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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Wistful Wednesday

Does Anyone Use the Library Anymore?


I just returned from a trip to the local library with my daughter and it got me to thinking: Does anyone use the library anymore? Besides me, that is?

When I was a young girl, going to the library wasn't just something I did when I needed to do research for a school paper. It was an event. I loved going to the library. I loved the walk down, the anticipation of what I might find there that day. I loved the calmness of the quiet atmosphere and the reverence that others, like me, showed within those hallowed walls. And most of all, I loved the books. I could spend hours amongst them, just browsing and absorbing the knowledge they contained through my very skin. I loved the whole process of picking out the books I would take home with me for two weeks and the eagerness I felt to read them, which spurred me even faster toward home. It was no wonder that I ended up working there one summer through a youth program.

But with the advent of the Internet, where almost everything can be found with the click of a mouse, I wonder if the library has lost some of its power. How many people still make the trek to the library and walk amongst its literary denizens? How many feel that excitement to take those books home with them and treasure them for the next two weeks, as I did?

Please share your thoughts on libraries with me. I'd truly like to know what you think of them.

5 comments:

  1. I borrow books from the library all the time.
    I also hang out there from time to time. I love being surrounded by all the books and the peace and quiet I can't find at home! :)

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  2. I love the library! Especially right now that I'm laid up for awhile! Lol!

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  3. I have to use the library when my computer or internet is shut down. And we've introduced the youngling to it, so sometimes we go at least twice a month. And last year, he thoroughly enjoyed 'Library Day' at school:)

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  4. I love going to the library, using the free wifi and escaping from my family!!! But, I never check books out.

    Hope you get to feeling better, Carrie!

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  5. I am so happy to see that the library is still such a viable source of entertainment! Some of my fondest memories were created in a library and that's something I (hope I) passed on to my girls. There's just something about a library that you can't find on the Internet.
    Margay

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