The DH and I just returned from a little jaunt to Utah and Colorado for our anniversary, and a fun time was had by all, especially when I discovered both The Wild Sight and The Treasures of Venice in the Pikes Peak Library District collection!
We had visited Arches National Park and then Canyonlands both in Utah before we decided to drive up Pikes Peak in Colorado. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the ranger station, we were told that the summit was closed due to 90 mph winds! ACK! We definitely didn't want to go up there even if they would have permitted us!
Instead, we drove back into town to the historic section called Colorado City. As soon as I spotted the beautiful old Carnegie library building, I urged my DH to stop. The library I'd loved so much as a child was a Carnegie building too!
My DH dropped me off and I went inside to check my email. Since I didn't have a reservation, I could only use the internet for 15 minutes, but that was enough time to get my daily fix! So when I was done, just for the heck of it, I decided to put my name in the library 'author search.' To my complete surprise and delight, both The Wild Sight and The Treasures of Venice popped up!
Matter of fact, The Treasures of Venice was in the very library branch where I was standing! With my heart a-flutter, I logged off the computer and went in search of 'the paperback collection.' After a few minutes of walking around, I discovered that all of 'the paperback collection' was contained on two sets of bookshelves (this was a small library after all).
And there was MY book, on the top of the second set of shelves! How lucky to have my name start with "M" because A through L occupied the first shelf and M through Z the second. With such a small collection of paperbacks, I felt even more special to have The Treasures of Venice included! Best of all, as my DH pointed out when he came in a few minutes later and I dragged him over to see, the pages looked ruffled.
Someone had definitely checked the book out and read it!
I spent many happy hours in the library as a child and even more as an adult, so finding my book in a small library in another state was a very big thrill for me! Plus this was my first time seeing any of my books actually on the shelf in any library. As a child, I used to read all those author names on the spines of all those books and imagine how wonderful it must feel to have a book you wrote sitting there for people to read. Well, now I know, and IT FEELS GREAT!What about you? Do you have any special memories of libraries? Please share them with us here in the Lair. I know I missed the recent late night reading session, but we can certainly have another one. Please share what you are reading for this lovely weekend. SHHHH! Just don't tell Sven, the gladiators, and the new guy, Paolo!
62 comments:
I LOVE libraries, AC!
Hey Fedora!
You're up late. Just don't turn the chook loose in a library. He's sure to cause a ruckus!
AC
Oh wow--how absolutely amazing to have the chance to see your books on the library shelves and know that patrons have been enjoying them!! Yay, you!
I've loved libraries since I was a kid; they still had card catalogs and we checked books out by writing down the call numbers, authors, and titles down on the little slips of paper. I'd always try to convince my siblings to let me check out some extra books on their cards each visit :)
As for this weekend, I just finished Jess Granger's two Beyond books--I especially loved Beyond the Shadows! And I just happy danced to find Ava Gray's Skin Tight in my mailbox today--I may not be able to resist diving in tomorrow :D
Ooh, good advice--I'm sure the GR will be a wee bit too busy tomorrow to visit the local stacks. The kids may want to challenge him to a round of swordplay on Wii Sports Resort... hope he's been practicing his fencing :D
Oh I remember the card catalogs very fondly. And the rubber date stamps on the slip of paper inside the library books... You could tell the "good" books by how many slips of paper they had filled with dates. ;-)
Sounds like you have some GREAT reading ahead of you this weekend. Enjoy!
AC
Uh oh! Wii has sword fighting?!?! We don't DARE allow one in the Gladiators' Villa! But I hope your kids give the GR a real run for his money.
AC
Hi Aunty Cindy,
I love libraries. I remember in daycare when they used to take us to the library every week to the reading room and our teacher or librarian would read a story to us. I'm going to start "Blood Born" by Linda Howard and Linda Jones tomorrow.
Congrats, Fedora.
Well done Fedora have fun with him
Aunty Cindy what a thrill it must have been to see your book on the library shelf whoo hoo.
When I was young I loved spending time in the local library and the school library as well and read lots of fantastic books.
I am reading Hard Magic at the moment I won it here from Laura Anne Gilman and am really enjoying what I will read next I am not sure if my copy of MRS has arrived with the order I put in that will be the one otherwise I probably will read Jo Davis's Line Of Fire which has been calling to me as well and I have Tawny's newest one too and am expecting a surprise parcel of The Wild Irish Sea that I can't wait to dive into.
