On Saturday
I saw that National Library week is coming up in April, and that led to some questions. How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Did you go to the library as a child? Do you have any particular memories of the library? Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries?
1. Well. I used to be a regular patron at my local library. At least two times a week, I think. But now, I've got about 30 books that I own or that have been sent to me waiting to be read so I'm not checking any more books out. I need to actually get through what I have available, you know? But I do still use the library for CDs...
2. I don't think the coffehouse/bookstore has replaced the library! Libraries are FREE. People are definitely still using the library here, especially in these sucky economic months. You can get books absolutely free there whereas in bookstores, the prices have gone up.
3. I went to the library as a child all the time. My parents would take me and we'd check out piles of picture books and chapter books. I loved it there.
4. I do have good memories! My local library used to have this hideous orange carpet all over it and then it had these white plastic egg booths with orange vinyl seats that you could sit in to read your books and I would sit in a booth for hours. Well maybe not hours because my parents were busy. But quite a long time. How can you resist plastic egg booths?!
5. My local library (how many times have I said that in this post) got remodeled a few years ago so now it's got huge glass windows and these wonderful metal rafters and a really open and sleek design. The old one was dark and orange and scary. So I didn't like that version of it. The new one's definitely better. But I do like the old libraries with the cozy wooden architecture and floor to ceiling bookshelves. They make me feel studious and artsy. But I think the more modern library actually makes people more comfortable about reading, weird as that sounds. So while the old libraries will always hold a place in my heart, I kind of like the sleek ones better...
