From the Stacks
By Carol Ann Robb, PPL Reference Librarian
Winter is not my favorite season. Why not, you ask. Well, first there’s the darkness that starts before I get home from work and lasts until nearly an hour after my walk the next morning, my car’s wonky TPMS light, high heating bills, deadly black ice that can literally bring one to her knees, and snow.
But there’s one upside to Winter: it provides me with an abundance of reading time. A cold, snowy Saturday means having the aroma of bubbling soup wafting though the house while I’m hunkered under a blanket with a book in my hands and a cup of tea at my side. That’s not a bad scenario, until I have to go outside. And those long, dark nights gives me more time to read (assuming I stay awake).
Which is why the library is offering a “Snow Many Books” Winter Reading Program—it’s the perfect excuse to stay home and read to your heart’s content. Plus, we’ve made it very easy. All you have to do is read a library book of your choice—no categories, just whatever you feel like picking up, and no numbers, just as many as you feel like.
Once you’ve finished and returned it to the library, pick up a slip to write down the title and your name and turn it in at the Reference Desk. On March 1st, we’ll hold a drawing from all the returned entry slips for the “grand prize” containing items tailor-made for library readers.
I’m aware that using a theme with “snow” in the title could invite a very snowy winter, but it’s just as likely to scare away the white stuff and we end up with unseasonably warm weather (which wouldn’t bother me one bit).
But the “many books” part of the program theme shouldn’t be a problem because that’s what libraries are about. You want books? We’ve got them! If you want to embrace the whole wintry scene, we have displays of books with cold, icy, and snowy titles. Prefer reading about sunny beaches? We can grab a few of those for you. Maybe this is the time of year you like to re-read a favorite classic—we’ll get that one for you to check out.
And remember, if you live inside the Pittsburg city limits, we’ll deliver your books to you via the bookmobile on Thursdays. Ask us to throw in some entry blanks and we’ll happily supply them for you to return with your books.
Reading is its own reward but that doesn’t mean we don’t want you to have fun while doing it. Don’t be left out in the cold—there’s “snow” many books just waiting to be checked out!