National Library Week (April 7-13, 2024) is here! This year’s theme, “Ready, Set, Library,” illustrates the idea that in our always-online world, libraries give us a green light to something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and focus on what matters most. No matter where you find yourself on the roadmap through life’s journey — preparing for a new career, launching a business, or raising a family — the library provides an inclusive and supportive community where everyone belongs.
To celebrate National Library Week here at BookTrib, we asked the staff to reflect on their favorite library memories. From getting that first library card, to attending a community event, to connecting with librarians or fostering a love for reading, libraries have gotten us to where we are today — spending every day working with books and authors!
Jim Alkon (Editorial): There was something magical about getting my first library card. I remember it so well — light blue, curved edges, the Times New Roman logo of the Brookline Public Library, and my name! I was so proud. It would have fit 
perfectly in my wallet if I was old enough to carry one. And each time I entered that hallowed building, I felt like a member of an exclusive club, a card-carrying member, a little boy allowed passage where grownups sat and contemplated. I loved the order, the structure, the quiet, and I couldn’t wait to look around for my next adventure. One of the great joys of my youth that I might never have thought of if this question hadn’t been asked.
JeriAnn Geller (Publicity): Mychal the Librarian talks about being a library kid, and I was an extremely early reader for whom libraries were a secret refuge from a young age. They became important in middle school to avoid bullies and to find peace and quiet in the hormone-infused madhouse that was junior high. That’s when I became a school library aide and learned a lot about how libraries functioned. During the busier world of high school, the Katonah (NY) Public Library was a perfect place to study — or to goof off from studying! — and my mother would occasionally call the library to ask if I was hiding in the stacks. I went on to raise a library kid who discovered not just books, but the incredible world of music available at the Stratford (CT) Public Library after school. It was wonderful to be able to share the library love with the next generation.
Megan Beauregard (Editorial): Every summer at the Avon Free Public Library in CT, there was an ice cream social. For years as a kid and a teenager, I volunteered to scoop ice cream for the adults, kids, librarians and community members that came through. Of course, I remember the event fondly because of the free ice cream (and the leftovers I’d get to take home) but what I think about now is the importance of community events. 
Libraries are essential in serving as third spaces outside of home, work, and school, that bring people of all ages together over a love of books. From book sales to story hours to computer classes, libraries are the pulse of our communities and are beyond deserving of funding and the support of staff and volunteers who make it all possible. There’s nothing sweeter than that!
Monique Snyman (Social Media): Growing up in post-Apartheid South Africa, in a diverse neighborhood that was (and remains) classified as “lower class”, the little library we had didn’t get much funding from the government. What’s more, certain books that had been censored during Apartheid still hadn’t made it to the shelves at that point. What I remember vividly, however, was how I had read my way through the entire children and young adult section by the time I was 11 years old and the lovely librarian, who I saw multiple times a week, wasn’t sure whether I was allowed to read anything else. So, my mom went with me to the library one day, and assured the librarian that I was allowed to read anything I wanted to (not including the books in the romance section).
That day, I borrowed six non-fiction titles of ghosts and hauntings and all things esoteric, which eventually led to the librarian putting in a request for R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series (because librarians are magical creatures and they know what you want to read before you even realize those books exist). And that, dear friends, is how my love of all things horror started. It’s my favorite library memory.
Cynthia Conrad (Marketing): I remember visiting an old library in my town as a kindergartner. It had a children’s section in the basement that was really small and cozy, decked out in that goldenrod-colored design scheme that was popular back in the 70s. My mom, sister, and I went many times, but I only had eyes for one book: Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss. I must have taken that book out a dozen times and drove my mother crazy with repeated bedtime readings!
Barbara Wilkov (Sales): My family has strong ties to Ferguson Library, my local library in Stamford, CT and spending time there was a large part of my childhood. Reading was a very important activity in my family so I spent many an enjoyable afternoon there when I was small. Later, as I got older, and since it was pre-internet, a lot of my time was also spent there researching papers, doing homework, etc.
In addition, my mother was on the Board of Trustees of the library for many years and was part of the group that started The Friends of Ferguson Library (a non-profit volunteer organization that supports the Library and that is still going strong). She was also on the Committee that recruited and hired the long-term President who led the library for an amazing 38 years until his death in 2014, and she spoke at the Main Library building dedication in his memory. My mom not only instilled a love of reading in my sisters and me but also left a wonderful legacy at Ferguson Library that my family will always cherish.
