Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Little Library That Could


This is the library in Society Hill where I've been working since I retired.
The original library which is a tiny bit smaller was built in 1757. This one was built in 1957.
It is 700 square feet.....and as you can see it is packed!
When we get new books, which is monthly, we have to take some out of circulation to have room on the shelves. This is a hard decision....you hate to take John Steinbeck off the shelves to put on Nora Roberts.....BUT....truth be told Steinbeck hasn't been checked out since his book was purchased. So, off he goes to storage.
The best part of this library are the patrons. One of my favorites is Mr. G who lives across the street. He will be 90 soon. He usually comes by once a day to swap news. Who died? Who got married? What his dog Tim has been up to; what my dog Scout has been up to. Hot Topics!
Tim is a rat terrier; or should I say is supposed to be a rat terrier. However, when Mr. G saw Scout he began to wonder. Scout has papers, Tim does not. Tim is 4 times bigger than Scout.
Once I had the great idea for Mr. G to keep Scout while C and I went cross country for a month. I even sold Mr. G on the idea. So we did a practice run one weekend.
Mr. G liked Scout.
Scout liked Mr. G.
Guess who wasn't happy?
You guessed it.....Tim!
Mr. G. said while Tim was thinking about getting in his lap; Scout was already up there settled in. In a word, Tim was very jealous; so we had to let the idea go!
Now Mr. G being the wise, retired General he is has made plans for Tim in case of his demise (Mr. G's not Tim's). Tim has investments. He gets birthday money from family members and puts it in CD's. Tim says he doesn't trust the stock market....I don't know why. I have lobbied to be Tim's trustee but I'm not making much headway. Tim holds the Scout idea against me.
Well, that is just a little snippet of life from the SHL (Society Hill Library). Next time I'll tell you about Jeff and then maybe Andre. We've got some mighty interesting patrons here in Smalltown, South Carolina.
Y'all come!


3 comments:

Kimberly said...

How cute! I love it!

Anonymous said...

Your little library is adorable! I'll have to visit you there sometime.

Ashli said...

It reminds me of the little one I worked at in the Old Village of Mt. Pleasant. I loved re-arranging the children's books, and the bulletin outside. It was one of those jobs where I didn't make much money, but I loved the people so it was worth it. Sound familiar?
Got any reading rec's for my upcoming beach trip?