Library 86: St. Albans Free Library
We read to keep the books alive.
Library 86! The St. Albans Free Library was the 86th stop on my quest to read, write, and knit in as many of Vermont’s public libraries as I can during my sabbatical.
I read: Gather by Kenneth Cadow, chapters 12-15
I wrote: 0
I knit: a Lindal Sweater test knit by Ona Woldten
Back to the mainland.
I have exactly 28361047 things to say about this library, and these are the five I chose:
1. This library has a busy vibe. It serves a large population. There is no library in the surrounding town of St. Albans, so this city library serves the town and the city. St. Albans is one of Vermont’s ten municipalities designated as a “City,” with a population of about 6,000. It is entirely surrounded by the town of St. Albans, which can be confusing to outsiders. It is not Vermont’s smallest city.
2. Despite being clearly swamped, librarian Bridget told us about the blue statue in the lobby, which was crane lifted from a city fountain and put in the library for safe keeping.
3. I met a giant teddy bear here, which has a twin at the Fairfax Community Library (and perhaps a cousin at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington). These were gifted to the libraries by Vermont Teddy Bear a long time ago. There may be others.
4. While knitting, the chatter around me was so interesting I forgot to take a picture of myself knitting. A newcomer got a library card. A patron came in who’d just lost her 21-year-old cat. She needed someone to talk to about it, and she chose a librarian. It made me think about the day our cat died, and my instinct to go to the library, taking my grief and puffy eyes with me. A couple was packing and unpacking and repacking and unpacking their bags at a table nearby. They had a nervousness about them that made me both want to hug them and also keep my distance. Life sounded hard for them. I have thought about them often since we left.
5. Bridget also told us about a St. Albans 1897 fire, which burned the library to the ground. It was then rebuilt out of brick. The only books that survived the fire were those that were checked out. When our Vermont State University libraries were going to close last year, a concession (prior to the decision being thankfully reversed) was to keep the books that had recently been checked out.
I guess one way to keep books alive in the world, or at least in our libraries, is to read them.
