I love the library

As a homeowner, I occasionally get curmudgeonly about the taxes I have to pay. But I never, ever begrudge the money that goes toward the support of my public library. I love the library. It's one of my favorite places and I think it's one of the best concepts EVER.

We are inundated with tons of information, so much so that it's hard to remember that throughout much of history, books and education were not readily available to the general population. But libraries level the playing field. If you can't afford to go to school or even buy a book, the library offers countless educational opportunity.

I visit the library weekly (on average). And while I don't wrap my books in brown paper and twine to prevent them from being damaged (see Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-kind Family) I love the feeling of borrowing, reading and returning volumes of books.

And lest you think that libraries are an archaic concept, many of them are on the cutting edge of technology. My local library does a fabulous job of being accessible to users. I can search the catalog and view my record and more...all online.

Thank you, Andrew Carnegie!
(photo credit: wikipedia.com)