Postcard For Reader

Libraries

Libraries are a huge part of my life.

They're part of where I grew up. They're where I get a good amount of books. They're where I do projects. They're where I've made friends. They're where I work.

They are a huge part of my life.

I work as a page in my local library; I got the job after months of begging my best friend (who as the head page) to put in a good word for me if a job ever became available.

For those of you who don't know, a page is basically the bottom chain of the library system. You may never see us, but without us, the library wouldn't function properly. We're the ones who put the books back on the shelves once they're returned. We're the ones who sit for hours in one room, going over every shelf that way the books are in proper order. We pull holds from the shelves so that they can be held for you or shipped to other libraries. We rearrange the library when they run out of room. We do a whole bunch of other things.

Without us, the library would fall into disarray.

So here's the thing. A lot of you are respectful library users. (You have to be; you love books!) Next time you head over to the library, be nice to the clerks. When you pull a book out, don't leave it on the table - put it back where it belongs. (It's a page's nightmare to see things on the shelves out of place.)

And most of all - ask if you can volunteer or help out somehow. I know my library can always use volunteers; just because there are five pages doesn't mean we can keep the entire library organized, especially when the entire E Room (little kids under five; see picture) have to be kept in perfect alphabetical order, or when adults are constantly shoving things in the wrong place, or when the DVD section is in disarray every day because it's the most popular section. It doesn't have to be a long volutneer period. One or two hours is enough to organize a big section - and it's rewarding to look back and see all of the shelves nice and organized.

And it'll make the pages really happy to come upstairs (or into that room) and see something organized that they don't have to worry about.

And as a page, trust me - it's the little things.

Don't forget, fellow book lovers, that the library is an amazing thing! You don't have to buy every book you want to read. The library supplies you with amazing things. And don't forget, you can request books to be ordered!