Book PileI was just talking to someone about how important libraries are.

When I was young, our library was a safe haven. I could go there and hide away from peer pressure. An avid reader, I felt accepted and comfortable.

Sitting in a pile of Oz books, I accomplished quests and stood against evil. No one timed me at the library. No one limited me there. All the treasures were offered freely, with no strings.

I don’t have time to go to the library as an adult as much, but whenever I do it’s the same safe haven. My new library is half a continent and three decades away from my old one but it’s the same place. Librarians don’t judge and they forgive all sins but those committed against books.

I wonder how many misfit kids find their safe haven in the library? There are no outcasts in worlds inhabited by hobbits, vampires and mad hatters. I love the library still because there is a place where all are equal – race, politics, religion – none of it matters. Literature equalizes us.

Books don’t judge.

By Angela Yuriko Smith

Angela Yuriko Smith is a third-generation Ryukyuan-American, award-winning poet, author, and publisher with 20+ years in newspapers. Publisher of Space & Time magazine (est. 1966), two-time Bram Stoker Awards® Winner, and HWA Mentor of the Year, she shares Authortunities, a free weekly calendar of author opportunities at authortunities.substack.com.

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