Let’s Get Loud at the Westport Library

By: Michaela MacColl with Lynne Perrigo and Rowan MacColl

Behind her she could hear Mrs. Mary calling, “Madi, come back, it’s almost over! I could find some earplugs!” But Madi ran down two flights of stairs to the river level where the grown-up books lived. Maybe it would be quieter there.

The orange door of the Local History Room beckoned like it wore a “Quiet Inside” sign. She slipped in and closed the door. Like turning off a waterfall, the noise instantly stopped.

“Finally,” Madi said with a happy sigh. Her shoulders relaxed and her usual curiosity returned now that she could hear herself think again.

The table was covered with old photographs and newspapers and a poster celebrating “140 Years of the Westport Library.” Madi picked up a newspaper clipping from 1916. The headline read, “Mrs. Sherwood the New Librarian Who Makes Readers’ Wishes Come True.” With hungry eyes, Madi looked at the library in the photograph – calm, quiet, armchairs, a fireplace. No drummers. No DJ.  Mrs. Sherwood looked like the last person in the world to set a world record for the noisiest library.

Madi whispered, “I wish you could help me.”

A flash of light.

A loud bang

Madi dove under the table and squeezed her eyes shut

“Madi? Where are you?” The voice was stern but kind.  Madi opened one eye to see a pair of black shoes with a row of tiny buttons peeking out from a long black skirt. One shoe tapped impatiently.

“What is happening?,” Madi muttered.

A woman bent down to look under the table. She looked familiar to Madi.

“Mrs. Sherwood?” Madi asked, incredulous

“Of course I’m Mrs. Sherwood. Who else would I be? Come out from under there Madi.”

Madi clambered to her feet. “How do you know my name?”

“You brought me here, didn’t you?” Mrs. Sherwood demanded. “Now, fix your hair and tell me where I am.”

Running her fingers through her bangs, Madi said, “I didn’t bring you here. That’s crazy.”

“Did you or did you not make a Library Wish?” Mrs. Sherwood asked. “Now, where and when am I?”

“The Westport library, 2026.”

“2026! I’ve traveled a century in the blink of an eye!”  Mrs. Sherwood beamed. “Delightful. How can I help you, my dear?”

 “A century? That’s impossible.”

“Library Wishes are never impossible,” Mrs. Sherwood said. “What can I do to help?”

What else could Madi do but answer? She explained how her favorite place had become even louder than her brothers’ playdates. “Libraries are supposed to be quiet!”

“In my experience, they are,” Mrs. Sherwood agreed, adjusting the little metal glasses perched on her nose.  “Sometimes too quiet.  Show me your library, dear.”

Madi led the way through the stacks and to the elevator.

Mrs. Sherwood gasped as the doors closed. “What magic is this?  Are we moving?”

With a little smile, Madi said, “Going up.”

At the next floor, a mother with a stroller got on. She greeted Madi but ignored Mrs. Sherwood.  Behind her hand, Madi whispered, “I don’t think she can see you.”

Lifting an eyebrow, Mrs. Sherwood said, “Naturally. She didn’t wish for me.”

The elevator opened and Madi led Mrs. Sherwood to the Children’s Library. Mrs. Sherwood stared at the colorful racks of books of all sizes for all ages. “All these books for children? My library has only a few shelves.” 

Thankfully the drumming and dancing had ended. But kids were still running wild in the play area, children were playing with toys. A little boy howled when his wooden block tower crashed.

Madi winced. “See what I’m talking about?”

“But look,” Mrs. Sherwood said pointing, “His mother is comforting him with a book.”

‘Yes but…” Madi was interrupted when a little girl clutching a stack of picture books  bumped into her. She dumped them in her mother’s lap and asked her to read them.

“Right now Mommy!”

“Children in my library don’t select their own books,” Mrs. Sherwood told Madi. “But look at how excited she is. That girl will grow up to be a reader.”

“But it’s too loud for her Mom to read it to her in here,” Madi complained. “It’s too loud everywhere. Come on, I’ll show you.”

Downstairs, the café was bustling. The espresso machine hissed and a group of women knitted as they argued and laughed loudly about a book.

“How clever,” Mrs. Sherwood exclaimed. “No one has to leave for tea! And the knitting club can meet in the library.”

Madi groaned. “You’re not getting it.”

They turned at the blare of a saxophone. They followed it to the Forum where the DJ had been replaced by a band setting up for a concert.  “Sound check,” the band leader boomed into a microphone.

“A band!” Madi clenched her fists. “What will they do next?”

