J.C., Bryn Mawr

I have to say that Ludington library has always been MY library, even though I live in Radnor Township. I have felt the “welcoming call” of the great Ludington. In the face of, let’s say, unpleasant patrons, I have seen the staff there act with the utmost professionalism. I feel that over the years I have developed a relationship with the staff and I am continually amazed at their composure under extreme pressure. Since frequenting Ludington, I admit to observing several incidents where trouble was “a brewin’” but, as always, it was handled in the most appropriate way possible. From having on of my close friend, Jackie, work there for three years under her great boss, Susan, I know there is so much work behind the scenes. You offer so much help to the whole community, which some of us do not take for granted. My heartfelt thanks and praise to the whole staff for allowing me to “shop” there and for making it look so easy. Thank you for being MY library.

B.W., Haverford

When I think about “my Ludington,” it is not so much a particular story that comes to mind but a feeling that comes to heart…love.

Ever since I had our son 8 years ago, the library has become “our place.” I walk through those doors and the “feeling” comes back…a mixture of excitement, warmth, hope, love and endless possibility…like chocolate or warm pajamas or a great party or the first day of camp…I can’t wait!

I can’t wait to share a smile and a warm hello with everyone at the front desk. I can’t wait to scan the picks on the shelf that I don’t have time to read, but sometimes checkout anyway. I can’t wait to have something to look up and get lost in a whole category or world I did not know about before today.

But most of all, I can’t wait to tear up the stairs after our son to the children’s department…the coziest hug of people on the Main Line gathered in one place. Gail, Roseanne and Laurent, you guys are “My Library Story” and Thomas’ too. It really is “My Gratitude Story,” for I am so, so grateful for each and every moment. I am grateful you guys welcomed me when I was a new mom and made me laugh at the BEST story hour ever! Laughter was hard to come by when sleep was scarce.

I am grateful to you guys for always finding the perfect book or answer (or both) to a pressing question and teaching Thomas to tie his shoes. I am grateful to you guys for offering wonderful advice on just about anything (recipes too) or a safe haven from blazing summer days and cold rainy afternoons. “My Library Story” is not about the building but its true heart, or hearts, who reside on the second floor. Thank you guys for being inspirations and friends, not just to me, but to countless “me’s” that you didn’t even realize needed you or thought you were so super…’cause you are.

So that is why I am always jazzed to stop at the corner of Bryn Mawr and Lancaster. You open those doors and, like opening a book, you never know but the whole trajectory of your life could, can and has changed…always for the better.

Love you, Ludington.

A.W., Bala Cynwyd

I love books and reading. That is why I love the library. Every time I go there, I find interesting books. Another reason I love the library is because it provides a lot of different programs. I remember a magician named Eric Paul. He was doing magic at the library. I signed up for a summer science club. I learned about oceanography. I also entered a poem contest. Every year I did the summer reading program. Once I even got a trophy. And who could forget the one you are reading right now. The “Tell Us Your Library Story” contest.

My mom said that we are lucky to have six libraries in our township. We have been visiting all of them since I was a baby. I got my FIRST library card when I was 5. Since then, I have spent a lot of time at the library picking out books. That is how I met a nice library helper. Every time I go to the library, I would draw some pictures with my little brother. Then she would hang them on a window. Once she drew a sketch of me. It looked like me twenty years from now! My big brother said in twenty years there would be no more books. I know that is not true because I know I will always have my library!

R.S., Bryn Mawr

I am a senior whose love affair with libraries began at the James Pendergrass Free Library in Jamestown, NY. This romance started with a half mile walk through the snow on Saturday morning for the story hour. I would get there about an hour early so that I could look at dinosaur books by Roy Chapman and bird books by Roger Tory Peterson. I remember reading Tomahawk for Trouble by William O. Steele.

Years ago on a trip to Ludington, I went in to select some DVD’s, audiotapes and books for the next week. I will take a few just to enjoy casually or browse others if I think I would like to read them. I came across a large book about Walker Evans, the world-famous photographer. When I looked more closely through the Walker Evans book, I came across three negatives. I also found in the pages, a homemade birthday card made by Diane. Her address was on the back. I called her and explained what I had found and she said that she hadn’t been to the Ludington Library in a long time. Then she remembered, “I know who owns those negatives.”

