A Tale Of One Library Book

The Westport Library can be a noisy place.

But it does many things well. And some of those things are done very, very quietly.

The 1st book Seth Schachter checked out — and read with his son — was “Mister Doctor.” It’s a wonderful story about a remarkable man, during one of history’s darkest periods.

Seth learned that the subject of the story — Janusz Korczak — had written a Harry Potter-like book, “Kaytek the Wizard.” He wanted to check it out for his 9-year-old son. But the library did not own it.

Seth offered to purchase it for them. The librarian said no. Instead, she asked Seth to write down details about the book, and add his own contact info.

A few days later, the library emailed Seth. The book was on hold.

They’d purchased the book. They already received it, cataloged it, and reserved it for him.

It’s a little thing, sure.

But the library didn’t have to do it. They didn’t have to go the extra mile.

That they did — and did it so graciously, quickly and quietly — says a lot about the Westport Library, and everyone who works there.

You might say: It speaks volumes.