelihood that I will get to them before the due dates creep up on me.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - If you've been following my journey through the Sherlock Holmes books, you might be thinking, wait! Weren't you already reading this? I was indeed reading a very heavy edition of the title. It was this brick of a book, a Sterling Classics edition with gorgeous illustrations and nice premium feeling paper, but I could not take that paperweight anywhere. I almost gasped aloud when I saw a much more manageable sized edition on the shelves and will be returning the brick. Likelihood I will get to this before the due date: Extremely. I'm already a couple of stories in, and actually it helps that I signed out another edition - I only had a couple of days left before the other edition was due.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - I read Dubliners by the same author during my undergraduate days and while I cannot recall a single detail of any of the stories now, the synopsis for this looks like it will crush me, which is always fun. Likelihood I will get to this before the due date: Up in the air honestly.
American War by Omar El Akkad - In my previous post, I had listed this as a title I hoped to reread over the summer. I hadn't been able to find a copy at my home branch and hadn't went out of my way to put it on hold, so it was nice that it found me. Likelihood I will get to this before the due date: Likely. I'll probably keep this with me to read at work or on my commute.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - There are three titles on this list that I do not think I will get to prior to the due date, and this is the first of them. Not for lack of lack of interest, but because I want to save this along with a couple of other titles for autumn. Likelihood I will get to this before the due date: Unlikely. Extremely unlikely.
Bad in the Blood by Matteo L. Cerilli - One of the hazards of writing down book titles to read later or snapping pictures of book covers is that they're bound to get lost in your notes app or gallery. I do have a Storygraph, but rarely do I use the to-read function to add books to my TBR. This was a title I saw at a literary festival last year and was drawn to it because of the cover. Wouldn't you know it, I snapped a picture of it and it lay forgotten until I saw it as part of a display. I don't even think I had read the synopsis when I first saw it, but reading it now it seems like it'll tickle an itch. I'm on a mystery kick anyway, so why not add one more to the list? Likelihood I will get to this before the due date: Likely.
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - I have never read anything by Dickens, and this is probably the only title of his that I have any interest in reading. Not necessarily because I believe it's one of those great tomes I must read, but because I wish to judge for myself a reference made in another book. Likelihood I will get to this before the due date: Unlikely. I know he was being paid by the word, but I skimmed a bit and the sentences keep running with no signs of stopping...
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - I honestly thought I'd get to The Europeans before this, but I saw this and checked it out on a whim. Likelihood I will get to this before the due date: Unlikely. I may be wrong, but this feels like an autumnal read.
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin - Having recently finished Go Tell it on the Mountain, I've wanted to read more by Baldwin and so I had to pick this up. The edition I have checked out is a Vintage International and it's got this beautiful painting of Baldwin on the cover. Likelihood I will get to this before the due date: Likely. It's just a matter of starting it.
On a closing note, I sympathize for everyone working in or working towards careers in fields that are undervalued. Now more than ever, I am fiercely proud and protective of libraries and the people who keep them running. Thank you for everything. If you use your local library in any capacity, be sure to shoot them an email thanking them. People often write to voice their complaints, but people are shyer about sharing their compliments. My next post will hopefully be a mid-year wrapup, showcasing the highs and lows of 2026 so far.
Signing off,
memoria