I took them over to Diane’s home and we started talking. Four hours later, we were still talking. We became boded for life. What a great way to spend a cold February day: making a new friend! I still love the library and visit twice a week. I never know what might happen.

B.P., Wynnewood

Last weekend my son was home for Thanksgiving and came with me as I returned some books to the Ardmore Library. As we pulled into the parking lot, he looked up and said nostalgically, "I remember this library and the nice librarian who helped me with my science projects."

We walked up to the counter, and my son smiled as he saw his "nice librarian" again some twelve years later. Peggy Newman was smiling, too, as usual, and warmly greeted her returning young patron. She also remembered my son and his frequent pre-Internet visits to do research on assorted assignments.

As Peggy Newman and my son chatted and got caught up on his high school and college years, I thought of my own relationship with Peggy over the past several years. At first it was story hour with a toddler, then research help for a school boy, followed by a book club for an empty-nester, and now sharing resources, stories, and support as we each care for our aging mothers across the miles.

Over the years, my librarian has become my friend. She is more than a knowledgeable reference and book referral source, more than an organizer of community activities, provider of English language lessons, Kitchen fund-raising tours, or master of new technologies. She is all of this plus a nurturer of curiosity, developer of minds, and builder of community.

T.H., Wynnewood

The library is my home away from home. It’s the cozy place I visited so often with my mom when I was a young girl. Holding my hand, she led me to the magical world of make-believe and set me free in it. I still recall the wonder I felt as I beheld the walls of books in the basement of the old Bala Cynwyd Library. So many choices, such endless possibilities--I was transported and still am today. The second I enter a library, a peaceful feeling comes over me. The noise and pressures of the world recede. My breathing relaxes; I’m calmed.

Wandering in alleys of books, I’m excited to spot dear old friends and favorites: Hemingway, Alcott, Austen, Flaubert, among others. Towering over me in 822 is the one I still bow down to--Shakespeare. The sight of past loves, enduring loves awakens in me other happy childhood memories--of sitting in the living room on winter Sundays with my family, a fire burning in the fireplace, classical music playing on the stereo, all of us reading silently to ourselves, contented.

So today when I enter a library, I am welcomed back, the prodigal daughter returned. The smiling, helpful librarians, the worlds of knowledge and adventure bound between covers, the easily navigable web catalogue, are all waiting for me. Like my childhood bedroom, everything is waiting for me, just as I left it. I’m home.

L.F., Narberth

Story time, story time,
Oh what a fun time!

Since I was two,
This was something, I always wanted to do.

Ludington Library I came to once a week, I heard lots of stories & songs that always made me smile from cheek to cheek.

The library has so many books you could pile them high, From the floor to the sky.

Now that I am eight,
I am reading chapter books, isn’t that great!

Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, Dan Gutman Books, and Rainbow Magic are a few of the best, I just can’t wait to read all of the rest.

My little sister Emily loves it too, & can now pick out books just fine, And when we read them together we have an excellent time.

Ludington Library you are one of my favorite places to be, Soon you’ll be new and I cannot wait to see.

E.S., Ardmore

The daughter of an English and reading teacher who later became a librarian, I was born into books, reading and libraries. I loved our weekly after-school trips to the library, where I borrowed 7 or 8 at a time, devoured them, and took out another stack at the next visit. I especially loved biographies - I wanted to know why these people were special and important enough for someone to write about their lives - and stories about families. The biographies of Helen Keller and Pocahontas and the All of a Kind Family, Little House on the Prairie and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series were great favorites.

I'm now a regular user of the Ludington Library. I'm drawn to Newberry and Caldecott winners children's books, adult fiction, books on all kinds of crafts, music CD's, and audiobooks. I may be in my car racing along a highway, but when I listen to an audiobook I have the same pleasure I had as a child when a story was read to me.

Libraries are free. They are about sharing, being responsible for what you take out, and about community. There are notices and opportunities on bulletin boards, concerts and discussions, tax information at tax time. There are computers. The librarians and staff are ready to help. One can wander and browse, focus, study, read, and think about anything and everything. Mostly, of course, there are the books, all the wonderful books.