April 10-16 is National Library Week, a celebration of academic and community libraries, and the numerous contributions they make toward enriching our lives through reading. (Not to mention the chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate!)
When I was growing up, going to the library was a treat, one I looked forward to immensely. My mom would drive me there on a Saturday morning and turn me loose among the shelves, sometimes for hours at a time as I collected — literally — an armful of books to check out. I loved the smell of the library, a musty sort of fragrance that remains distinctive and tell-tale in my mind, and the reverent sort of hush that engulfed its spacious interior. I remember how pleased and proud I was — how grown up I felt — when I received my first library card, orange plastic with my name embossed on it.
In grade school, I could have spent all day in the school library. I can still remember where my favorite books were shelved — on the far left side, all of the way to the end of the room, and you’d find books on the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, UFOs and ghosts — all of the spooky topics I was hooked on in my youth. Across the room, midway down, were the tomes on King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Ivanhoe and other medieval legends and lore.
I haven’t been to the library in a long time, but need to bring my kids. My son loves to read, and I think he’d really enjoy discovering a place filled with nothing but books — any kind of books his young and boundless imagination can conceive of. Since this is National Library Week, I think I’m going to mark my calendars and plan on it.
I’m also thinking about entering a fun little online contest sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA). They’re giving away a $50 Amazon gift certificate to the composer of the best library themed “twaiku” for National Library Week. From their website, here’s how:
What’s a twaiku, you ask? Simply put, a twaiku is haiku sent via Twitter. Twaiku use the same basic structure of 3 lines with 5-7-5 syllables respectively. Unlike a true haiku, a twaiku can only be 140 characters, or 130 with our #nlwtwaiku tag.
The National Library Week twaiku contest kicks off at the beginning of School Library Month (April), and continues through Wednesday of National Library Week (April 13). All submissions must be tagged #nlwtwaiku.
The staff of atyourlibrary.org will post a selection of the best twaiku here on atyourlibrary.org, where everyone will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite through the end of National Library Week (Saturday, April 16). The most highly rated twaiku will receive an Amazon gift certificate!
Okay, so off the top of my head, free-styling haiku, here’s my “twaiku” idea:
Ah, the smell of books
Hits my face when I walk in
Libraries amaze.
Your turn! Let’s hear YOUR library themed “twaiku”!
I LOVED going to the library as a kid. I also remember we had a traveling/mobile library. It came around on a converted bus and my mom would take us to get books every week.