‘I can’t wait to check it out. I have it at home!’

Here’s something that will be very familiar to any grown-up who’s ever spent some time in a public or school library, but nuts to those who haven’t: the kid who checks out a book they already have at home.

I see it all the time.

“I have this book at home!” a student will exclaim, holding up the book to me, as if to say “No more explanation necessary. My reasoning is straightforward and obvious. I am now going to check out this book from the school library because I already own a copy of this book.”

I always enjoy when this happens.

Do I check out a book I already own when I go to my public library? No. But I get the impulse. I stop and watch Ocean’s Eleven every damn time I happen upon it while flipping channels.

So while I sometimes reply with a “Maybe since you already have that book, you might want to try something new.” More often I just smile and let the student enjoy their moment of recognition.

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