Falling in love with the library, all over again

A carpeted bathtub, enchanting storytellers, stained glass squares, delightfully small books and chairs just my size; some of my fondest childhood memories have to do with the Moses Lake Community Library.

It was always a delight when Joyce Boyer, who babysat me from the time I was two weeks old to well through elementary school, would load all of us kids in her daycare into the car for story hour and a chance to check out new books. She'd always bring the same straw-colored bag which she'd let us fill with books from the children's section. I always selected Beatrix Potter because the stories of Peter Rabbit and other animals were contained in tiny little books that felt just the right size. I'd linger in the children's area for what felt like ages, picking just the right book to take with me and eagerly taking a first glance at the pictures as I sat at the low, round table. It felt like a special, safe place, and I remember being mesmerized by the blocks of thick green, red and blue glass that make up part of the wall which divides the children's area from the grown-up books.

There was also an old-fashioned bathtub covered in multi-colored squares of carpet that felt decadent to curl up in. It was a sanctuary where a toddler could escape into a world told through pictures in the books I couldn't read yet.

But the most magical part of the library was storytime. Glenna Bingham drew me into the story with the enthusiasm in her voice, the patient way she would turn the book to the children gathered around her, slowly moving it so we could all see the pictures.

Everything about the library seemed magical.

I was hooked for life.

From the children's section, I graduated on to the summer reading programs where I raced to see how many books I could read while school was out and I was finally left to my own accord, able to read anything I wanted at last. While elementary school was in session, we read short passages from textbooks that seemed silly and pointless, in June, July and August I could escape into Ray Bradbury stories or shamelessly indulge in Choose your own Adventures.

As a teenager, I'd escape into whatever would scare me silly and read every Stephen King I could get my hands on. By college, I was falling in love with the women writers I could still read over and over again: Isabella Allende, Ursella Hegi, Ellen Gilcrest, Alice Hoffman. What the library in Moses Lake didn't have, they could order through the North Central Library system and there was hardly a volume I couldn't find.

Most recently, I found an entirely new reason to love the local library. A mail-order catalogue arrived in my mailbox the other day. There, in my hands, was access to the book, audio book and videotape collection from 28 branches spanning the entire North Central Library system across Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Grant and Okanogan counties.

And the best part? The catalogue advertised that I could order anything I saw for free.

For a true bookworm, and an audiobook addict while driving, it was a dream come true.

So I took full advantage and ordered audio CDs of a couple of novels that sounded interesting and a book I'd been wanting to read, and in a matter of days, a red canvas bag arrived. I unzipped it to discover everything I'd requested. When I was finished, all I had to do was put the materials back in the bag, flip over the address card and put it in the mailbox. I didn't even have to pay return postage.

I didn't need another reason to love the library, but I'm happy to have one which fits into my busy lifestyle perfectly. I'll still always stop in at the downtown Moses Lake branch, though. While I'm too big for the little round table now, and the bathtub has been gone for many years, it will always be a refuge — a place to discover new worlds, to dream, to think, to escape.

Erin Stuber is the Columbia Basin Herald's managing editor. The North Central Library catalog is sent to rural postal customers and communities with post office boxes within the five-county area, but even in-town residents can receive a copy by request.