Have Fun
Helen
I love libraries and I remember the Carnegie library in the small town where I spent my teen years. There's something institutionally sacred about them..for lack of a better term. When I was in college, my allergies were so bad that I couldn't study in the main library because of the dust from the stacks. I ended up at the med school library which was new and kind of stark, but they had great vending machines in the basement. :) I've seen card catalogs in some antique stores. I'd love to have one in the house but what would I do with it?
How wonderful to see your books in a library! I pre-ordered your latest. :>) Have a great weekend.
Jen
I worked in the school library in junior high and high school. I loved it. I loved the smell of the library, that slight mustiness, the quiet and the order. My biggest problem was as I was putting away books I would have to look at them, then I would open it, then the librarian would tell me to quit reading them and put them away!
I too loved card catalogues and the due date slips in the books and the stacks of scrap paper so that you could write down call numbers! I really miss card catalogues with all those little drawers and riffling through the cards inside.
If I can swing it, I'm going to read A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin today...because it turns out that it's due back at the library tomorrow and I can't renew it because there are holds on it. Doh!
I finally picked up a book off my scary TBR shelf(es) last night-- Mary Balogh's A Secret Affair. Besides the fact that the cover is stunning, the story is pure magic.
We have a Carnegie library in town, and the interior has been refurbished in the last ten years. It's a jewel on the streets of our small town.
We're only one week into our summer--and my oldest daughter broke her foot a few days ago. She can't drive, can't go do her volunteer work...send good thoughts my way, ok? Grumpy teenagers are not good! ;)
How cool about seeing your books at the library, Cindy. I've yet to do that, but I do get Google Alerts sometimes that show that they are in certain libraries' collections.
Hubby and I want to visit the Arches/Grand Canyon, etc. area. Maybe we'll do it this fall.
This weekend, I'm reading Heart's Blood by Gail Dayton.
Fedora, congrats on the rooster!
Cindy, you know we all envy those fabulous trips, don't you? I saw a brochure for a western US tour sticking out of Paolo's pocket the other day.
I love libraries. The library was my mainstay when I was growing up. I'd ride my bike there, check out an armload of books, and pedal home with the basket full. I'd also read Boys Life magazine, which had adventure comic strips in the back. My parents refused to get me a subscription, on grounds it was "not for girls." At least I could read it at the library.
Congrats on finding your books in circulation. The dh has written and edited several nonfiction books in his field, and he always does the search engine thing. Always. *g*
AC, what a great post and I'm just thrilled that you were able to see you book on the library shelf! Yippee!
I absolutely adore libraries. I have a great memory of a library in a small town in Connecticut where we lived for a year when my dad was on a sabbatical from his usual job. It was a tiny library but they had a great collection of Harlequins -- and even though I was a fourth grader who really had no business reading such things, they gladly handed them over to me. Bliss.
Now, I make at least one (often two) visits to the library. My kids are library fanatics. We usually have 50+ books checked out at any given time (I did break 100 once, but that was just plain silly!).
Libraries rule!
I meant that I make 1-2 visits a week! Usually more, especially if I'm not working on Fridays. :-)
I'm with Fedora! I love libraries, the bigger, the better, although I'll take the small ones too. Back in the day, books were only for checking out of the local library, never for owning. As I look around my office now, I realize how lucky I am to actually OWN these amazing volumes.
How cool that you found both books in that library, AC!
I love libraries! I was blessed with both good public and school libraries growing up and wore out more than one library card. My favorite library was the local branch one I visited every Saturday morning when we lived in Jacksonville. It was very romance friendly and had a *huge* paperback section. The public library where I live now is small, outdated, woefully under-stocked and has no paperbacks but I have hopes for better days ahead. After 10 years of begging, the good ole boys who run the county council approved funds for a new library last month. (Reading is not high on their list of priorities.) Let's hope they don't throw up any last minute roadblocks.
Flchen1, congrats on nabbing the GR! Just out of curiosity, has he shown a preference for any particular type of book? ;-)
I'm reading - and *loving* - Joanna Bourne's June release, THE FORBIDDEN ROSE.
That must have been really wonderful. I grew up in the library, that is where I found my love of romance. They used to groan whenever I walked in with my bags of books and I would always freeze up the computers with the amount of check-ins and outs I did. Now I need a room for all the books I have, could probably open up my own library.
