Libraries are full of stories -- and not just the ones found in books!  As part of the New Stories campaign, the Library Foundation is collecting stories about the role that the Library has played in your life.  Share your story here.

The library has always felt like a home to me.  We moved to Lawrence a few years ago and I found it to be a great comfort to get a library card, look through the books, and have activities for my children.  I think all libraries are or should feel like a welcoming home for their community. 

I also have loved golfing at the library!   Submitted by Andrea Baloga, Lawrence

"My husband and I both worked at the library in the early 90s. We met, became best friends and then six years later we got married. We've been bringing our 3 kids to the children's room for the last 11 years. We all love the great variety of free kids' programs available. The library is one of the great assets we have here in Lawrence." Submitted by Sarah Spray, Lawrence

"I am in the library and suddenly the lights go out.  So I turn to the librarian nearby and say, in a facetious manner, "what's a matter ya don't have flashlights around here?"  Where upon she reaches down to the bottom drawer of her desk and hands me a yellow flashlight.  I thank her, walk down and cruise the 800's, then return the flashlight.  Ah - - - the library, the library."  Submitted by Louie Galloway

"The Lawrence Public Library is where my best friend, Janice, and I learned about the "birds and the bees."  When we were six or seven years old, we started asking questions about where babies come from.  Our mothers, who were longtime college friends,decided that it was time that we knew this information and checked a book out at the library called “Being Born.”  It used illustrations of cows to depict how babies form in a mother.

The two families shared the library book and our mothers flipped a coin to determine who got the book first.  My mother read it to me one chapter at a time.  When it was at our house, my mother would hide the book during the day for fear I would read it on my own.

It was a regular outing for mothers to take their children to the Carnegie Library at 9th and Vermont Streets.  I remember that there were two light posts with globes on them at the corners of the main desk. You could not talk while you were there and even had to whisper when you asked a question.  Yet it was a wonderful place that so many people in the community used and enjoyed." Submitted by Nancy Helmstadter of Lawrence
Janice Monteith (left) and
Nancy Helmstadter in 1936

Discovering Library Treasures
I came to Lawrence/KU in the fall of 1965 and soon started frequenting the old Carnegie Library on 9th and Vermont. It was thrilling to find interesting books that had not been available to me in my former home in western Kansas, and in a building that had so much history itself. The Langston Hughes connection, which I found out about later, made it even more special.

One thing that I found especially useful was the relatively large collection of classical LP recordings. I diligently checked out and listened to nearly every one of those to educate myself.

One thing I miss is the library cards in each book which listed the names of the people who had checked it out before you. In these days of Homeland "security" all traces of previous readers is erased, even electronically. Submitted by Daniel Bentley of Lawrence


Our Community's Living Room
I used to be a pet sitter in Lawrence and the surrounding areas. One day in December 2005, I received a call from another pet sitter, whom I'd never met, asking me if I'd be willing to help her out on a big job over Christmas vacation. I agreed, and she asked if I'd like to meet at the library so we could meet each other and go over details of the job and then go to the customer's house. Well, ever since that first meeting in the library, Jane Butterfield and I have been good friends. I'm glad the library was there to provide a nice meeting place!  Submitted by Mary Schnebly of Lawrence

So Many Reasons to Love the Library!
"I love the smell, the feel, the sight of books. I am a print-oriented reader and love the fact that the library provides me with wonderful opportunities to read in a variety of genres and strives to provide a balanced collection for all ages and interests. I especially appreciate the displays of books that I might not otherwise choose to read and the willingness of the staff to hold books on reserve until I can get to the library.

The CD collection is topnotch! Talk about variety. There is something for every type of listener. My daughter, who enjoys electronic music, said LPL's is the best collection in the area. I also enjoy the DVDs; the mix of classics and contemporary films as well as the documentaries, foreign language and family films once again ensures that there is something for all ages.

Programs are excellent too. I have sung with a little one at story time, advocated for the SRS services, and attended author presentations. The fact that the Lawrence Public Library is able to do so much with so little never ceases to amaze me. They deserve a facility that will provide them with even more opportunities to serve the public that they love."  Submitted by Susie Nightingale of Lawrence

"There have been several things that have been (continues to be) awesome.  The way the 'suggestions that we offer' are taken up is second to none.  Lawrence Public Library's 'Hooked on Phonics' kit for kindergarten/preschool is one of (3 1/2 year old) daughter's favorites - she loves reading those 3-lettered word books all by herself.  We are fans of the 'Thursday story tiimes' and we make it to that every week. 

The best program me (Priya and my daughter) have ever attended here was the 'special story time by the storyteller from Michigan Library' a few weeks back.  The session WAS AWESOME that my daughter said, 'Mommy please - can I have one more story at the end of it!!!  We are very regular readers here.  In short - it's THE BEST/LONGEST ENTERTAINER during holidays."  Submitted by Priya Rajan