A few of my favorite things…

I’m a fan of books and libraries. When compared to the severe impacts of Covid which affected almost everyone and everything, losing access to the library sounds petty. But for me, books have provided an oasis from the bad news — medical crises, economic devastation, and hopes & dreams quashed or postponed. The proliferation of eBooks helped tide me over, but, I still missed visiting the library regularly. A library is a “third place,” a gathering space outside of home or workplace.

Located less than three blocks from the house, the Arlington County Aurora Hills Branch made it easy to pickup books or meet with my book group to discuss books. And then in March 2020 like many other places, it suddenly closed. And with it access to physical books, DVDs, magazines, newspapers, and a quiet place to sit.

When the kids transferred to Pinellas County last spring, their new house was near the Palm Harbor library. Their library reopened sooner than ours with less restrictions. Our trips to Florida have also included excursions to the library.

The library’s catalog has a plexiglass cover that lets you look at the computer’s innards

If you get tired of looking at books, you can visit the fish

But the book and DVD vending machine at the front door is the most unique thing of all. When the library is closed, patrons still have access to a limited number of titles, so they can check out a book or movie.

As the pandemic eases, our local library has been gradually reopening — initially just to allow pickup of materials ordered online. But, I was excited to find out that the Aurora Hills Branch will be re-opening on July 6th. Yay!