Deb Zipf (Publicity): I wasn’t a fan of libraries until much later in life. You could say I was anti-library and thought librarians led a cushy life, whispering among themselves in the tomb-like environment of a library where everyone had to be QUIET like when they attended a funeral, and joyfully collecting dues for late library books. But later I realized that I secretly wanted to be one because they had fun reading books… Back then, I might have been misguided. In any case, I really enjoy the library now and have read so many books from libraries that I can’t name one book that was my favorite. I did enjoy Anne Rice a lot though.
Cameron Kimball (Editorial): A childhood fan of the PBS show Between the Lions, I felt like I had spotted a celebrity the first time I visited the New York Public Library and walked past the iconic lion statues. A school project gave me the opportunity to access the Picture Collection, a compilation of images from historic books, magazines and other publications. It 
was an incredible look at the behind-the-scenes of the NYPL, from their Rare Books Division to the organizational stacks behind their public collection of rentable books.
The library is undeniably beautiful, with its marble and gilding. But as much as it’s a tourist destination, it also serves the public. Wandering the halls amongst the crowd of other visitors was a great reminder of what a powerful resource libraries can be to the entire community.
Natalie Garrison (Publicity): Getting my first library card was a magical experience for me. I was in elementary school and just started discovering my love for reading. My favorite book I have ever checked out from my local library was Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm. I read it over Summer break and it was the perfect story for a girl my age at the time.
Another fond memory I have was of my middle school librarian, Mrs. Hoitt, who would read to us and seemed to know everything about books. She has now passed away, but has forever had an impact on me.
Andrew Masi (Administration): One of my finest memories of being at the library is when I was in the 4th grade. I was sent down to the library after school as form of punishment for goofing off during class and putting a whoopee cushion onto my teacher’s chair. The whole class laughed! The teacher, not so much. (Then again, she had no sense of humor!) For my punishment, I had to help one of the librarians on staff rearrange this huge section of the library, which had numerous books from different genres. 
At first, I hated doing it because it was so boring and took too long. But as time went by, I started to browse through some of the books. I stopped quite a few times during the cleaning-up task just to read them. They just pulled me in! I was hooked. By reading books, I was able to sharpen my mind and keep myself out of trouble. Only for a brief period, and then the unholy terror that is me was unleashed again…
Gerri Silver (Publicity): I always enjoyed bringing my children as toddlers to the library programs offered at our local library. To be completely honest, I also enjoyed browsing the best-seller section for the hottest new book to check out.
While my children were in elementary school, I volunteered at their schools to be more involved during my time as a stay-at-home mom. My favorite memories were when I volunteered at the school library. The children always looked forward to going to the library to return the books they had borrowed the week before and excited to pick their next book.
Katie Bloomer (Editorial): I haven’t been to the library in years, but as a child, I seemed to live there. In elementary school, I helped set up for the yearly Scholastic Fair and regularly stocked returned books during an after-school program. In high school, I could often be found eating over a book in the corner of the library during lunch hour.
But my peak library era was in middle school, when almost every day after school I’d walk past my house and trek over two miles to the Carrollton Public Library at Hebron and Josey. There I’d eat a blueberry muffin from the cafe and read (usually manga or YA romance), or attend an anime screening in the kids’ storytime room. I’d stay until my dad’s workday finished, then walk across the street to his store and he’d drive us home. It was a simple time I remember fondly.
Kendall Farris (Publicity): Being from Texas, It was difficult to get to the closest library without driving or going on an overly long bike ride which – I couldn’t do alone in those early reader days. For a while, this meant my best option was at school. Every week for a treasured 10 or 15 minutes of class (that I would painstakingly earn by completing a warm-up assignment at lightning speed) I would walk through the empty hallways towards the library to pick up a new book. Always fiction, never required reading! The staff librarians knew me by name, and because we changed schools every few years, I had the pleasure of getting to know many staff librarians.
Check out the National Library Week schedule of planned events and the American Library Association’s State of America’s Libraries Report, which includes the list of Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2023.
