Stories: How My Library Makes a Difference and Changes Lives

All of the stories in this section are about ways that libraries have helped patrons learn a new skill, access a new job, learn how to make their business more profitable, research the alternatives for more efficient public services, improve their civic understanding, or build new friendships. These direct benefits to patrons also have indirect benefits to the rest of the community. The focus of the stories, however, is on the direct benefits to the patrons. After all, there are no indirect benefits without first having the direct ones. That is, there is no public value without the private value first.

While all of the following stories are true, the names and identities of the libraries have been changed in some cases to protect their privacy.

La Mesa Public Library Changed My Life

“I was 6 years old when my mom took me to the La Mesa public library for the first time. I remembered being overwhelmed by the sheer number of books. I was an avid reader, but my folks were on a limited budget and I just couldn’t believe I had access to all of those titles. As I got older and my mom had to take a new job, I spent most afternoons after school at the library. The librarians all knew I was essentially hanging out because I had no other place to go until my mom picked me up at 5:00. They never complained and indeed they started suggesting titles to read and outlining sequences of books that spoke directly to my interests. It was clear that they were really challenging me to read beyond my grade level and push myself, reflected in my desire to learn more and engage more in school. I look back and realize that my entire desire to learn and drive to engage in learning was stimulated at that small table in the La Mesa Public Library. I often wonder if those patient and dedicated librarians ever really understood what powerful impacts they had on my life.” — Tim D.

Source: La Mesa Public Library Changed My Life (GALE, A Cengage Company website)

The Library: Gateway to America

“Growing up in Poland, my mother loved books and was a voracious reader. Unlike other girls, she didn’t like playing with dolls and other toys. If you gave her a book, she was happy as a clam.

“When she came to the U.S. after marrying my father, she didn’t speak a word of English. The Westchester Library System had several books in Polish at its branch in Yonkers, New York, but they weren’t enough to satisfy her.

“Seeing all the books the library contained made her determined to learn English quickly so she could read anything and everything she wanted from those shelves. She wanted to have full access to the library and all America had to offer. It took her just three months to learn English and to be able to read any book in the library. Through reading novels and other literary genres, she was able to learn about American culture and life….” — Eileen S.

Source: The Library: Gateway to America (GALE, A Cengage Company website)

The Best Library

“I had lived in Palm Beach County several years before my little brother came to live with me full-time. I’d been to the Downtown West Palm Beach Library hundreds of times and never stopped on the 3rd floor until I knew my little brother was coming down there to live with me. I went to the 3rd floor in search of material on how to raise a good kid. One of the staff, who actually doesn’t work there anymore, helped me by suggesting parenting materials that did help me so much. I began to consider that library to be like a second home to me and my brother. When I needed a break, we’d walk there. We only lived a 15-minute walk away. He could play around on the computers, read, play games, be around different types of kids, etc. … And I could relax, take a break … breathe. Fast forward a couple of years. I’d been having these kid stories on my mind for a while. One day, I asked one of our favorite librarians to pull up all the books on a certain subject. She did and I read it. There was only one. Some months later, I started actually writing the stories. Those stories turned into a kids’ book series and my first book has a release date of 10/28/14. Without the help of this library and these librarians … My life would’ve been much more stressful and I may not be a published author with a new kids book able to be pre-ordered right now!” — Natora N.

Source: GALE, a Cengage Company website

Planet of the Apes Made Me a Librarian

“As a young man, a boy really, I LOVED the original Planet of the Apes movie. One Saturday afternoon, I was watching it for the umpteenth time and for some reason this time, I did not want it to end. It was that day, that maleficent fall almost snowy day I became a credit reader. While reading the closing credits, I made a discovery   I discovered that the film was based on a book, by Pierre Boulle. I immediately jumped up and ran throughout the house in search of my father. I found him in the kitchen. The next room over from which I had originally started my paternal hunt. With an outrageous sense of urgency, I yelled, ‘Dad we have to go to the mall.’ He withdrew his head from the refrigerator and while slowly turning to face me he closed the fridge door. Once we were face to face, he casually tossed the bag o’ turkey he had retrieved on the kitchen table and said, ‘Why?’

“I became apoplectic … and yet managed to calm myself enough to say, ‘MY MOVIE, it’s based on a book and I want to read it!’ …

“After a moment of what I can only assume was significant borderline religious contemplation he said, ‘Why don’t we go to the library, they’ll have it, they have everything ….’” — Terry M.

Source: Planet of the Apes Made Me a Librarian (GALE, A Cengage Company website)

Saving My Butt in Seattle

“I decided to move out West to Seattle for an adventure when I was in my early 30s. So, I decided to pack up my entire apartment and stuff it all in a 15-foot Ryder truck and travel through the daunting, but beautiful landscapes of Montana, the Badlands, northern Idaho, and eastern Washington State. I arrived without a job, but enough money to survive and get a new apartment. The economy in Seattle was strong, and for some reason, probably because I had uprooted myself over 2,000 miles away from the only state I have ever called home (Michigan), I went through many jobs. And, I couldn’t afford a computer. So, I would trot over, several times a week, to the West Seattle Public Library to search and apply for jobs, and to check my email. Without the library’s free web access, I wouldn’t have been able to make it for five years in this new land. I found jobs as an administrative assistant, a clerk for a local union, and a job as a barista at the Alki bakery ….”  — Janet C.

Source: Saving My Butt in Seattle (GALE, A Cengage Company website)