On Reading

Library Action

I saw this at the library yesterday:

A librarian action figure that features amazing push-button shushing action, a library backdrop, book truck, books, reference desk, and computer! Thank you for the smile, whoever put it there!

We love our local library. It’s the place that we can be extravagant, the place where I don’t ever have to say, “Put it back — it’s not on our list for today,” or, “Save your money,” or “You already have plenty of those.” Instead, I get to say, “Sure! Put it in the bag.”

My daughters are too old for action figures, but I think they’ve already learned that the best actions of the library are to revisit familiar books along the shelves, remember and anticipate pleasant hours spent in different literary worlds, haul tall stacks of books in and out of the doors, and savor

The heady
Dry breath of
Ink and paper,
Or stand and
Listen to the
Silent twitter
Of a billion
Tiny busy
Black words.

(From Valerie Worth, “Library,” All the Small Poems and Fourteen More)

8 Comments

  • Barbara H.

    Oh, I love that action figure! I worked at our college library as a student.

    I’ve gotten so used to ordering books online and downloading free Kindle books that I didn’t even realized I missed the library til I read that poem.

  • bekahcubed

    Wow!

    Shushing had started to go out of style in the public libraries around my parts when I was a kid–so I never really heard the “librarian shush” until a new branch library was built a little way off from a middle school. Parents regularly used the library as after-school childcare–and it started to get a bit frustrating for the librarians and other library patrons.

    The librarian’s patiently tried shushing, but were soon required to pull out the big guns–a police officer stationed in the building during peak hours to kick out unruly students.

    Yeah, I’ll take a shushing librarian action figure any day.

  • Carol in Oregon

    I *love* my public library. And our librarians. Very helpful. Like you said, one can be extravagant at the library.

    It saddens me when I see kids come in, run to the computers and spend their entire library time playing games on the computers. Sigh.

  • Amy @ Hope Is the Word

    Love it! As a librarian, though, I CRINGE when I go into the children’s room of our hometown library (and the one where I worked for 5 years as an undergraduate college student). Guess what’s in there and always ON? A television–tuned to Nickelodeon or some such. I actually avoid going to that library now.

    Thank you for the opportunity to get that off my chest. :-)

  • JW

    I actually HAVE one of those action figures. But not that deluxe model. And mine is dressed in red I think. :-) But of course I have one. And the shusher works.