by: Stephanie Burkhart
It's National Library Week! If you have a chance, stop in
and say "Hi" to a Librarian. Let 'em know they're appreciated.
I'm a firm believer in libraries. They gave me my start in reading. I remember as a young girl
visiting the Manchester, NH Library – it was huge! Okay, it smelled a little
stale, (hey, it was the 1970's!) but I knew it was a gateway to other places
and adventures. My favorite sections involved dinosaurs and venturing into
space. Then I discovered mysteries and the Hardy Boys. As a teenager, I
explored the gothic worlds of VC Andrews and Victoria Holt. The big thing about
the library for me growing up, was it gave me a chance to explore; it fostered
my curiosity, and it influenced a love of reading that inspired me to become an
author.
 |
| My childhood library in Manchester, NH |
National Library Week started in the mid 1950's here in the
U.S. The ALA (American Library Association) wanted people to spend more time
with books and less on TV and Radio! (funny, how that is, isn't it?)
This year's theme:
Communities Matter @ Your Library
Libraries do a lot of us. First, you can always find a good book at the library. With
modern technology, many have books to loan for ereaders. Libraries have movies
and music to borrow. When I was stationed overseas in Germany, the library was
like a pirate's treasure chest to me. Libraries offer children activities
including story times, arts and crafts, and computer games. They also offer
Internet service and book clubs.
College and University libraries even host job fairs.
For Authors:
Authors can always go to their local library and participate
by doing a story time for children. Authors might be able to arrange for a book
signing, a book reading, a poetry reading or even conduct a writing panel at
the local library.
During this week special days celebrate library workers,
bookmobiles, and teen literature day.
There are all kinds of libraries – public, school, academic,
and presidential. Just last weekend, the boys and I visited the Nixon
Presidential Library. It was very modest compared to Reagan's. I was surprised
to discover the house Nixon was born in was still on the property. I also
discovered how Nixon moved a nation forward in a positive way. Sometimes I
think we forget that about him in light of what he's best known for –
Watergate.
Question for you: Have you been to a library lately? How
does your library support your community? I'd love to hear stories about your
library.
If you take a picture of you and your library card, or you
in front of library and share it with us in the comment box, you'll be entered
to win $10.00 GC to Amazon or Barnes & Noble – winner's choice.
Thanks so much for supporting your library this week.
 |
| Me, my library card & my library 2012 |
Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 Dispatcher with
LAPD. You can find her romance novels with Desert Breeze Publishing and Victory
Tales Press. Her children's books include The Giving Meadow and First Flag of
New Hampshire with 4RV Publishing. She's addicted to coffee and adores
chocolate. She's the proud mom of a Boy Scout and a Cub Scout and loves walking
and hiking, time permitting.
Her 99 cent stories with Victory Tales Press include:
A POLISH HEART
Blurb: Will Sofia's faith give Darrin his heart back?
Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007AS29AO
JOURNEY OF THE HEART
Blurb: Can James help Rachel save her winery or will he drift out of her
life the same way he drifted in?
BUY LINK: http://amzn.com/B008G1JI6C
Christmas in Bayeux
Blurb: Aiden travels to Bayeux, France to meet an old friend, Noel. Can
she help heal his wounded heart?
BUY LINK: http://amzn.com/B005BTLSI8
FEAST OF CANDLES:
BLURB: Drake takes the biggest chance of his life all because of a
bottle of wine. Can he breakthrough the battlements surrounding Lily's lonely
heart?
IND ME
ON THE WEB AT:
WEBSITE:
TWITTER:
FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor
GOOD
READS:
YOU
TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee
PINTEREST:
http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart/
I love libraries! I love the smell, the books, the old leather, the battered carrels. In fact, I went so far as to become a librarian. We spent our summers in NH and every 2 weeks we'd go into Keene & I could borrow 5 books from the public library. It was agony. I am a slow reader today because I forced myself to read slowly so I wouldn't run out of book before the 2 weeks were up! Meredith
ReplyDeleteMeredith
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your love of libraries. I never went to the Keene Library, but I have been in the town. My grandmother lived in Hinsdale, not far from Keene. Interestingly, I found my Uncle Bill's old comic books and would spend the summer reading and re-reading them.
Smiles
Steph
I love that my library has CD's I can borrow. Without dishing out a lot of cash for a CD, I can check out a variety of music I might have otherwise heard. I love looking for recipes and home decorating ideas there, too. But most of all, I just love hanging out with the smell and sight of all those wonderful books.
ReplyDelete