Autumn as time to renew the mind

It's Labor Day weekend, the last hurrah of summer and a last chance for many to get away before the school year settles into its routine.

I'm hopeful, too, that many Marshallites will mark September as a chance to either learn about -- or possibly explore new options at -- the local public library. Amy Crump, who recently took over as director for the Marshall Public Library, is helping lead an observance -- the first locally that I'm aware of -- of the American Library Association's National Library Card Sign-up Month.

In case you've missed the last couple of Check It Out columns, published every Wednesday, the library is offering free library cards to those who live outside the Marshall city limits through next Tuesday, Sept. 7. That's a privilege, checking out and reading a wide selection of newspapers, magazines, books and videos, you'd pay $20 for usually. And, for the week of Sept. 8-14 the library will be encouraging new card holders through small gifts and the chance of a gift certificate to a popular restaurant.

While learning is often its own reward, it's simply reality that it doesn't hurt to offer a little something extra.

My family is a bunch of bibliophiles, having gone back to the world of non-TV entertainment before the start of the summer. Our homeschool curriculum places an emphasis on literature in addition to other subjects and all three kids look forward to evening story times. If you've seen us at a fast food place, we're the ones with a 9-year-old boy whose face is usually buried in a history book instead of a hamburger. As of this writing, he's making his way through a narrative about a cannoneer under Civil War general Stonewall Jackson.

I can remember the days when a three-day weekend meant an extra day in front of the television, even back when your choices were limited to networks with three letters. I'm glad our kids have expanded their minds beyond Jerry Lewis, Hollywood celebs and network anchors whose version of in-depth coverage often equals about one page of typed material, double spaced.

If you're a bargain hunter, cheapskate or have one or two bare spaces on your home's bookshelves [or if you've given up the bookshelf battle and have just taken to making stacks throughout the house] this weekend also marks the return of the Friends of the Marshall Libraries monthly book sales at Missouri Valley College.

This doesn't even touch on the continuing Lewis and Clark discussions every other Tuesday evening at the library.

There's simply too much going on in the literary world to let another September go by without renewing your mind. Turn off the TV, at least for a few hours, and your life might never be the same again.