My Love/Hate Relationship with The Library

I love books! I wish that I had a house where I could have one of those old fashioned types of libraries and there would be walls of books from floor to ceiling with the ladders that roll along the shelves. Another dream would be for me to have a large budget that could be spent on Amazon.com for books.

Books to me are opportunities. My mother often said, "If you can read you can learn". I grew up with this saying embedded in my mind and I have taken it to my heart. I have an obsession with learning at times. I have a need to make the wheels in my brain go around and to have the gears frequently oiled. The more you learn and know, the more you learn that there is always more to know.

The library is such a wonderful resource. We have used the library in Visalia, McMinnville, Salem and now Lodi. It has been interesting to see how different these libraries are. The library in McMinnville was artistic and two story (we loved that one)! It had a wonderful room that was dedicated to children and it was a treat to visit there. There were two libraries in Salem. We went to the smaller of the two and this one wasn't down town and I felt it was safer to go to. This library was small but very efficient and well stocked. The kids could get a library card for free, but if I wanted one I was going to be charged $60 a year. The other option was that I could check out one book at a time for free, I took that option. The reason being was that we didn't live in Salem, but Keizer and therefore the charge to use their library.

I have a problem at every library I go to. No matter what I do to prevent it, I always have overdue books and thus fines. I hate library fines. You are supposed to check out the books for free, and the fines just go against the whole free system. I have often tried to pay up, get my account in order and start fresh. Then out of the blue it hits me again............the librarian says, "Um, you owe $8.64 in library fines." What? That can't be true! Argh. Not again! So I fork out the money and vow to never have a late fee ever again. A few months go by and lo and behold it happens again.

Well, today I had the whopper of them all. At Drew's request, we went to the library. He has become quiet the avid reader. I had some books that I checked out last week and was ready to take them back (and didn't want any late fee). We check the books in when we got to the library, then Jake loads up on Sponge Bob books and Drew wants me to ask the librarian to put a hold on a book that he wants (he is into The Edge Chronicles). I go to the desk, and this nice young gal, who has helped us a few times before, looks for the book on her computer (oh how I miss card files and the plain old Dewy Decimal System). As we are once again discussing over due books (and I'm wondering how these books so cleverly hide in my house, fearing that all the time the librarian is thinking we must be total slobs to loose books the way we do) another librarian comes to the counter with a book that I just checked in and says, "This one has water damage and it is still wet" (as to prove that it is all my fault). I take the book in my hands and am just beating myself up inside. So I ask what my options are, hmmm........well I can pay the fine which is the price of the book, or I can pay the price of the book and take it with me. At this point I am just disgusted. The book was a lovely paper back book of Donna Dewberry, who teaches you how to "One Stroke" paint. At least I can use the book in the future, it was all about painting wall murals. So you can bet your bottom dollar, when we buy a house again, I will be putting this book to work and there will be a stinking mural on every wall!

Ok, I tell the nice library lady (I thought the other one was very rude) just tell me how much I owe so I can just clean my slate. The book was $25.99 and the other fees totalled me in at $33. (and some odd cents). I wrote my check and walked out of the library wanting to scream!!!!

I told the kids from now on we are only getting two books at a time, yeah like that will just solve the problem. I am living by Murphy's Law and it is nickel and diming me to death!

Would anyone like me to paint a mural on their wall?