Stories from the Stacks

The Monthly Liaison: September 2023

The decades-old library card of Jenny Emery Davidson (executive director of The Community Library) has served her imagination well!

A library card is slim and light, most often an unassuming rectangle just a few inches long. It can fit snugly in a cellphone case or wallet. It can slide into a back pocket or in the palm of a hand. It might be easy to take for granted.

But a library card supports something big: an architecture of civility.

A library card asserts that each person has a right to wonder and learn; it respects each individual’s mind and heart; it recognizes that the world is composed of many voices. Whether you want a stack of mysteries or World War II tomes; whether you are drawn to Tom Sawyer or La Llorona or Dog Man; and if – especially if – you feel a little alone, a library card offers you space in the world.

Just last month, 13,413 books were checked out from The Community Library. Hundreds and hundreds of people used their library cards - on site, at the bookmobile, and online - choosing the books they wanted to read through the last days of summer. A wild array of books moved between homes and bike baskets and car seats and strollers and back to the Library shelves, where they could sit quietly again until somebody else might choose them.

A library card suggests that if we can share books, if we can make space on the shelves for all kinds of stories, perhaps we also can share the world as a wide-ranging collection of humans. We can build an architecture of civility with room enough for everyone.

Last year, the Idaho State Legislature was one vote short of passing House Bill 314 that would have waged $2,500 penalties against libraries for circulating a book if one person opposed it. Such legislation ignores the expansive, peaceful sharing of resources that is the actual wonderful routine of library operations, and such legislation would erode the civic space that libraries provide for communities around the state.

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month. We celebrate the right of anyone to get a library card for free at The Community Library, and we cheer for the dreams that those humble cards shuttle every day.

Jenny Emery Davidson, Ph.D.

Executive Director

In September, the world seems to find its equilibrium. It's the month of balance, marked by the Autumnal Equinox, when day and night share equal time, symbolizing the delicate harmony between light and dark, warmth and cold. September offers a transitional phase between the scorching heat of summer and the chilling embrace of winter. The leaves on trees, while transitioning into their vibrant autumn hues, have not yet surrendered to gravity’s inevitability. 

In the rhythm of life's ceaseless flow and changing seasons, there exist cherished melodies—a child's laughter, a babe's giggle, or a toddler's chuckle. These magical refrains have the power to suspend time, wrap me in a warmth of joy otherwise unavailable to my adult self. As a grown-up, society expects me to be serious, to shoulder the weighty responsibilities of maturity, to play my part as a cog in life's earnest machinery.

But when that innocent laughter graces my ears, life's relentless march comes to a sudden standstill. The grand symphony of adulthood momentarily hushes, replaced by the sweet, simple serenade of a child's glee. In this moment, I recall the purposelessness of the serious machines that dominate our lives. They are elaborate constructs that don’t cater to our innate capacity for delight, our ability to revel in life's simple pleasures. We chase after success, we diligently fulfill our duties, gowned in gravitas, all while forgetting the jocundity of the chortle. 

In 1995, two aging athletes crossed proverbial swords in battle, and one fell. The fallen man cried out in pain, “Arr,” and their shared love of pirate language arose. They knew this magical moment had to be shared with others, annually. Though the day of their own battle mirrored the great battle of Normandy in WWII, they chose the power of love, albeit failed love, over war and set September 19th, an ex-wife's birthday, as International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Perhaps as fall unfolds, we can carry forward the spirit of Talk Like a Pirate Day, as adventurers on the high seas of silliness. 

So, heed this call, my fellow voyagers. Let us set sail together on a course filled with mirth and merriment. Let us remember that life's true purpose is not just to be taken seriously but to live with the heart of a child, forever embracing the joyous moments that make our journey worthwhile. 

The Community Library honors National Recovery Month in September with print and digital recommendations to help alcoholics and addicts, and those

who love them, find resources, inspiration, understanding. . . and hope.

Find these and more recommendations, across genres, here.

by Annie Grace

in MAIN DISPLAY

616.861 GRA

by Bill W.

in NONFICTION MAIN

616.86 ALC 2001

by Rebecca E. Williams

in NONFICTION MAIN

616.891 WIL

por Claudia Black

in SPANISH LIT Main Coll

SPA 362 BLA

por Roberto Navarro Arias

SPANISH LIT Main Coll

SPA 616 NAV

por Bill W.

available through inter-library loan

by The Great Courses

Streaming on Kanopy

FREE with your library card

Sarah Holt, Director

Streaming on Kanopy

FREE with your library card

Angel Parra, Director

Streaming on Kanopy

FREE with your library card

THANK YOU to Our August Donors

Fierce Cornhole competitors at Book around the Block, August 2023

The Community Library is supported by people who believe in the

free flow of news, entertainment, and information.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, an important reminder

that libraries open doors to knowledge, wonder, and a legacy of inspiration. Please consider including The Community Library in your estate plan. . .

a gift in your will can make a lasting impact.

Director of Philanthropy, Carter Hedberg, is here to assist you.