My First Library

I still remember something of my first library.  I was only about three or four at the time. It was an older library with an atrium surrounded by stacks raising up on every side for several floors.  It had classic dark wood trim.  The light was a little dim, but not to dim.  I do not remember it having harsh fluorescent lights.  I remember my mother flipping through the old manual card catalog to find a book.  I remember the smell of a book that has not been opened in a while. I remember the old style library cards with the metal plate in the corner with our patron number on it.  I remember when it was sent into a metal machine where with a "thunk" it put our due date on a return slip. It was Wonderland: it was Narnia.   Part of me has always stayed in that place.  And I plan one day to make a pilgrimage back there if it is still standing.