I talk with Librarians at other libraries so I won’t mention what library this story comes from but it was in the bay area. A man came in and asked for the book the Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. The Librarian involved showed the man where the book was on the shelf. When the librarian turned to go, the man asked,” Is it realistic not to get angry?”

The Librarian was taken aback.  She said, ” Probably everybody but the Dalai Lama gets angry.” The man looked puzzled, maybe he didn’t know who the Dalai Lama is or maybe didn’t expect a Buddhist to be brought into the conversation.

“I did some work for a lady. I was supposed to get paid. I went to collect my check but she said my boss had collected the check.” He paused.” I try to live a good ethical Christian life.” He paused again and looked down at the Librarian. “What should I do? I had already asked my boss and he had said he’d never collected any money from her.”

The Librarian was stuck. How can one answer? She told me that she showed him the books on the shelf, which were all sorts of self help, both Christian and non-denominational. She told him, “9 out of ten people would feel angry about being lied to and cheated. Being angry was a normal reaction but we always have a choice how as to how we react.” She said she went on about one of the good things about a Public Library is you can go inside and see how many different ways there are to be in the world. You can learn how to react to events in ones life a new way, a nonviolent way, or how to negotiate with ones boss to get the money you are owed.

The Librarian said the man walked away with his book then turned around and went back to the shelf to look at some of the other books. Who knows how his story turned out but this story struck me as another example of how valuable the Public Library is in the lives of so many of us.

The wisdom of the ages and continents contained within four walls and an internet access.