D. L., Ardmore

The Bala-Cynwyd library was a life saver for me. My mother died when I was four years old and my family moved to Merion. After being given the great gift of learning to read in 1st Grade at Merion Elementary School, I joined the local library and was on my way to a lifetime of fun, adventure, comfort and escape. Because I never went to camp, the library in the summer was my entertainment and at the same time I stayed cool. I would dream of becoming a librarian. So I would take 4 or 5 books off the shelves, mix them up and make pretend my job was to re-shelve them. My library was a safe haven and a place to escape a "not so nice step-mother." She used to tell me to "stop reading so much." We weren't given counseling just because we had lost a parent.

They built the Wynnefield Branch of the Philadelphia library in 1964 and because it was closer to my house, I spent a lot of time there. The librarian there turned me on to Georgette Heyer and I have never stopped reading her. One time as a punishment, my step- mother took away my library card. But I grew up and I became a mother and I am so happy my daughter also loves to read. I love to read stories to children and encourage them to love their library as much as I always have. It saved my life.