By Tabitha Bozeman
Last weekend, the girls and I had an afternoon to fill, and it was a million degrees outside. In an attempt to find something to do that was local, cool, and inexpensive, I thought back to a couple of years ago when our HVAC died and we took the girls to Walmart late at night for an indoor scavenger hunt. This sparked an idea for the day: we would visit local libraries and have another kind of scavenger hunt where we awarded each library stars for various things. A favorite quote of mine regarding libraries is “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a Library” from Jorge Luis Borges, and an air-conditioned Paradise is exactly what I was looking for that day. So, I printed off charts for each of us, looked up hours at our local libraries, and we were off! We visited Glencoe Public Library, Hokes Bluff Public Library, Rainbow City Public Library, and Gadsden Public Library. After each library, we took a few minutes in the cool air-conditioned car to debrief and chat about what we liked most about each experience. Some highlights of what we are now calling our Great Library Tour of 2025 included the following:
At the Glencoe Public Library, the girls fell in love with the mural painted on the outside of the building. The scene takes up most of the side of the building where patrons park, and includes an adorable garden path with signage for local Glencoe landmarks like the Hungry Hut restaurant, waddling geese, and a tree that has small fairy windows and steps made from beloved children’s books. Inside, we all loved the cute decorations, the friendly service, and the extra-comfy armchairs we could sit in to read. It was the first time we’d been to the Glencoe library, so we also got our library cards. We each received a nice pen, some new reads, and enjoyed checking out the local history exhibit shelved along the wall, as well. The girls loved this homey, friendly, comfy library so much, they have already been back once to return and find more books.Walter Savage Landor, an English writer and poet, said “Nothing is pleasanter than exploring a library.” From the parking lot to the walls to the shelves, there was so much to look at and explore in the Glencoe Public Library.
Next, we went to the Hokes Bluff Public Library and were impressed with the openness of the building, the colorful walls, and the fun activities that were set out for children. This library has a wonderful open and quiet reading space for adults and a great selection of fiction and non-fiction. There were free stickers and bookmarks we had fun looking through, and the girls enjoyed checking out the reading area by the large floor-to-ceiling window. My youngest even spent some time coloring in the children’s department. We had never visited this library before, so we filled out for library cards and checked out some more books. We were all excited when we were gifted library tote bags and a treat from the surprise bin as a reward for checking something out. We enjoyed the experience and are planning our return to this adorable library next week to swap out our books.
Afterward, we went to the Rainbow City Library. This library has some serious magicians working and decorating–I have never visited it and not been impressed and delighted with the fun exhibits and engaging displays they come up with. This visit did not disappoint. All of the local libraries are doing the summer reading theme “Color Our World,” and the Rainbow City library has buckets of colorful “paint” made from lengths of sheer fabric “pouring” from the ceiling. The girls were in love with the color and other-worldly feel of the displays. This library has always been a favorite stop of ours, too, for the fun table-top puzzles and coloring activities in the children’s area, too, so the girls took some time to revisit that area and enjoy the colorful crayons. My favorite section at this library has always been the awesome book sale wall, too, and this time was no different. I found several books by favorite authors that needed to be rehomed, we updated our library cards, checked out a book or two, and were off to our next stop.
The final library visit on our schedule was the Gadsden Public Library. My girls have grown up going to the GPL and playing in the Children’s Department. Now, they are all excited to be old enough (or very nearly!) to enjoy the Teen Zone. We toured it, enjoying what we dubbed the “climb through time” up the stairs, through a floor of retired tomes from many a yesteryear, and found our way into the cool, artsy, quietly bustling area for local teens to hang out, read, craft, and chill. Next, we stopped by to visit a couple superheroes of the GPL: Carol Wright, Assistant Director, and Craig Scott, Director. Carol is one of my ATFH (All Time Favorite Humans), and any time in or out of the library spent chatting with her is time well-spent. We checked out the Children’s Department next, and as always it was full of young patrons having fun, rows and rows of colorful books to choose from, and engaging activities and educational displays. We checked out the fish, a table-sized tablet, coloring sheets, stuffies, puppets, and more. This was the first library my children explored as babies and young children, and they still love it. It is the library I grew up visiting with my family, and my grandmother used to also pick me up for a weekly library visit when I was little. I read my way through the Children’s and Adults’ departments, and spent many hours in the Reference area writing papers for school. The GPL is always offering fun and engaging activities and opportunities for our community and we are so lucky to have it.
The library was a safe space for me to learn, explore, and grow skills like analytical thinking and empathy, and I am glad my children are enjoying these experiences, too. As we celebrate the Fourth this year, we have spent some time as a family talking about what exactly “Independence Day” is and how it affects us individually. As we celebrate our country’s freedom, including freedom from tyrannical rule and censorship of ideas, religion, and expression, we also celebrate the very first amendment that our country’s leaders felt so strongly about they added it to our country’s guiding document: the First Amendment guarantees that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Without this guarantee, none of us would have the freedom to visit libraries filled with diverse ideas and perspectives. None of us would be afforded the opportunity to learn that more than one thing can be true at a time. None of us would be able to speak our minds and exchange ideas without fear of retribution. None of us would be able to follow our consciences in regards to our religious beliefs without worry. This freedom is foundational to all other freedoms we enjoy and expect as citizens of the United States of America, and I know not to take this freedom for granted. Throughout history, when any leader or faction has decided exert its power, one of the very first lines of attack is on the free exchange of ideas, expression, art, and literature. Our founding fathers knew this. Thomas Jefferson said “Information is the currency of democracy.” Benjamin Franklin mused “If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed,” and pointed out that “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech,” and “Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech.”
Libraries are a great leveler. Anyone, regardless of age, socio-economic status, religion, gender, or education can use the library. Libraries foster the currency of our democracy, and when groups and individuals are allowed to decide for the community at large the availability of a library’s collection rather than defaulting to personal and private responsibility, a dangerous precedent is set because those currently making the rules will not forever always be the ones making the rules. This is what we celebrate today: that our country has thrived and will continue to thrive not because of one dominant ideology, or because everyone thinks and believes the same. Our country has been strong because it has continuously come to terms with change, with difference, and with multitudinous viewpoints. As a parent, it is my responsibility to model this for my children, and supporting our local libraries is one simple, accessible, and air-conditioned way to accomplish this. Afterall, “great libraries build great communities.”
