“Saber leer es saber andar ” - Reyde Molina
The Hialeah Woman’s Club in 1924 felt knowledge wasn’t accessible. They knew that having easy access to books made lives better. The ladies knew that despite what Ron DeSantis and those dementors in power think; reading poems, novels, and real life stories expand your understanding perspectives. So they made efforts to open a library of sorts: in a room at one of their homes. Hialeah had the population of a thousand so they got away with it. But after moving from South Hialeah Elementary, a room at City Hall, and a 20-year attachment with the City’s Fire Department, growing demand exceeded their capacity.
In 1958, with a population of 40,000, the Lua A. Curtiss Branch Library opened in the city. The John F. Kennedy Memorial Library opened about seven years later. Apart from the county libraries, J.F.K. is a more local, integrated offer of service and space.
Here you can register to vote, cast your local ballot, print in color and B&W, get help with federal and local government services, apply for a passport, get the desktop experience or get a Chromebook on loan if your laptop is busted or just doesn’t like the toxins of outdoor air.
Here there’s checkers a puzzle to solve and figure out—sure the one in your head too. But my point is, whether you’re a Hialeah resident or not, this library seems more intimate than others. There’s a free book stand that is regularly offering new ones. There are murals on the outside that personalized the building for residents and sculptures to liven what I can only imagine are times to lock in.
Here you can keep to yourself no problem but give a smile or a “Hi” here or there. What a middle-age library would expect and want to share. And like any wise person, this library wants to share information. Maybe too much information. Have you seen that bench with the eye?
The elevator and two staircases give you a “Should I?, Could I?,” decision, there’s a lot of seating, even more computers, and a young adult section to impress and bring you back to when you could only dream about reaching up towards a six-shelf bookcase. Remember those three-shelf days where you rotated Goosebumps and Batman comics.
Lay all your shit down: your phone, laptop, maybe a pen and notebook, your water bottle, but also your wrinkled brain. Poke and prod your creases for what you need to get done—pay your bills, rebuild your resumé, anything dependent of your time—and take care of it. Get out of your house. But also shove in your creases whatever you can at a place where knowledge is free.
“[In a French accent] Anyone can cook.” Everyone can find something to read among a group of books. I already have a bunch of books but no matter where I go with books, I find more I want and want to read. It’s like a shopping addiction. A lot of us have this in the form of reading lists that never get crossed out. How about coming for an evening in Hialeah and checking out a book where you don’t have to pay for anything—except maybe a new library card if yours is a little dañada.
