Wild Times in the Library
January 30th, 2009 | 
Author: 
The other day Craig, my husband, mentioned an article he read that said public library use has increased since the economy turned bad several months ago. Why is that? I wondered. Instead of paying outrageous prices for movie tickets, are library patrons checking out videos from the library? Instead of purchasing books, are patrons saving money by checking them out? Instead of paying hundreds of dollars to attend music concerts, the symphony, the opera, or live theater, are they spending time in the quiet of a library?
Pray tell, just what action is going on at the library?
At first, I didn’t think that there was much. Then, I thought about all of the murders, the illicit love affairs, the political intrigue, the car chases, and the cowboy round-ups lurking on the shelves in the fiction area. I thought of the mountain climbing adventures (by the likes of Krakauer), trips to the Antarctic (Ernest Shakelton), and the magnificent humanitarian projects (Greg Mortenson) on the shelves numbered 300. I thought of the lush land of Costa Rica or the beckoning call of Tahiti that is tucked away in the 900 section. I thought about how flat our world is, about the freakonomics of our economy, about the gruesome details of the genocide in Dafur, about the griping lives of those who survived the slaughter in Rwanda — all which can be found at the library.
All this thinking made the desire to visit the library surge through my veins. My pulse quickened. My breath became shallow.
I think I’ll whisk my husband away this evening for a wild Friday night of cavorting at our local library as our fun with a vengence activity!
Posted in Misc.
January 31st, 2009 10:05 am
After recently moving all of my heavy books across the country, I haven’t been very eager to acquire more. As a result, I’ve rediscovered the library in the past few months. I’ve been amazed at the selection and the programs offered at my local libraries.
February 2nd, 2009 12:43 pm
You definitely have a good point, Kimberly! I saw all of your books that you have on the Visual Bookshelf in Facebook. Pretty heavy reading! (Pun intended . . .)