Hi all. I'm usually a lurker, but I was moved very much by something I
heard today. Colin Hamilton, of the Friends of the Library was on the
radio talking about the referendum, and about how nice it would be to
make the new library more comfortable and friendly, particularly the
Children's Room.
I don't remember the first time I went to the downtown library.
>From the time I could read, my mom often took my brother and me on the
No. 4 bus from our home in south Minneapolis. I haven't taken the bus
to the library in at least 15 years, but I still can feel the
anticipation of the walk, off the bus, under the portico, through the
lobby, up the escalator, down that wonderful hallway decorated with
murals of storybook figures to the Children's Room. I suppose the
paint was kind of stark and the furniture was dull, but that little
room was the best place in the world. It was there I discovered "Mike
and His Steam Engine,'' "Henry Huggins," "The Wizard of Oz," all of
the "Little House" books, "Betsy and Tacy," and so, so many more. Over
the years, we were allowed to take the bus ourselves (my dad worked at
FDA, a block away), and my best friend Monica and I would lug our
bookbags to the bus stop, pay our quarter and spend a whole day lost
in beautiful books.
I appreciated all of the discussion of the referendum, but it
still didn't occur to me that a new central library would mean the
demolition of that beloved place. My kid is too young to get much out
of a library. At this stage, he literally devours his books. All I
hope is that when he gets a little older we'll be able to take the No.
4 bus downtown and he'll experience the best place in the world too.
Maria Baca
Lyndale
