Cheyenne Roche: Between the shelves
Apr. 27—When we ran an article about Creston Liquor coming to town, numerous people questioned why there isn't more in the town for kids to do.
Growing up in a town a fraction of the size of Creston, that seemed silly to me. We didn't even have a Walmart to walk around in like the kids do here. By the time I was in high school, the closest bowling alley was 30 minutes away.
That's not to say I was bored. In the summer, I spent every day at the swimming pool. In every other season, my days were spent at the Johnson Public Library.
This week, April 23-29 is National Library Week. The theme decided upon by the American Library Association is "There's More to the Story." The idea behind the theme is there is much more to a library than just books.
From audio books to games, programming and more, libraries aren't just for readers — they're for everyone.
Growing up, we didn't have a lot of money. I didn't have the name brand clothes or the Disney folders like some of my peers. As a child, it made me feel different, sometimes lesser. But once I walked through the doors of the library, I had somewhere I belonged.
We didn't have an extra computer at home for me to play on, but the library did. I played all kinds of games on the computer that I never could have at home.
I didn't have the fancy portable CD players my peers had, but I had a portable cassette tape player. I would check out books on tape from the library and while my peers' CD players skipped on the bumpy bus rides, I listened to the perfectly clear recording of "Island of the Blue Dolphins."
My dad typically got home from work around 5:30 p.m. With the library only a block from the bus stop, I would get off the bus and head to the library with stern instructions to be home by 5:30. But how can one keep track of time inside a library?
I did have my very own bookshelf at home, but I had read and reread those books so many times. The same went for my small collection of VHS tapes. I still remember the check-out limit was seven books. I had that maxed out for most of my adolescence.
Before I was old enough to go to the swimming pool on my own in the summers, I was an avid participant in the summer reading program where you racked up pages read to exchange for some kind of "library bucks." At the end of the summer, we all gathered with our fistfuls of library cash to bid on toys, candy and games in the auction.
It was the first time in my life I felt truly wealthy. I could bid on whatever I wanted. I don't remember a single thing I bought, but I remember the satisfied feeling of earning those dollars.
I remember making my MySpace account and then my Facebook account at the library. I even remember making my first email. I used a fake name because I remembered being taught not to put your name on the internet.
A group of us found a home at the library. The library director not only made us feel welcome, but encouraged our input and facilitated our ideas.
As a freshman in high school, there were several movies I wanted to check out, including the Harry Potter series, but they were labeled 16 and up. After speaking with the director, we came up with a young adult category for kids 12 and up.
I remember that not because I really wanted to watch those movies, but because it was an adult in a position of authority listening to my ideas and working with me on making it a reality.
She also encouraged us to participate in Reader's Theater where we created costumes and a backdrop and acted out a play for little kids.
While I'm not in public libraries nearly as much as I used to be, I've made my own little library at home. Just being in the room brings me peace. However, the time I spend in the Gibson Memorial Library is just as warm and welcoming as my home library.
Libraries aren't for kids. They aren't for readers. They're for everyone of all backgrounds and age to find their place between the shelves.
