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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.2/19713?ns=guardian&pageName=My+library%2C+my+friend%3AArticle%3A1554362&ch=Children%27s+books&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Children%27s+books%3A+7+and+under+%28Children%27s+books+genre%29%2CChildren%27s+books%3A+8-12+years+%28Children%27s+books+genre%29%2CChildren%27s+books%3A+teen+books+%28Children%27s+books+genre%29%2CBooks%2CCulture&c5=Unclassified%2CNot+commercially+useful&c6=Anna-Marie+Julyan&c7-May-05&c854362&c9=Article&c10=&c11=Children%27s+books&c13=Children%27s+books+discussions+%28series%29&c25=Childrens+books+%28do+not+use%29&c30=content&h2=GU%2FChildren%27s+books%2Fblog%2FChildren%27s+books" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">CS Lewis, Judith Kerr - I met them first on the shelves of my local library. Which favourite authors have you discovered in yours?</p><p>I don't know about you, but for me part of the thrill of reading has always been tracking a great book down. Whether rifling through a second-hand book stall or coaxing open a dusty old cupboard door to uncover the jumble of books inside, discovering a promising book can be like finding treasure.</p><p>Libraries don't have a reputation for being the most exotic of places, but from the start I found my local one to be an absorbing and curious haven. There were no dusty cupboards, or unknown staircases to be scaled, but I could never be sure what I would find when entering the children's room with its friendly and fusty library-book smell. With each visit the range of books would change and grow depending on what people had returned or the arrival of newly ordered editions. </p><p>Of course, for a three-year-old those ceiling-high shelves seemed a little daunting. But, by sticking to the colourful range of books at their base and taking them off to read on my favourite small chair by the window, I unearthed some much-loved authors. Favourites like the Patchwork Cat by Nicola Bayley and William Mayne or The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr. As the years passed I devoured Enid Blyton's Adventures of the Wishing Chair and worked my way through CS Lewis's Narnia series. The Worst Witch and Fantastic Mr Fox were also among a list of treasured reads first ferreted from the shelves of my local library.</p><p>The ritual of entering empty-handed and leaving laden with books continued into my teens when I realised that my little library could hunt down books for me from all over the country. No matter the school subject or author, it became a valuable support to my studies. Having never cost me much, if anything at all, my local library has become an old, trusty and generous friend.</p><p>What are your library experiences? Which much-loved authors or favourite books did you first discover there?</p><p>Email your thoughts to us at childrens.books@guardian.co.uk and we will display your comments below.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/childrens-books-7-and-under">Children's books: 7 and under</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/childrens-books-8-12-years">Children's books: 8-12 years</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/teen-books">Teen books</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
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<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/may/05/children-s-books-libraries">Link</a>