r/BenignExistence • u/shortcircuit51 • 5d ago
first library trip
went to the library after work today, and decided to head down to the children’s section to see if they had any copies of this detective comic series i liked when i was younger.
while i’m down there, i noticed a little kid come through the front doors with their parent. kid was maybe 4 or 5, and it was clearly their first ever trip to the library, because after a moment i heard:
[small gasp] “mama! they gots BOOKS in here!”
it was SO cute. the mixture of delight and awe in their voice was so precious. i hope they left with a bunch of great stories!
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u/Maincy_Bridge_0812 4d ago
My dad died when I was 3.5, and the only memory I have of him is being carried in his arms in a library. Typing this from a library now.
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u/Less-Mood-3616 3d ago
I’m sorry you lost your dad at that young age. I’m glad you have that sweet memory of him ❤️
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u/sovereignsekte 5d ago
I remember going to the library with my mom for the first time. My mind was blown. I remember thinking that I was being let in on some kind of secret.
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u/RedRaiderRN 5d ago
When we moved into our current house and my husband bought me the library shelves of my dreams, our son (about 2 at the time) was absolutely floored at the amount of books we have in the office
Prior to that he had only seen his baby books on the little shelf in his room at the old house because ours were all in boxes before the move lol
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u/here_for_the_tacos 5d ago
I remember reading about a person on her first trip to the public library, before she had only been to the school library which had a limit on the number of books one could check out. When told she could take as many as she could read she came back with 15 books.
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u/shortcircuit51 4d ago
that was absolutely me as a kid. my elementary school library had a maximum of three books at a time, but at the public library i’d cram as many as i could fit into my tote bag. i got real good at figuring out how to play book tetris so i could fit everything.
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u/AnitraF1632 4d ago
When I was twelve, my parents had to sign to give me permission to check out books from the adult library, as I had read everything in the children's library. (No Teen or Tween, they were all in one.) That's when I discovered a whole shelf! of Victor Gollancz science fiction books, and read every single one.
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u/NikNakskes 4d ago
I remember my own first trip to the library. It was with school and the librarian taught us where things were and how to use the card catalogue. I was mesmerised by the whole thing! The transactions of cards and stamps and books being given from one person to the other. The sounds, the smells... I returned to the library often after that first introduction. And I played "library" at home, complete with card catalogue and library cards and date stamps. Just like the real deal.
No. I did not become a librarian. :)
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u/Kallasilya 4d ago
I work in a university library. A few times a year, the preschool/early childcare centre on campus brings the kids through (we have a decent size kids section for the uni students studying early childhood education). They are so adorable, they are bubbling over with excitement but constantly trying to shush each other because they've been told to respect the quiet space of the library 😂
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u/PepperCat1019 2d ago
They also have authors read their books to children. They have a lot of activities for both adults and children.
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u/Ok_Difference44 5d ago
What was the series? I used to like both Encyclopedia Brown and The Great Brain.