What is in a library? A memory. Memories are within the walls of a building named the library. Children holding picture books, turning colorful pages building a story in their head. People sit at desks reading of far away places, novels of romance, mysteries and death.

Memories are held in photos of times past. The horse and buggy in front of a barn or acres and acres of farm land, woods and undeveloped towns.

Files hold information on births, marriages and deaths. Boxes are stacked away holding more photos of shacks, cabins, old cars, and maps. These are memories that are lost, needing sorting and help to bring together family.

A Berea, Kentucky Trip to visit the Madison County Library last year helped me discover a whole family we had never met! Through emails I was able to set up a day to look in boxes full of letters, scribbled traces of family names and dates. There was photos, some people identified and some left leaving a question of how they fit into our family tree?

What’s inside a library? A memory within and among families with stories of their own and perhaps secrets needing to be solved?