E.R., Michigan

When my twin sister and I were growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, we lived five houses from the corner. On that corner was a branch of the Cleveland Public Library. Every morning during summer vacation, we would pick up at least four books apiece, come home, sit on our porch, read all the books, and then go back to the library late in the afternoon. Of course we wanted more books. The frustrated librarians moaned, "Please, girls, give us at least ONE day to circulate the books!" But they let us have more anyway. During that same time, our parents rented a summer cottage for two weeks on the shores of Lake Erie. It was our job to go with our dad to the library and get enough books for all of us to read aloud to each other on the beach. It didn't matter whether the books were for adults or kids, we read them all. Talk about a way to foster a lifelong love of reading!

I am so proud of my own role as a board member of my library, the Soutfield Public Library. In 2000 we successfully passed a millage to replace our old library with a brand-new, state-of-the-art masterpiece. It has actually become a tourist attraction in our part of the Detroit metropolitan area.