Elizabeth Lowell's latest novel is Night Diver, a tale of adventure that takes place in the deadly world of underwater treasure hunters.
***
When I was a child, I was a walking, talking, question mark looking for a place to explode. The library was my ground zero. My queries…endless.
How are crystals made?
How did the earth come to be?
How many kinds of horses are there?
What are all those lights in the sky?
How far away are they?
Why is there night and day?
What is it like to go cave exploring? Scuba diving?
How did people live a thousand years ago? Two thousand?
Have people always been on earth?
Where did the dinosaurs go?
What happened to ancient civilizations?
Why can’t I have two pieces of pie?
My parents answered the pie question, but all the rest were left to the local library. For as far back as I can remember, my mother would take me to the library every Saturday. At first I stuck to the children’s fiction section, where books would take me to places that exist only in the mind.
Dr. Seuss hadn’t begun writing yet, but after I worked my way through myth and mythology (I can’t say that many of those gods made good role models!), and discovered Nancy Drew and The Black Stallion series, among many childhood favorites.
I found out that I loved stories where the good guys won and mysteries were solved and kids had a big 
part in it all. Then, somewhere in second grade, I discovered the natural history section. Nirvana! Very soon my mother was explaining to the patient librarian that yes, I had permission to read whatever I could wrap my mind around and yes, I was understanding more advanced reading than my age would suggest.
The librarian was delighted. She showed me to the adult encyclopedias, suggested I should sample whatever caught my interest, and then taught me how to find the sections of the library where I could pursue those interests. (She also helped me reach the top of the stacks so I wouldn’t break my neck on a ladder.)
Libraries not only saved the sanity of my parents, they were nectar for my own mind. I grew on a heady mix of science and poetry, novels and philosophy. I took for granted that an entire world’s learning and imaginings would be at my fingertips every week.
As an adult, I know that libraries are funded by people like me and nurtured by people like you. I also know that you are overworked and underpaid; and most of all, underappreciated.
So I would like to say thank you for all the hours I spent in your wonderful rooms. Thank you for being there for curious children when the schools are overburdened. Thank you for answering endless questions for young minds that are on the cusp of discovery.
Without you, the world would be a much poorer place, lacking all the colors that knowledge brings to everyday life.
Thank you!
Elizabeth Lowell