This branch is a small store front on the Northwest Side of Chicago. It's not one of the fancy new libraries built in the last few years, but it has the charm of a community gathering place. On the day I visited, a preschool program was happening in a back room, so the voices of the little ones were heard throughout the main floor. I applied for my Chicago library card, and was happy to find out that I would get it immediately.
The tables held many periodicals, in Polish and English, and a large catalog of Elderhostel programs. I checked out my first books from a Chicago library since I last lived there, in Hyde Park at the Kenwood Branch. The books were lovely.
I left and walked across busy Grand Avenue, looking for a place to get something to eat, and found a small panaderia that smelled of cinnamon and sugar. When I asked what one of the pastries was, the woman answered in Spanish, and went to get the baker to tell me in English.
I didn't understand what he said, so I asked the woman to write the name in Spanish on the bag. She gave me a business card for the bakery in response.
I loved this place, and the warm exchange. Here I was 15 minutes from my house, and I felt like I was traveling somewhere new, without need for passport or security lines.
1 comment:
It's interesting how libraries are a common community gathering space across multigenerational lines - preschoolers to elderhostel customers.
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