Libraries must give slow readers a chance

When my wife paid off my library fines, I became a little irate. 

I had no intention of paying the charges. I had held them for 10 years and no one had revoked my library membership yet. And because of the wonders of inflation, I had reduced their value by 25%. In another thirty years, my library debt would have virtually been eliminated! 

But there was more to it than paying the $1.30 I owed – it was the principle of it. A library shouldn't threaten with fines. Should I be punished for my book-hoarding transgressions? I think it's actually a good sign if you're hanging on to a book longer than it's due. It means you're reading. True, you might be a slow reader, but at least you're trying.

Instead of e-mailing me threatening messages about my library books being overdue, what about a friendly message like this: "You must really be enjoying your book. We understand that you may want a few more days to finish, so go ahead, take some more time! Most important of all, keep reading!" 

I'm currently reading a 1,000 page novel. There's no way I get through it in three weeks. I max out at 10 pages a day.... meaning I'll need at least three months. As usual, I'll have to max out on my renewals, then physically return the book and sign it out again. The trials I must endure!

But I don't want to come down too hard on libraries, because they really are a good thing. The library is a treasure-cove of information, an oasis of creativity and learning for children and adults alike. Even if you rarely visit a library, the fact that it's there is important. Just as you may never visit the Amazon rainforest, the fact that it exists is important to life on earth. (This is  a slight stretch when applied to libraries, but I know it to be true.) 

They're particularly vital for those of us who lack the resources to actually buy books. My daughter has at times had up to 100 books signed out in her name. I can't afford this kind of reading. While it's nice when my daughter receives a book as a gift, I know that the book will be sitting on her bookshelf within the next few days – where it will remain for a lifetime. It's consumed in a day or two and then done.  

I have old books, too, many of which I have yet to finish (partially do to the slow reading issue.) They'd be better off in a library.

Perhaps I'm resistant to change, but I think physical libraries still have a place in our digital world. By the sounds of it, the electronic age is not the end of the printed book after all. E-book sales have actually dropped in the last two years while paper book sales have increased. Humans will continue to crave the physical, no matter how electronic we become. Even if we turn into cyborgs one day, with electronic encyclopedias crammed into the interfaces of what's left of our brains, we may still want to go to the library to pick up a book – to hear the sound of pages turn, if nothing else. We certainly won't need to go there to surf the Internet (unless your brain has exceeded its monthly data plan). 

Call me old fashioned, but there's something comforting about having libraries around. Never mind their idle threats of fines.