Rainy Day and the Library Card

When was the last time you went to the library and checked out a book? Yesterday? Last week? A while ago? Rainy Day is almost certain your check-out was done by computer by either swiping your card through a reader, or holding it so a reader could, well, read it. And your books all have coding for the same purpose. Did you even talk to a Librarian?

Those of you who are 'of an age' probably remember the old fashioned way of checking out a book. In the back, or possibly the front, of the book a paper envelope was glued to the inside cover and inside this envelope was a piece of cardstock with dates and initials on it. When presented to the Librarian, she would stamp a date on the card, and return it to the envelope, and copy your library number and book down somewhere. Rainy Day couldn't see over the high desk to know for sure.

Rainy Day doesn't know about you, but she loved looking at those cards, seeing how many times the book had been checked out, and could she, by any chance recognize the initials? Alas, Rainy Day lived in a large city, and she never recognized the initials. And it was many years later she figured out the card with the date was not the card from the book;-)

Rainy Day loved going to the library every Saturday morning. She loved bringing in the stack of books the Librarians had entrusted to her care, all read of course. She loved returning them, and she really loved gathering more books to take home where she could not only read the books but puzzle over the initials on the checkout card.

Rainy Day misses those check out cards. She misses the card catalogs, too, though she is sure the Librarians don't;-) Rainy Day could, and did, spend hours flipping through the card catalogs looking for interesting books to borrow.

All this is to lead up to Rainy Day borrowing a couple of books from a friend the other day. A group of us met for snacks, and with a very serious demeanor, Rainy Day's friend handed her a pencil and two cards just about the size of the old Library check out cards. He asked for her to write her name and phone #, and when Rainy Day obliged, he handed her the two books she was borrowing and there, in the back of the books, glued to the inside cover was a paper envelope, and within the envelope was a card with a due date properly stamped in black ink!

There were several of us at the table, and we all had a great laugh, and for those of us who are 'of an age' a wonderful walk down Memory Lane. Oh, and the books are due back on or before said date – or Overdue penalties may apply;-)