Librarian: love of books, love of reading, lifelong learning

Mr. Charles Eames reads to young children.

Today we celebrate the 81st birthday of Charles Eames—a volunteer, a librarian, and enthusiastic supporter of the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy. 

Mr. Eames would describe his career in two sections: the first 33 years spent in libraries, and the next 20 as a volunteer. But his journey was not so straightforward as that.  

Leading him the whole way was a fascination and great appreciation for books. Children’s books, fiction, nonfiction—anything he could get his hands on. 

“All I could say is I was raised by a book-oriented family,” Mr. Eames said. “My little house here in Waycross—it's a house of books. I can’t resist libraries, and bookstores, and especially used books.” 

His mother, who he would describe as a small-town girl from Ohio, worked as a librarian where they lived in upstate New York. She read books to a young Charles and was a “good reading role model.” 

“I guess it’s in my genes,” Mr. Eames said. “My parents, I mean, they were always reading. They had books all around the house, and they took me to the library a lot.” 

His best subject in school was always English, leading him to his graduation with an English degree from Syracuse University in 1966. The year before, the United States issued combat units to Vietnam. After graduating, and following his peers, Mr. Eames joined the Navy. 

“I’ve done my traveling,” he said. 

Until 1970, Mr. Eames traversed the Pacific Ocean on three different ships. From port to port, he worked in radio communications, running messages over the ship and on military bases in Vietnam.  

“Here I am, nearly 81 and blessed with good health,” Mr. Eames said. “If you like where you are now, you kind of have to accept some hardship during the Navy days. It was all worth it.” 

Thus, the next 33 years began. He graduated with a master’s in library science from the State University of New York in 1971 and got his first job at a community college in New York City. Two and a half years later, he left for a public library in New Zealand.  

In 1977, he was a library director in Ohio. And in 1982, what he can hardly believe was 43 years ago, he packed a U-Haul and made the trek to Louisville, Georgia, a small town south of Augusta.  

He would stay in Georgia for the remainder of his career. He’s lived in Waycross, Georgia for the last 37 years. 

“I remained in the library field until 2002, but after I retired, I just continued,” Mr. Eames said. “I loved reading to children, singing songs, and reference work in libraries.” 

Now, Mr. Eames is a volunteer. He reads to children in libraries and schools, helps at the information desk within a hospital, and keeps an active calendar of events and activities. 

He’s a reflection of his parents’ skill at being reading role models. 

“When you’re reading to kids, you have to put a lot of enthusiasm into it,” Mr. Eames said. “Try to speak fairly slowly and clearly and pre-read the book you’re going to present. It’s somewhat entertainment, somewhat educational, and sometimes the book will teach you a lesson.” 

One of his lessons for librarians and volunteer readers today: if you don’t enjoy the books you’re reading, the kids probably won’t either. And pop-up books couldn’t hurt. 

And he would say that if you’re not sure what to do, like he was, to try out library science—it worked for him. 

“It’s important that we have libraries, especially public libraries, so everyone has free access to books and the freedom to read anything they want to,” Mr. Eames said. “It’s public money well spent for children and adults to check out books, read books for information, and learn about different subjects.”