The 'same-old' library ...

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, August 2018; written by Michelle Lampton.

I appreciate my library. I figured out from a young age that it’s more than a warehouse of books. It’s more, even, than a marketplace of ideas, dreams, fantasies, knowledge, and history.

It’s a place where people connect.

I first moved to Ketchikan when I was about nine, and before long found that aside from playing outdoors with my friends, or combing the beach with my dog, going to the library was fun! (Anyone remember the books Jonathan Swift, The Hardy Boys, Danny Dunn, White Fang, Lad a Dog, or Gentle Ben? I made my first VHS rental video there, and let me tell you, I had such a crush on that cutie Encyclopedia Brown!) Here— or more precisely, at the older building by the creek— I found books, friends, and a small, wonderful batch of library staff who helped nurture a shy girl’s confidence in speaking and interacting with others.

Fast forward years later, and that girl—this woman— finds herself behind the circulation desk for the same library, watching the world from the other side.

And what I’ve seen is profound.

At a time when there’s a Siren-call to lose ourselves in the digital world and disconnect from one another, this building is something wonderful: It’s a place where young and old alike, from all walks and abilities, find connection not just with books, but with each other.

Example? Yesterday, I received a warm goodbye hug from a person who’d come to Ketchikan for the summer, from another country, to finish a novel and see Alaska. Her goodbye was tearful; through her time at the library, she’d forged several friendships and made real personal connections.

It’s every day I catch-up with retirees and working parents, immigrants and K-town lifers, people busy in the arts and quiet introverts, whom I have the pleasure of watching as they, in turn, catch-up with each other as they pass in the lobby, visit in Children’s, or run into each other while browsing the new-book shelves. And it’s not just adults. It’s young children learning each other’s names at Story-time, middle-graders making friends over book series they love, teens hanging out at T.A.G. events or meeting on the weekends because it’s a space where they’ve formed friendships and engage in activities together.

This is a far cry from the library stereotype of musty-page smells, flickering lights, and dead silence. It’s a hub of humanity, a center in our community.

So, if you’re a regular, we’ll see you soon. And if you’re not…

Well, then, it’s my hope we’ll see you soon.

Come for the books, yes. But like that shy nine-year-old version of myself from yesteryear, stay a bit longer and you might find an unexpected connection with those you didn’t even realize were around you.

Speaking of community… Coming up this week at the library, there’s yoga, writing group, tie-dye crafts for kids, chess club, family film night, the social justice reading group, a books sale, and more. Be sure to check our website every week to see all the great things we have going on.