Mrs. Sherwood frowned. “A library isn’t a music hall.”

“Exactly!” Madi said. “You finally get it.”

“On the other hand,” the librarian said thoughtfully, “Every concert-goer is a potential reader.”

“That’s not the point,” Madi said. “It’s too noisy. What can you do about it?”

“What exactly do you want?” Mrs. Sherwood asked.

“I want the library to be quiet again.”

Mrs. Sherwood considered the problem. In her time the library was serene. But often empty. The library in 2026 was an unruly place… but full of people and life and conversations about books.

Madi’s phone buzzed with an alert.  “I have to go meet my mom, but I’ll be back tomorrow,” Madi said. “Can you grant my wish?”

The moment Mrs. Sherwood nodded, Madi raced to the main entrance.

Once the library closed for the night, Mrs. Sherwood prowled around searching for a solution. Resisting the temptation to read all the new marvelous books, she explored the meeting rooms, the art gallery, a place called “Maker Space” for inventors, and the gift shop.

She discovered the Library of Seeds, a wooden card catalog filled with seed packets.  “I can work with this,” she said with a smile. Mrs. Sherwood’s flowers won prizes every year from the Westport Garden Club. 

Gathering all the seeds, from green beans to peonies, she brought them outside. She sprinkled them with a generous hand around the library. She breathed deep and summoned all the magic that brought her to 2026. “Grow! Grow!”

Soon green shoots popped out of the ground growing and climbing. Taller and taller. Twisting and weaving themselves into a wall until the greenery covered the doors, the brickwork and windows.

“Perfect,” Mrs. Sherwood said. “No one can get in.” Madi’s wish was granted.

The next day the employees were shocked by the transformed library. Unhappy patrons tried one entrance, and then another. The police were called. And the fire department. They tried hedge clippers and chainsaws, even blow torches. But nothing worked. The crowd grew larger and unhappier by the minute.

When Madi arrived, the police and firemen were staring helplessly at the greenery. A little girl sobbed. “Mama, why can’t we go into the library?”

One of the knitters shook her fist. “We want our library back!”

Panicked, Madi looked for her librarian ghost. “Mrs. Sherwood!” Madi called. When the librarian appeared at her side, Madi struggled to hold back tears, “What did you do?”

“Exactly what you asked,” Mrs. Sherwood answered. “The library is incredibly tranquil now.”

“Because no one can get in,” Madi cried. “I just wanted some peace; I never meant for this.” Madi threw out her arms to include the plant fortress and the unhappy crowd.

“The library is noisy because so many people use it,” Mrs. Sherwood said with a shrug. “An empty library is a quiet library.”

With tears in her eyes, Madi  wailed. “Undo it please, Mrs. Sherwood”

“Undoing a wish is highly irregular.” Mrs. Sherwood shook her head.

“Just this once?” Madi pleaded. “Please? I was wrong.”

Mrs. Sherwood knelt so her eyes met Madi’s. “Yes, dear, you were. I would have loved to have had such crowds in my library.”

“Then undo my wish!”

“Perhaps just this once.”  Mrs. Sherwood snapped her fingers and the crowd froze in place. Even the birds were stuck overhead in the sky. Only Madi and Mrs. Sherwood could move. Mrs. Sherwood snapped again. The plants shivered and shook. Slowly, they untangled themselves and disappeared into the ground.

The crowd seemed to shake itself awake.

The birds kept flying over the Saugatuck River.

“Was there a fire drill?”

“That’s funny, I don’t remember coming out here.”

“They don’t remember anything?” Madi whispered.

“When I undo a wish,” Mrs. Sherwood said, “I do it properly. I did however make one small change.”

Mrs. Mary spied Madi, “Hi Madi, I was thinking about yesterday. That was pretty loud for you, wasn’t it?”

Madi nodded.

“You weren’t the only one who thought so. I was thinking we need a day when the Westport Library tries to be the Quietest Library.”

“That would be amazing,” Madi said. “Because the library is for everybody.” She turned to see what Mrs. Sherwood thought, but librarian was fading away.

“Goodbye my dear.”  Mrs. Sherwood shimmered like a soap bubble. “Thank you for showing me the future!”

Pop.

She was gone.

Madi ran up the wide stone steps, catching up with Mrs. Mary. “Mrs. Mary, about that quiet library. I have a few ideas!”

THE END

Let's Discuss!

1. Should libraries be quiet places?

2. How do you think libraries have changed in the past 100 years? What things have stayed the same?

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