The library introduced me to Pippi Longstockings.  Do you remember getting your first library card and going to the library?  I remember looking at all the books and thinking about which one I’d pick to take home.  We didn’t have a lot of books in our home growing up, so the library book was really special. I remember being amazed as I grew older that you could take out as many books as you wanted.   My favorite series as a child was ‘Pippi Long-stockings.’ She was a girl that lived alone with no parents.  I barely remember what the book series was about, but I remember getting excited as I took back each book and got out the next one in the series.  I guess I must have identified with her independence for although we had adults in the home, their alcoholism made us have to fend for ourselves a lot of the time.  I went on adventures with the red haired pig-tailed Pippi in my mind, thanks to the public library.

So today we’ve got the internet, ipods, and gaming systems to occupy us.  And, if we wish to read, we’ve got eBooks, the Nook and Kindle.  Recently some of the Borders Books stores closed in my area.  That makes you think, are libraries a dying breed? You might think so if you read this piece in the New York Book Review.  Charles Simic wrote, “All across the United States, large and small cities are closing public libraries or curtailing their hours of operations. Detroit, I read a few days ago, may close all of its branches and Denver half of its own: decisions that will undoubtedly put hundreds of its employees out of work.”  Check out the rest of the article and tell me what you think.  What would a world without libraries be like? How has the library affected your life?  Well, gotta go now and find my library book that’s been missing for the past week and racking up fines.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.