In recent years I’ve been a little worried about libraries. As a kid, I spent a LOT of time browsing the stacks of libraries around the world. I’d check out books, taking home armloads of tomes to read between visits. When my kids were born, libraries became a great way to get them excited about reading and distract them from making me crazy for short periods of time.
Then along came the internet. There was no more need to use those books in the reference section. Ebooks were easy to download and convenient. I confess, my trips to the library for several years have been to attend (and buy from) annual fundraiser book sales … until last week. Greg and I took a drive and decided to finally pick up the library cards we’d signed up for online during COVID.
We wandered our way to the closest branch of the Maricopa County library system. While we live in Buckeye, the county library at the base of the White Tank mountains is closer than either branch of our town’s library. The White Tank Library offers the bonus of housing a nature center, too.
As we arrived, we marveled at the scene. Through big glass doors the view goes all the way to the wall of windows offering an incredible view. That is because the traditional library shelves are short enough to make the room light and bright along with the scenic expanse of cacti, wildlife and the base of the mountains.
But, the view isn’t the reason to go. The library is home to thousands of books (of course), a huge bank of computers and plenty of extras … like the rack of loaner tickets to local museums and attractions.
We browsed the shelves and tested out the comfy chairs for reading with a view.
As I selected a book to take home it struck me that I haven’t been in a library in awhile. Before we moved to Arizona, we could walk to our local library … and we did often. But the 21 mile drive was a little daunting. The closest Buckeye library is 29 miles from the house! That will change now. This branch is just a short drive from the grocery store and will be a nice diversion on trips “into town.”
For locals, you can get a library card for both the Buckeye and Maricopa libraries. Both have great online systems. Both have interlibrary loan programs. The Buckeye library even has a mobile van that comes out to our neighborhood regularly. They sure make it easy to get back to reading more!
There’s a whole world out there just waiting to be explored. Check out the library! They offer more than books!
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