Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday and Sabbath, August 8 and 9, 2025
This past Monday at our local library, I was momentarily startled to see this little stepstool. What confused me was not the stool itself but the circular piece of paper on the lower shelf. At first I’d assumed that the cheerful “Friends” lettering meant that the paper had slipped down there from some sort of poster decoration championing camaraderie among library patrons.
But if you study the edges of that paper, you see that it has been firmly scotch-taped to that shelf. Its location is as permanent as tape can make it.
So what gives? Is the stool for a small friend to use when giving a hug to a much taller friend?
Nope. This library, like all other King County libraries (and maybe even more libraries all over the place) has a service called Friends of the Library. If you donate books you don’t need any more, you become a friend of the library. And if you visit their display there, you will find hardback books for a dollar, paperbacks for fifty cents, and even DVDs for two bucks. The cash you exchange for books you like donates to the Friends of the Library fund.
Why the stool? So that shorter patrons, spotting a book on a higher shelf of the Friends display, can ascend and procure it. And it may have other uses too, by shorter librarians. This stool helps the library to be great friends with everyone.
The Bible (without mentioning stepstools) has a surprising amount to say about friendship. To read several verses on the topic, click the link just below:
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/friendship