Did you know there is a connection between the iconic tropical troubadour Jimmy Buffet and the library? In fact, the best Jimmy Buffet song you probably have never heard of is called “Love in the Library” and can be found on Buffet’s legendary 1994 album Fruitcakes. I often wonder how many people have found love in their local library. Although filled with books and magazines and movies and computers and other “stuff,” libraries are really in the people business. We try to create community by investing in relationships with the people we serve. When you look at it that way, it is no wonder that love sometimes happens in the library!
I for one can tell you that love does happen in the library. I first met my wife Katy in the Muskingum College Library in December of 1996. My work study job while in college was working the library’s front desk as a student assistant. I would help students with basic reference questions, check out books, shelve books, etc. One December afternoon a girl came into the library to pay her overdue fines. The funny thing was that she owed something like $1.85 and she paid with a check! She said she needed to pay all fines and fees owed to the college so she could get her grades for the just-completed semester. I will never forget that situation! She paid her fines and left and I never saw her again until the following March when we both tried out for a college play. I tried out with a football buddy on a whim. Katy was much more serious about it and scored one of the leading roles. The play was Night of January 16th, by Ayn Rand. A few years later we were married.
Buffet’s iconic song “Love in the Library” is based on his years growing up on the Gulf Coast. He would spend time in his local public library because he loved to read, it was air conditioned, and there was, of course, a good looking librarian. The ironic twist to all of this is that Katy and I honeymooned on that same Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Mississippi!
Here are the lyrics to “Love in the Library” in case you are intrigued:
"Love In The Library" On the corner of Government and Bay Avenue The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu Sirens where wailing in the gulf coastal heat And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat I paid no attention, revolved through the door Passed the newspaper rack on the worn marble floor Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet Love in the library, quiet and cool Love in the library, there are no rules Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime I fell in love in the library once upon a time I was the pirate and she was the queen Sir Francis and Elizabeth the best there's ever been Then she strolled past my table and stopped at the stairs Then sent me a smile as she reached for Flaubert Love in the library, quiet and cool Love in the library, there are no rules Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime I fell in love in the library once upon a time She gathered her books, walked while she read Words never spoken but so much was said You can read all you want into this rendezvous But it's safer than most things that lovers can do Well stories have endings and fantasies fade The guard by the door starts drawing the shade So write your own ending and hope they come true For the lovers and strangers on Bay Avenue Love in the library, quiet and cool Love in the library, there are no rules Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime I fell in love in the library once upon a time
If you would like to hear some of the backstory to Buffet’s song, then check out this video. He explains the story behind it and then plays the song on his guitar.
Will you fall in love in the library? Perhaps. Even if you don’t, I guarantee you will meet people who will change your life. You will meet library staff who care about you. Maybe you will meet a new friend at a book club or an author program. Maybe you will find a book or a movie or something else that will change the way you see the world. You will be inspired, challenged, and entertained. You will see that by just walking into your library the next chapter of your life story can begin! And that, my friend, is the beauty of it all…
Jim Gill
Director