We Still Love a Good Old Fashioned Library

 Photo by Arnoldius

It’s 2012 so most people we know are rocking Kindles and Nook, reading 800-page tomes on a convenient, but cold, little computer screen. Not only do we still prefer to hold a good old-fashioned print version of a book in our hands, we’re even more nostalgic than that. We actually get our novels and non-fiction from the local library.

This practice seems to shock a lot of people. But not only does it save us money, it brings us back to our childhoods. At least once a week after our mother picked us up at school, we’d go a few blocks down the street to the Braintree Public Library and dive deep into the kids’ section in the basement. There we’d submerge ourselves in everything we could get our hands on — from Dr. Seuss to Judy Blume.

So we were touched when we saw the M.N. Spear Memorial Library in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, viral video asking for support in their effort to raise $1.4 million for a new building, which the Mass. government will match with $2.1 mill in additional funding if they meet their goal by June 30.

As their YouTube short explains (via readable signs to boot) their current location has no running water, limited space and a grated floor that melts patrons’ shoes. In addition to their fundraiser, they’ve taken to Tumblr with the “Where Would You Be Without Your Library” campaign.

One Tumblr fan professed, “Libraries and apple pie is what makes America great!”

Fellow librofile Frances posted this message:

“With my library, I have been to Panem, Terabithia, the Bastille, Chinese factories, Ypres, Narnia, Avalon, Green Gables (and Avonlea & Ingleside!) A little town on the prairie, and 20,000 leagues under the sea. Without my library, I’d be nowhere.”

In addition to pushing the paper publications, the Spear Memorial has actually dipped a toe into the waters of the modern age. They’re one of several small institutions who have partnered with the Library eBook Accessibility Program (LEAP), who allow patrons to download eBooks for a $25 one-time set up fee and a $50 annual fee. Of course, students can join for free.

To find out more about the M.N. Spear fundraiser or donate visit www.mnspear.org.

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