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The sound that always makes me think I’m in a library, being scolded again. Libraries have expanded to do and be many things since I was a kid, but most still try to remain quiet places. I was in the library a lot as a kid and probably will be again as a retired person, but here in the middle of my life, not so much. I find the whole two-week limit on borrowing a book to be too restrictive right now. One has to be very committed to reading to turn a book back in two weeks and my life is just too busy with other things. So right now I buy the books that interest me and read them while travelling. As a senior citizen in the very-far-away future, I envision myself going to the library on a daily basis to read the newspaper (assuming they even still exist in print) because I’m too cheap to subscribe on my fixed income and because it would lend some purpose and socialization to my life. The librarians will whisper warm ‘good mornings’ as I arrive because I’m a regular and one of those “cute” seniors.
I don’t know if the demographic of library users is actually bimodal – two peaks – one for the young and one for the old. But when I drove by my library on a recent Saturday, the parking lot was completely full and that surprised me. I’m glad to see it though. Even if I’m not a current user (I do have a card) I think libraries are important. My 7th-8th grade school had a library in a cool old room that I can still picture. But it also had a bookmobile that would come by. The novelty of getting a book from a vehicle was pretty entertaining as a kid. When I got a little older and would go to the town library by myself, it was fun to just roam the stacks and read things at random that caught my eye. Knowledge was free in the library and there was just possibly the chance I'd learn something your parents didn’t know!
I used to think that the Library of Congress had one copy of every single book ever published in America. Well, imagine my disappointment to learn that it only has 38 million books. And you can’t take a single one of them out, even with a library card. The Library of Congress is a research library, and books are only for use on the premises. And for your odd fact of the day…the Library of Congress accounts for 3,200 Federal jobs!
I don’t know if the demographic of library users is actually bimodal – two peaks – one for the young and one for the old. But when I drove by my library on a recent Saturday, the parking lot was completely full and that surprised me. I’m glad to see it though. Even if I’m not a current user (I do have a card) I think libraries are important. My 7th-8th grade school had a library in a cool old room that I can still picture. But it also had a bookmobile that would come by. The novelty of getting a book from a vehicle was pretty entertaining as a kid. When I got a little older and would go to the town library by myself, it was fun to just roam the stacks and read things at random that caught my eye. Knowledge was free in the library and there was just possibly the chance I'd learn something your parents didn’t know!
I used to think that the Library of Congress had one copy of every single book ever published in America. Well, imagine my disappointment to learn that it only has 38 million books. And you can’t take a single one of them out, even with a library card. The Library of Congress is a research library, and books are only for use on the premises. And for your odd fact of the day…the Library of Congress accounts for 3,200 Federal jobs!