Ever since I was a little girl, the word library brought up visceral feelings of joy and anticipation. Never mind that I misheard (and mispronounced) library as li-berry or that I could not read a word from a book (though I liked to pretend): as soon as one mentioned going to that brick building on Main Street, I was one of the first to hop into the car, a canvas bag in tow.
Library Hero #1: Matilda
After a while, I learned how to read. Which was good, because now I understood what I was reading, and not just pretending to understand.From then on came my insatiable appetite for books, constantly going to the library to see what new information I can find, what new worlds I can enter, and of course, what new books I can triumphantly carry back to my lair to read.
Library Hero #2: Hermione Granger
My relationship with libraries since then has grown to be like that between a country and its citizen. Throughout my nomadic life, I have come across a dozen libraries. These libraries, scattered across the world, have made such an impression on me that I have come to view them as entities beyond just spaces filled with books. They are ubiquitous sanctuaries that are separate from the outside world. Even a school library, filled with students, and dreadfully near the classrooms, is a world apart from the school itself and provides respite from the daily tedium of school. Whenever I go to a new place, I try to find out if there is a public library I can go to. Being a library explorer has become part of my identity-- in addition to my citizenship, birthplace, ethnicity, and everything else. Frankly, I am not sure what I would be without libraries or books.