Sterling Municipal Library by Jeannine Ortiz

          In Baytown, there’s a lot of symbols that represent it. For me when I’m far away from home and think of Baytown, the first thing that comes to my mind is the Sterling Municipal Library. I remember going there every day when I was a kid. My brother was still in school, so he will make my mom take us. While he was studying I just began walking up and down the aisles. Suddenly a book caught my attention, it was “Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss”. I took it out and sat down next to my brother, reading. At the end, I read all of the Dr. Seuss books. I loved going there, I hated having a library card because I never wanted to check out the books. If I took home the books, I wouldn’t have a reason to go back there.The Sterling Library can hold many memories for everyone in Baytown, old or young. It may be when you were kid playing Pajama Sam on those old computers to maybe studying and cramping for a test when you were in Junior High. It can be represented as an educational symbol for helping its past students, present students, and hopefully their future students on getting help or research for their school life. That’s why when I think of Baytown, I think about the place that made me believe I could be anything I want to be.
            My symbol is the Sterling Municipal Library. There’s so many things I can say about its beauty and purpose. Other than it’s calming and serenity features. It’s the only place where all of my problems seem to fade away just by stepping a foot inside and picking up a book. The Sterling Municipal Library has been around since 1963. According to www.baytownlibrary.org, “Public library service in Baytown has a long, rich history. The first library in the Baytown area was a branch of the Harris County Library. Ross S. Sterling, then President of Humble Oil and Refining Company, donated the land and the physical building, while Harris County funded the staff and materials for the library. This Goose Creek Library served residents until 1963. Municipally funded public library service commenced with the dedication of Sterling Municipal Library in 1963. The name honors Ross Sterling for his vision and commitment to the printed word.” When I read this, I didn’t know why they named it Sterling. I just thought they just named it Sterling because they couldn’t find another person to dedicate it to. Or they just pull a random name out of a hat and sterling was the one they chose.
            I walked in the Sterling Municipal Library the other day trying to do research. I walked to the teen section, my favortie place to go sit and relax. Memories always flush me when I think about the library. Most of my memories are stuck in my childhood. Actually I wasn’t the only one with a good history of childhood memories of the library. Library Worker and a personal friend of mine, Laura Bernal, has loved going there as a kid as well. I spoke with her the other day about the library she said,” I would always want to sleepover at the library because that way if I finished a book at night, I wouldn’t have to wake up early to go the library, I can just wake up, and it will just be there ready for me to grab”. I laughed because it was exactly how I felt. Going to the library, has made us love reading and learn about the new stuff in the world without us having to leave Baytown. Sterling Municipal Library will provide for lifelong learning, open access to information, and a knowledge filled life for anyone who just wants to learn something new.

    Work cited:

"Sterling Municipal Library." About SML. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

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