When I was a kid, and my mom working until 5 p.m., I'd walk down Main Street from school and spend quite a bit of time at the library, it was warm, it always smelled like antiquity, and I would look for some of the books that my 5th grade teacher read to us out loud every day just after lunch and recess. I got to know all the authors, and I would start reading certain books, but I would never finish them. I also liked to look at the maps in the library, and certain kids magazines attracted me to explore more of the world than my small town.
In college, the library was where you met people. I believe it was on the 2nd floor of the Main library in Iowa City, row after row of tables and chairs, and I believe I studied a little bit, but would wander around talking with anyone. On the 5th floor of this same library, there was a glass enclosed smoking lounge, and I would sometimes skip class to sit in there, smoking and reading Herman Hesse. I also liked to see the thesis' they have I believe on the 3rd floor, just to know what kind of work is being put out through this school.
Every Saturday, just before I left to go work a wedding at The Abbey, I would take my kids into the town library, and my daughter and I would read out loud together, it's one of the main ways she learned how to read, and I was excited when I found The Encyclopedia Brown series, and during the week, we'd go through nearly all in the series. My son learned to love going up to the library since he could pick out all the movies he wanted to borrow. Even now, we still go together to see a performer, a speaker, or a concert.
Job prospects were few in this area, so I went to the library for hours on end to research the best place to move to for jobs, health care, entertainment, crime, I compared and contrasted so many different cities, and I did this, not through a computer, but through books, pamphlets, periodicals, journals. By the way, the number one city to move to in that year, was San Antonio. I never did make it though.
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