Clear Lake Shores Children's Library

One of the charming little institutions here (and, given the size of the city, all its institutions are little) is the children's library, one small room in size, ungoverned by an attendant of any kind. The kids know that, at any time, they can walk in, browse, and borrow as many books as they would like. With no time limit on keeping the books, no fine system, indeed no supervision of any kind, one might think that the place would either be a mess or empty, but such is not the case. A couple of volunteers (like me) spend a little time each week re-shelving and organizing, and the rest simply takes care of itself. Perhaps it helps that the library is in the same building as the police station and city hall, but mostly I believe that it is simply that it is part of what is, essentially, a very small town in which most everybody knows everybody. More Mayberry, and what a delight.

I totally enjoy the limited time I spend here, especially the time I spend re-organizing. A nice outlet for the librarian part of me. I loved both Children's Literature classes I took, both as an undergrad and as a grad student, as well as the "kiddie lit" classes that I taught years later at Lamar U. and then Lee College, and it pleases me to simply see and hold some of those familiar books. I even found here a Betsy, Tacy, and Tib volume, bringing back happy memories from my childhood in Portland. How I loved to read as a child, and how lucky I was to have a mother who encouraged that love.