Who remembers the old Las Vegas Library on East Charleston, near Maryland? Next to Skaggs and the Huntridge?
This was the 1970s and 80s, near where I grew up in downtown Las Vegas. You had to drive around the back of the building to enter, and the front of the library looked more like a 7-11 with its wall of windows, but if you peeked inside, you could see the bookshelves. I remember kind of leaping around in brown sandals, along the front of the lengthy circulation desk. I remember spinning the Christmas-tree-like book racks and thumbing through paperbacks while my sister quietly read Betsy-Tacy.
These are really early summer-vacation memories. I couldn't sit still, I was too excited that school was out, too excited for the pool to finally be full again, I couldn't contain the energy coursing through my veins! I didn't learn to love books at that time, but I think I started to understand what a community was. Moms chatted while kids colored or flipped through MAD Magazines or Choose Your Own Adventures or Dragonlance volumes or Judy Blume (there was no official "children's section"). Librarians were friendly, and you were always welcome.
I think I knew pretty early on that Las Vegas was kind of a weird place for a kid to grow up, with its 24-hour glitz, its "All-Nude" billboards, and its $1.99 Steak and Eggs. The message was loud and clear that that wasn't stuff for kids, but the library was a place that was for everyone. Another spot to hang out in that wasn't school, wasn't a public park or gymnastics, a place anyone could come to, and you didn't even have to buy anything.
I'm excited to share that after eight excellent years as the Adelson School Librarian, I have been selected for a position with the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District as a District Wide Librarian! I'm excited to serve all populations here in my native city, as I will be supporting staff at ALL of the Clark County Libraries for weeks- or months-long stretches to help with programming of all kinds.
Libraries have evolved into spaces that offer so much more than books (and they now include gorgeous Juvenile Collections!), but they remain magical spots in all communities that welcome every single person who enters -- no matter what you look like, where you live, how much education you received, how much money you make, what you believe, or who you love! -- with open arms.
Please come and visit me when you can!
For more Vegas history:
Historical Marker Database
Huntridge Theater
Mob Museum
Neon Museum
UNLV Special Collections
Vintage Vegas
This was the 1970s and 80s, near where I grew up in downtown Las Vegas. You had to drive around the back of the building to enter, and the front of the library looked more like a 7-11 with its wall of windows, but if you peeked inside, you could see the bookshelves. I remember kind of leaping around in brown sandals, along the front of the lengthy circulation desk. I remember spinning the Christmas-tree-like book racks and thumbing through paperbacks while my sister quietly read Betsy-Tacy.
These are really early summer-vacation memories. I couldn't sit still, I was too excited that school was out, too excited for the pool to finally be full again, I couldn't contain the energy coursing through my veins! I didn't learn to love books at that time, but I think I started to understand what a community was. Moms chatted while kids colored or flipped through MAD Magazines or Choose Your Own Adventures or Dragonlance volumes or Judy Blume (there was no official "children's section"). Librarians were friendly, and you were always welcome.
I think I knew pretty early on that Las Vegas was kind of a weird place for a kid to grow up, with its 24-hour glitz, its "All-Nude" billboards, and its $1.99 Steak and Eggs. The message was loud and clear that that wasn't stuff for kids, but the library was a place that was for everyone. Another spot to hang out in that wasn't school, wasn't a public park or gymnastics, a place anyone could come to, and you didn't even have to buy anything.
I'm excited to share that after eight excellent years as the Adelson School Librarian, I have been selected for a position with the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District as a District Wide Librarian! I'm excited to serve all populations here in my native city, as I will be supporting staff at ALL of the Clark County Libraries for weeks- or months-long stretches to help with programming of all kinds.
Libraries have evolved into spaces that offer so much more than books (and they now include gorgeous Juvenile Collections!), but they remain magical spots in all communities that welcome every single person who enters -- no matter what you look like, where you live, how much education you received, how much money you make, what you believe, or who you love! -- with open arms.
Please come and visit me when you can!
- You can find me swinging from branch to branch within the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, from Indian Springs to West Las Vegas to Windmill to Clark County! Go and visit your local branch (whatever city you're in) today!
For more Vegas history:
Historical Marker Database
Huntridge Theater
Mob Museum
Neon Museum
UNLV Special Collections
Vintage Vegas