The Fort Worth Public Library Is Closed Friday So I Am Going To The Burlington Public Library To Check Out Mrs. Burwash

This morning, soon upon getting vertical for the day, it crossed my mind that I had not been to my neighborhood library in quite a long time, hence a shortage of reading material.

So, I decided I would go to the library today.

Then I remembered I was in Fort Worth and my neighborhood library is closed on Friday.

Soon thereafter I was on Facebook and saw that which you see here, that being the library in my old hometown of Burlington, Washington.

In this particular Facebook post the Burlington Public Library's librarian, Janice Jackson Burwash, is announcing that the Burlington Public Library hours have been expanded to open at 10am, Monday through Saturday.

The population of Burlington is only around 8,000. Fort Worth's population is around 100 times bigger than Burlington's. How does little Burlington manage to so well serve its 8,000 some residents, library-wise, whilst big Fort Worth so ill serves its 800,000 some residents?

Regarding the Burlington Public Library librarian, Janice Jackson Burwash, it was from Mrs. Burwash's mom, decades ago, I checked out my first  library book, at the old Burlington Library, a block away from where I grew up. That old library was eventually replaced by a new one across the street, long after I no longer lived in Burlington. That new library has been replaced by an even newer library, which is where Mrs. Burwash is standing, on the right, holding a piece of paper, the significance of which I was unable to determine.

Mrs. Burwash is married to Mr. Burwash, first name Martin, author of the acclaimed, possible Pulitzer Prize winning, historical novel, Vis Major, the tale of the most deadly avalanche in American history, available on Amazon and in well stocked libraries and bookstores all over the world.

I do not expect to find Vis Major in my neighborhood Fort Worth library the next time I manage to be there when it is actually open...

Burlington Washington's Public Library in a 8,388 Population Town

The building you see in the picture is the public library in Burlington, Washington.

I lived in Burlington, Washington from when I was around 5 years old til I was 19. Or 20.

My mom and dad remained in Burlington til sometime in the 1990s. Our house was about a block from the public library. But not the one in the picture. The library in the picture replaced the library that replaced the library where I first checked out a book when I was 5 or 6 years old.

The librarian in that old library was the mother of the librarian in Burlington's new public library.

That is the new Burlington library's librarian in the picture. Her name is Janice Jackson Burwash. She is married to famed Burlington author, Martin Burwash, who's latest best seller, Vis Major, is slated to become a major motion picture.

The population of Burlington, according to the 2010 census, is 8,388. That is about 3 times bigger than when I lived in Burlington. The town I live in now, Fort Worth, Texas, is about 84 times bigger than Burlington, with Fort Worth's population of over 700,000

Burlington keeps its public library open every day of the week, except Sunday. Fort Worth keeps a more erratic public library schedule.

Watch the video below to get an idea of the size of little Burlington's public libary compared to big Fort Worth's public libraries.

To be fair, little Burlington is a bit of a boomtown compared to Fort Worth. The population may be small, but the town has a big mall, an outlet center, a car selling complex, called I-5 Auto World, a Costco and a Krispy Kreme, along with most of the other fixtures you find in bigger towns, like K-Mart, Target and all the fast food suspects.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Burlington went into boomtown mode, the Wall Street Journal cited Burlington as one of the fastest-growing and best investment opportunities of American small towns.

Burlington's population soars during business hours. As in a lot of people come to town to shop. The number of people in Burlington during business hours is many times bigger than the town's population. I imagine if Fort Worth somehow managed to attract 5 or 6 times the town's population to town, maybe Fort Worth could afford a better library system, open more days and longer hours.

In the video below you will see Janice and the Burlington Public Library. I have not seen Janice in person since April of 2006, when she played the organ at my nephew's wedding. In Burlington....