Ella Mae Shamblee Branch, Fort Worth, Texas

After my misadventures in downtown Dallas, I took a drive over to the twin city of Fort Worth to check out the Ella Mae Shamblee Library, located just off the highway. This handsome little branch was a far cry from the J. Erik Jonsson, with cheerful colors and a dynamic layout. My favorite part of the architecture as a whole was the flying, winged roof/awnings soaring over the front door. The metal and glass composition remind me of those funky old gas stations from the 50s,

The extensive DVD selection suggests they do a brisk business loaning out movies, and I was witness to a steady stream of patrons perusing that section throughout the day. As it is a very small library,  there were not many spaces to set up camp, but I was able to find one empty table that afforded me a view of my car through this nifty little porthole window.

Once 3 pm rolled around, the kids started tumbling in, most of the time with moms in tow. There was a story hour (a man came around gathering up any stragglers so they wouldn't miss it) and from what I saw, a great deal of resources were dedicated to children, learning, and art. One particular little girl (I"m guessing 7, but I am not good at this game) came in with both of her parents. The pop set up shop in the comfy chairs in front of my desk, scanning through different periodicals, while the mom and girl picked out DVDs and books to check out. Rejoining pop in the easy chair section, the little girl was breathless and trilling with excitement, holding a clutch of books to her chest and chattering a mile a minute to her mom, who sat with her to read one book aloud.

As I am writing this a day later, it's taking every stitch of my self control to keep it together. Gaah, idiot cryingface STAWP. But really, what book lover wouldn't feel something? I've spent my life surrounded by books, finding solace in the stacks, wrapping up in that old, spicy smell of aging paper and glue. My mother had a huge number of books in our house--all sci fi and fantasy and, of course, Shogun--and I spent many hours in the various school libraries and aforementioned main branch in Wichita during my youth. After undergrad, where my workstudy job was always in libraries, I worked for 4 and a half years as the District Manager's assistant at Barnes and Noble in Kansas City. After that, I worked in production for an academic press for over 15 years. Books, books, books--my life is a collection of books.

I'll never be able to adequately express what it means to see little kids piling into the library, arms soon overflowing with books, eyes lit up and turbo charged to read until their little heads are stuffed full of new places, new people, new adventures. It means the world to me. And after a complicated life in the company of books, this tour of the south/sw/west US is a balm. I'm even feeling a little turbo charged myself.