LaToya M. Davidson-Perez

I know that it may be a bit in poor taste to complain about a job during times like these. With Georgia’s unemployment rate as of July at 10.1%, having a job, let alone a well-paying job, is something to covet. But working or having some sort of job doesn’t necessarily mean that your standard of living is being improved or even that you can pay the bills. Many of us realize that the American way often means living paycheck to paycheck and sacrificing those few off days just to remain caught up at work.

I write this as a general observation of Americans and our society as well as a way to put our life and lifestyles into perspective. Compared to other countries, we are certifiable workaholics. In a 2010 article by G.E. Miller titled, The U.S. is the Most Overworked Developed Nation in the World – When do we Draw the Line? he reminds us to not let “life pass you by in the name of fear, circumstance, greed, or misguided hopes.”  Just think, when it comes to work-life balance, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation without a national paid parental leave benefit. “The average is over 12 weeks of paid leave anywhere other than Europe and over 20 weeks in Europe.” As many of you already know, what that means is that if you have a child and you want to be off from work for an extended period, unless you have benefit time, you’ll be doing so without a paycheck.

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In less than twenty years the personal computer has evolved so much so that there are now three major competitors in the marketplace. Most are aware of Windows computers. Commonly and synonymously known as PCs, they’ve been the most widely used and recognized computer operating system for as long as the personal computer has been around. Many of us can remember Windows 3.0, the marvel of Windows 95, and the disappointment of Windows Vista. I also remember being among only a very small handful of people in my childhood neighborhood with a computer. This was the early 90s and computers were still very much a luxury. I typed stories at home on my own computer (my dad built computers from the late 80s) and would print them out on my nifty dot-matrix printer. How the computer has changed.

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I sometimes wonder if I didn’t already work in a library if I’d remember how important they are. Many people young and old have fond memories of their public or school library but forget about its place in their lives. It’s like a favorite toy long forgotten; we relegate libraries to the now dusty shelf of our past and move on to other things. Who needs to be concerned about a place we don’t use anymore? We all should be because the magic we once felt is still being felt today.

Libraries are one of the few places where they have changed so much and yet so little from our childhood. Actually, it’s unlikely that if you were to return to your childhood library that its contents have remained the same. I remember as a child growing up in Jamaica how I enjoyed going to the library and reading after school. My grandparents were business owners and so they were often too busy to spend too much time with me throughout the week. The library is where I went to do homework, to read books, and where I went to escape from whatever may be going on in the outside world. Within the walls of the library, I was safe. To this day that feeling has never changed. On a recent trip back to Jamaica I drove by the library and my heart and face smiled. It was more freshly painted but there it was, in the same place, still containing all its many treasures.

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