Wow Jane! You have a good memory! I do vaguely remember storytime in the library but I'm pretty sure I was in elementary school. Of course that was a VERY LOOONG TIME ago! :-P LOL!
OOOOO! Linda Howard is a GREAT romantic suspense author! I'm sure you'll enjoy the book.
AC
Hi Helen!
Yes, I was thrilled to see my book there on the shelf. ALMOST as excited as when I got the ARRA nomination, but not quite! :-)
Laura's books are on my To-Be-Bought list also, so LUCKY YOU to have won a copy!
AC
P.S. And if you are EXPECTING that copy of TWIS, it's not a surprise, now is it? But there may be some other things in there that ARE! ;-)
Hey Pink/Jen,
You grew up in the Calif. Central Valley too, didn't you? There were lots of Carnegie libraries in the small farming communities, THANK GOODNESS! I credit the library with keeping me interested in education.
How terrible about being allergic to book dust! You need old volumes like The Book of Kells which is actually written on very fine calf skin, not paper! ;-)
And as creative as you are, I'm sure you can think of another use for one of those great old card catalogs!
AC
P.S. BIG THANX for pre-ordering TWIS!
Or worse someone could actually try to check out the chook! Our GR let loose on an unsuspecting reader? Horrors!
Aunty, what a great library visit for you! And of course someone has checked out your book! It's a great read!
I spent all but two hours a day in the school library when I was in elementary school. They had no gifted program and I was lucky enough to have a first grade teacher who decided that reading was all that was necessary to supplement my education. I LOVE research and wish I had more time to do it these days.
I spent hours in the library in undergrad school - the one at the school I attended and the one at the University of Alabama, where my boyfriend, later my DH, went to school. At Bama the third floor had this great seating area surrounded by shelves and shelves of books. There were large over-stuffed red leather chairs and sofas. I would pile my research books on a table and sit sideways in the chair with my legs tossed over and arm and read for hours. When I build my dream house I'm going to have chairs like that in my library.
LOL Dianna!
That would have been me if I'd ever worked at the library. I'd have never got my work done for reading!
There really is something special about the smell of books, isn't there?
AC
Gillian, (((hugs))) to your daughter...and to you. Lousy way to spend your summer. How many weeks will she be in the cast?
ROFLOL, Pissenlit!
Those "holds" are great unless you are the one having to return the book! ;-)
Happy reading!
AC
Gillian,
Sincere condolences on the teen with the broken foot! UGH! I'm sure you'll be even more happy than she is when she's recovered! ;-)
At least you have Mary Balogh for consolation. She really is a WONDERFUL writer!
This particular library was completely refurbished for its centennial in 2004 and it was gorgeous!
AC
Hello to Birthday Girl, Trish!
Hope your day was extra FUN! And yes, there's a nifty thing online that will show you all the libraries in the US that have a certain book in their collection. I know several hundred have The Wild Sight, but I've yet to see it anywhere local. I hope it's just a matter of time!
You will LURVE Arches! Truly spectacular and like nothing I've ever seen (and you know I've seen A LOT)! Pictures do not do it justice.
AC
AWWW! No Boy's Life subscription, Nancy?!?! Well, good for you for striking a blow for equal rights for reading the magazine in the library! :-) You were a caped crusader even then.
Glad to know I'm not the only author to plug into the library search engine. Of course, I'd have been crestfallen (and I have been) if my name didn't come up.
Paolo should realize that he is LAST in line for vacation as of right now. Just sayin...
AC
Kirsten,
100 books checked out at once?!?! (bows and scrapes) I'm NOT worthy!!!
How great that you've instilled your love of the library in your kidlets! My son is a great library user also, but lately it is mostly to get online since his only computer access is MINE and I get very grumpy when I have to share. :-P
AC
Oh, and forgot to mention Kirsten, about those Harlequins...
WTG Ms. Librarian!!!!! Thanx to her, we got a GREAT ROMANCE WRITER in YOU!
And I'll bet you were reading waaay above 4th grade level, and how much S-E-X were in Harlequin's then?
AC
Hi Jo-Mama,
And thanx again for trading blog days with me! :-)
We never had much money for buying books when I was a kid either. I had a few of those Little Golden Books, but that was about it. That's why the library was such a treat! Of course, it still is, but like you, I don't hesitate now to BUY something I really want.
