It is time for another memory lane, this time let’s talk about libraries!

I remember my first trip to library, because it happened in the second grade. After we had all learned to read, our teacher organised a tour to the nearest library, where a librarian told us about what a library does, how to search books and how to take them out of the shelves. Of course, at that time it was highly educational, we actually would need to go to the library for school, because, you know, all those projects required information and we didn’t have computers or internet, so we had to use good old encyclopedias.

It was mostly children book library and it was pretty cool, it had a part, where you could choose books to take them home and a part where you could only read journals and books. And after that first trip I went to this library for years, came to know and love librarians and felt there like home.

But after this tour through the library we each got a small card, which was ‘application’ to get a small paper library card (I’m stressing this, because the last ‘card’ I had, was a code, which I showed to a librarian at a computer and that did everything). I was pretty excited to get a library card, I’m not entirely sure why though, I don’t seem to recall being really into reading books.

Nevertheless I went home, being really happy and, once my mom was home from work, I confronted her with the whole library tour and card, and sign up thing. The thing is – you needed your parents consent to have a membership at a library, so I needed my mother signature, and then my mom… didn’t give it.

You know how your parents don’t give you candy or the newest tech and you kind of get it? But here I was with ‘almost free’ library application and my mother refused it to me. Before you jump to conclusions, I have to explain that I think she refused, because she thought that I will not be interested in books, it will be a waste of time and money and then I  will lose them or not get them back on time and will have to pay fines, but we didn’t have  money, so that would be a waste of money. It makes sense and at the same time it doesn’t.

Anyways, being shattered by my mom meant that I couldn’t get the library card! What a shame! But my friend came up with the idea to sign on the card instead of my mother – no on would know, right? And that is what she did – she signed on the card, we payed the small fee from my ‘bus money’ I had been saving and voila! I had a library card.

Approximately next four or five years, I went on hiding library books and the fact that I had a library card from my mother. I don’t know, if she knew, if she cared, but she never said anything about it, so I went on falling in love with books and librarians falling in love with the little girl who came almost every day to exchange the old book to a new one. I was so careful – not to take more than one book at a time, to always have the possibility to lose or damage just one book at a time.

Some people are trying to get their parents consent for all kinds of things, you would never expect one to become a little ‘criminal’ just to get a library card, right?

That is the story of my first library card, let me know, your first visit to the library and your favourite parts of it. Were your parents happy with your reading habit?

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