“When will the summer rains stop?,” I say to myself as I type out yet another one of my silly columns for this paper, very quickly running out of ideas.

Maybe the rain will let up before I eventually have to leave the library, where I am located at the moment, and subsequently say goodbye to its endless shelves of books, comfortable A/C, and free Wi-Fi.

Whenever I feel stuck, whether with writer’s block or with anything else in life, I like to spend time in a public library. Usually I bring something to work on, like my laptop or a notebook for writing and editing. But sometimes I just like to wander around the shelves, looking for a nice book (or books!) to check out and read somewhere cozy inside. The library in Richmond Hill, for example, has plenty of chairs and couches for patrons to sit and read.

Additionally, there are also study rooms that you can book for yourself and others, space permitting.

I sometimes like to stop by the library to read during my lunch break as well. And although I feel self-conscious about eating in a library, most librarians don’t mind as long as you aren’t a complete slob. In fact, the Southwest-Chatham library in Savannah even has vending machines.

My love of libraries must come at no surprise to my readers; I do seem the type to shush people who talk too loudly or play voice notes in public, if my new headshot is anything to go by. Back in college, as part of a federal work-study gig, I worked as a Student Library Assistant at UGA’s Map and Government Library. It was honestly one of the best jobs I ever had, although the constant lifting and filing of old maps did show me I needed to hit the gym more often (those stacks of maps are heavy!). For those who may not know, the Map and Government Library at Georgia is located in the sub-basement of the Main Library and, of course, handles all things cartography (maps!) and holds tons of books and related materials on city, state, federal, and international government(s).

The responsibilities of a Student Library Assistant can be a bit mundane, what with all the constant book and map organizing, but I still found it really cool. I loved thumbing through all the history and geography books I had to reshelve while having one earbud in playing shoegaze music on my phone (The Cocteau Twins, Lush, Slowdive). I loved stopping at Einstein Bros. on the library’s first floor after clocking out for the day, buying a bagel to eat while I annotated some novel for one of my literature classes. And sometimes, at the end of the semester, I got to take home old books and maps for myself that the Map and Government Library was going to throw away.

This job was a dream come true for a mousy bookworm like me.

Fast forward to today, I keep the dream alive by spending some of my working hours at the library to keep me happy.

In such a scary, volatile world we live in these days, sometimes all that’s needed to keep sane is a bagel and a book. I know it works for me.

Andrea Gutierrez is the managing editor of the Bryan County News. She recently checked out four books this week from the library. Hopefully the universe allows her time to read them.