Doing the Walk of Shame at the Library

I remember when doing the walk of shame at the library really was traumatic. I would approach to circulation desk where a gray haired lady would be waiting. Reading glasses perched on the end of her nose; she would glare over them at me. Her expression stern, she would softly demand, "Yes?" I would hold up my shameful offering of overdue books and my library card. She would take them. Find my record and declare in a sibilant whisper, "These are overdue!" Now she was really scowling. I mutely held out the sweaty nickels I had been clutching in my hand. The god of the circulation desk was appeased. 

Today, I breeze in and hand my books to Marsha; she smiles and makes a joke. I hang my head and tell her my books are overdue. She laughs and checks my record. I ask about a new program and decide to go to a lunch program and talk about Bigfoot. I can go as long as I don't actually laugh in anyone’s face, Marsha said so....

Libraries used to be a repository of books. Today they are a repository of life. Librarians dance, sing, and play the ukulele. There are puppets and stories told in books and stories told out loud. Libraries are a place to learn. There are computer classes. Adults are learning to read and teenagers are learning to paint. The state distributes tax forms there. And there are even volunteers to help you file those pesky papers. Don’t let anyone tell you the kids are the noisy ones. I hear those line dancing seniors get shushed the most.  From chair yoga to quality quilting there really is something for everyone. The only limit to the uses of the library is money, time and volunteers. So the next time some politician or the wise guy next to you at McDonald's says we should cut funding to the libraries, lay into em and set em straight!