Look, the fact is, those love hearts are too small for me to fit in the reasons I love the library, but I’m heartened to see I am not alone.

From the moment I moved to Pemberton, the library staff were my first point of contact with the community. They welcomed me. Learned my name. Made me feel like I could belong here. And pretty soon that morphed into a feeling that I did belong here. Still, as the library gets bigger and busier and the staff have changed, that welcome has been a constant.

Plus, the books. Of course.

Plus, it’s free.

This gift, of abundant access to information, resources, inspiration, stimulation, computers, magazines, movies, programming, puzzles, board games, for free, is increasingly rare in this world (as I realize when I venture beyond this little pocket of it), and I feel so fiercely appreciative of it.

Happy end of Canadian Library Month. And here’s to you finding a reason to love the library, this winter.