AC
HI PJ!!!
Great to see you, as always!
Alas, your town isn't the only one to give libraries a low priority. Our local school district is closing the school libraries to save money. :-( Right now they are even saying no to letting parents volunteer to run them. What is UP with THAT?!?! (shakes head in disbelief)
And HEY! Quit tempting us with Joanna B's newest! You lucky dog! We'll be looking for your review very soon. ;-)
AC
LOL Melanie,
Sounds like you could give Kirsten a run for her money at the library check out!
I'm afraid we ALL have enough books to fill several libraries, and that is just our TBR piles/mountains. ;-)
AC
OOOO Louisa,
I wanna come sit on your red leather chairs and sofas! Okay, maybe not in the summer... Leather in the heat and all Aunty's white flesh are not a good combo. :-P But we can sit in the wicker chairs on the veranda in the summer, right?!?!
Heavens what a thought! Some poor unsuspecting reader latching onto the GR?!?! The horror...
AC
Growing up in a really troubled home, libraries became my sanctuary...an escape from all the problems in my world. I loved being able to while away time, immersed in magical worlds and reading about incredibly life-like characters. I'm not sure I would have made it to adulthood sanely * well it's debateable how sanely* had it not been for the wonderful libraries.
As for what I'm currently reading, I just finished reading Myla by Moonlight by Inez Kelley last night...it was a breathtakingly beautiful story. Next up, it's a toss-up between Dragon Moon by Rebecca York or Creature Comforts by Buffi Becraft-Woodall.
*hugs*
Anna
s7anna,
I'm so glad the library was there as your sanctuary! "Sane" is a relative term, but you certainly qualify by Lair standards. ;-)
Happy reading!
AC
Wish I'd have known you were about. I just moved to Colorado and definitely am a Library Person. At which PP branch were you? I'm a bit farther afield, but do get down that way regularly, especially to see authors.
Had to wait to get my library card but finally have it. Woodland Park has a gorgeous library.
Congratulations, Flchen! Heed AC's advice. The library is no place for a raunchy rooster!
Ah, the old card catalogues. Soon, if not now, kids in school will have no idea what they are -- sort of like 8-tracks!
Cindy, I've just bought Stieg Larsson's highly acclaimed THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO and I'm finishing up Why Mermaids Sing, the third in the St. Sebastian Cyr series. I love that the title comes from a John Donne poem which I used to teach!
Gillian said, "We're only one week into our summer--and my oldest daughter broke her foot a few days ago"
Oh, Gillian how unfortuitous of her! She could've saved the broken foot until school started LOL. I'm sure she wishes the same thing!
Terri,
DARN! So sorry I missed seeing you! This library was the Central City branch of the Pikes Peak Library District, in the historic section of Colorado Springs.
Colorado certainly is gorgeous, but some of those high altitudes about did in this flat-lander. :-P
AC
OOPS! I meant TerrY! ;-)
People misspell my name all the time and it annoys me.
LOucinda
Jo-Mama,
That is my FAVORITE John Donne poem!
"Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
"Or keep off envy's stinging,
"And find
"What wind
"Serves to advance an honest mind."
Yessir, LURVE me some John Donne!
AC
I love libraries but haven't been for a while! I just finished a Roban Carr book and I am not sure what I am going to read next!
AC said: And HEY! Quit tempting us with Joanna B's newest! You lucky dog! We'll be looking for your review very soon. ;-)
Gannon's the lucky dog who gets to review Jo's book this time around and it's posted at The Romance Dish today. She gave it 5 STARS!
I'll be hosting Jo when she blogs with us this Wednesday, the day after my interview with the fun and fabulous Ms. Anna Campbell!
Hey, Cindy, how cool to discover your book in the library - and among such a select collection too! Congratulations! I'm visiting Colorado for RomCon in July and I can't wait!
AC, the dh even plugs his name into bookstore search engines. I think it's a natural response.
Unfortunately, the county where I grew up is suffering budget issues, as so many are. The library is facing massive, massive cuts--$17 million--in FY 2010/11, with draconian layoffs and all 16 of the branch libraries closing, leaving only the "regional" and main libraries, kind of hard for kids with no cars to reach. With no place to store the books, I hear, the plan is to destroy them. They'll gut collections that took decades to build.
