Hello! I’m Charlie Simpkins. I’m the Special Collections Coordinator for the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC). My love for libraries started well before I started working at MLC in 2018. My grandmother lived with my family when I was a child, and I remember our almost-weekly routine. We regularly took her to the local library for her to return at least a bag full of books and to pick up even more. She used a cane, and then a walker, to get around, so I stayed with her while she browsed, helped her get the books from the shelves, and carried them wherever she needed. (I vividly remember spending a lot of time in the Danielle Steele section.) She read throughout the day and way into the night. She once told me how, when her school library finally got a copy of Gone with the Wind, there was a long waitlist. When it was her turn to check it out, she finished the book in a single day, having stayed up all night reading to do so. She didn’t want others on the list to have to wait longer than necessary. Having her as a grandmother and reading role model had a huge impact on me. For example, when I was in elementary school, my teachers had to regularly tell me to go play at recess instead of reading.
