We all have that first love. It hits us hard and we never forget. Some of us are lucky enough to hold onto that love our whole lives. For Marsha Meyer, that first and lasting love was the library. Meyer is retiring from the Portage District Library after 35 years but she remembers well that moment when she first entered the magical world of books as a child.
“It was an old building and it had quarter-sawn tables with the little yellow light, and I would go there after school and think—I want to live here,” Meyer recalls.
While today’s libraries are abuzz with technology, including electronic books, DVDs, CDs, and computers, Meyer remembers the library of her childhood with all of its bound books and card catalogs. “And I even loved the smell of the books,” Meyers says.
In Meyer’s eyes, a library is not only a fountain of knowledge and wonder but has today increasingly become a community center — a place where people connect.
“The library is the living room of the community,” she says. In an age of technology, people crave to meet face-to-face more than ever. The library is also a meeting place for book clubs and writers’ groups. It's also the beginning point for those researching family genealogy, seeking employment, studying for school, or even learning how to read with the help of tutors.
At the Portage District Library, Meyer is an event planner, filling rooms, sometimes to capacity, for countless author readings and literary events. She says the library not only showcases local authors, it also introduces the community to authors visiting Michigan.
After her retirement at the end of 2015, Meyer plans to continue haunting libraries as she travels across the country and overseas. She'll also be a library volunteer in her hometown of Richland. And Meyer is one of the founders of (and occasionally a participant in) the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival. Despite that, at long last, she hopes to put up her weary feet and read. A lot.
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