Wrapped around two walls on the second floor of our newly revamped main St. Joseph County Library is a quote by the famous author Kurt Vonnegut.
It’s from a short story titled “The Kid Nobody Could Handle,” in which a troubled character says, “I’ve got at least one tiny corner of the universe I can make just the way I want it.”
It’s hardly tiny, but the corner of South Main and East Wayne streets — yep, the location of our beautiful new library and the adjoining Community Learning Center — may feel like what Vonnegut was describing, at least for thousands of South Bend-area patrons.
My wife and I were in on a sneak preview of our downtown’s latest jewel earlier this week, and it knocked my socks off. The grand opening is this Sunday, and I highly recommend going.
First thoughts: This place is so open and illuminated and user-friendly. The library staff seems so excited and enthusiastic about their new digs. There are only a few places where you might feel a stereotypical stern librarian’s “Shhhh” would be appropriate.
Second thoughts: I wish my grandkids in town were a little younger so we could spend time together in the Children’s Space with its Tiny Town and Storyhouse areas.
I really do think this new library has a special corner for everyone — from the study rooms of all sizes to the common area with a fireplace and booths … from the computer room with its new technology to the cafe with coffee always brewing … from the teen room equipped with a ping pong table to Studio 304 where young artists can create.
Then add the Community Learning Center with its auditorium, ballroom and meeting areas, and you have the “Wow!” factor.
And I haven’t mentioned books yet, have I?
I’ve always been a sucker for seeing row after row of good books and, of course, the new library has miles of them. It gives me goosebumps to walk into a library and know that intrigue, adventure, mystery, tragedy, and mirth are awaiting me down the various rows.
When I walked into our new library, I felt like that kid in a candy store.
I hope visiting a library and reading a book — you actually hold it in your hands and turn its pages with your thumb and forefinger — never go out of style. I’m not going to bad-mouth those who do their reading on a screen (heck, I’m hoping people will read this story on their computer devices), but I truly believe that a good book is one of the best companions you could ever have.
As a fraternity pledge at Indiana University, I was told to memorize a saying carved above the entrance of the campus’s old library. It is a quote by John Milton (of “Paradise Lost” fame) and reads: “A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit.”
To be honest, I never quite grasped the intricacies of that quote but, yes, there is a certain spirituality in reading and Milton’s words seemed to inspire me to be a better reader.
Debra Futa, the executive director of the St. Joseph County Public Library, recently told a group, “We learn to read up until third grade and then we read to learn.”
I like that quote, too.
Kudos to our library branches — we love our close-by Francis Branch — for holding down the fort for two years while our main library went through its metamorphosis. They will always be great places to find that corner that Vonnegut writes about, too.
And when I look at our new downtown library, it makes me hopeful — for our community, for our youth and for all those out there willing to nourish their master spirits while reading a book.