Yes, the city can issue bonds and build a sports palace to lure the NBA, but keep the libraries? Pfah!
Grrr . . .
Nancy, that's just terrible! And destroying the books is complete cultural vandalism.
Hey Virginia,
Robyn Carr is always a good read! I'm sure you have MANY MANY wonderful books to choose from in your TBR stack. ;-)
Thanx for popping by,
AC
Thanx for the tip, PJ!
I'll hop over and take a look at Gannon's review of Jo D.'s latest. And looking forward to that interview you're doing with a certain Ms. Campbell. ;-)
AC
Nancy, destroy the books? That's obscene! Why not donate them to schools, literacy organizations, the Red Cross or just give them away to the public? What county/state is that? I'd like to see a grassroots effort to change their minds!
Hey Fedora, he's back with you! Grins
Fun Post, AC. you and your DH travel so much. I love that. It's so cool!
And equally, if not MORE cool that Treasures was in the library. I love that.
As librarian's daughter and having a library degree of my own, to say that I adore libraries is an understatement...
Off to swim with the boys.
Fo,
You will LOVE Colorado! The mountains are truly majestic.
Yes, the fact that they had so few paperbacks in the library collection made me feel doubly proud to see TToV there. :-)
AC
Nancy,
I agree with Fo and PJ, destroying all those books is downright CRIMINAL! I hope the public protests loud and hard enough that the county will at least consider giving them away. So many great organizations could put those books to good use. (shakes head in dismay)
And I share your GRRRR on the sports arena stuff. We have a perfectly serviceable arena here but all the city talks about is building a new one (and they are BROKE)!
AC
who has nothing against sports but would choose a library every time
Hey Duchesse!
Thanx for popping by on your way to the pool. :-) It's not even hot enough here in sunny California to go swimming today. BRRRR!
AC
Fo, PJ, and AC, I do agree with you that donation is better than destruction. Heck, there are books in that collection I personally want, come to that! Apparently giving the books away is too much trouble.
The public has been protesting loudly, donating generously, and in vain. Individuals just cannot make up that kind of shortfall. The city's "corporate citizens," the businesses the arena (built in defiance of a public referendum with a 53% NO vote) was supposed to help lure there, because an arena with a losing NBA team in it is a badge of a "world class city" whereas a nationally renowned, award-winning library system apparently is not, have not stepped up, at least publicly.
The city's mayor, however, has threatened to veto the city budget unless it includes some library funding. Currently, the library is county funding, and the county's worse off than the city, though I still don't understand--nor does the dh, who follows governmental finance issues more closely than I--WHY such a huge a shortfall when no one's getting a raise and no services are being added.
Anyway, we'll see.
Nancy,
I hear you all too well on the "losing NBA team" making one a "world class city." Sac has been doing THAT routine for YEARS!
Yes, local gov't funding is a BIG mystery all over, it seems. But we have to keep speaking out for the things that matter to us (and I know you do) like LIBRARIES!
AC
Hey, Aunty! Isn't it the coolest when you find your book in a library? I practically lived at our local library when I was a child and so when I heard they had my book, I went in and borrowed it.
When the librarian gave it to me, she said, "Forgot what you wrote, did you?" Hysterical! But boy it felt good to see that bar code on the back.
Now, I'm not reading much fiction as I'm on deadline, but soon hope to get to Celeste Bradley's latest. She has such a great Regency voice, I'm enjoying her books!
ROFLOL! OMG, Christine! That IS hysterical!
My current fantasy is this: I'm on a cruise and I see someone onboard reading one of my books. I walk up, and say, "That looks like a good book. What do you think of it?" Of course, if that were to happen and the person said something negative, I'd slink away and hide in my cabin for the rest of the cruise! :-P
AC
I feel excited when I go to libraries. It's like going to a brand new world. It's great to hear you found your books there.
Really Angelic
Dear Lucinda McGary:
The Pikes Peak Library District staff is so excited to be the topic of your blog. The Old Colorado City Carnegie Library is part of our district. We have sent the blog to all of our staff who have enjoyed all the positive words about libraries that your bloggers have written. We of course love libraries. We are also happy that you found copies of your books -appearing well read on our shelves! Thank you so much and to all of the people who wrote about Libraries.
Sincerely,
Sydne Dean
Associate Director of Public Services or the Pikes Peak Library District
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