Today I went to the new library in town. The new library is a major change for our area. We'd had the old library for a while, though it wasn't the oldest library in town. The oldest one is set on a hill, is delightfully creepy, and I wish I lived in it.
The second one was a small, sensible brick building. It wasn't very attractive, but I loved it a lot. Some of the best books I ever read came to me via this library. For a while, I had a librarian who would set books aside for me. I loved that! I also participated in their literacy program and spent a good deal of time there during middle school with friends.
My favorite part of this second library was the parking lot. There were a lot of old trees out there, with moss and twisted branches. I would sometimes go out there to read and just get away from whatever was going on at home. It was a great refuge for me.
The new library is a very modern building. I suppose that was sensible for designers, though I do wish it could have been something more classic and stately. It's by far the largest library we've had in our town. It has a large open forum room where people can sit and talk. It has a genealogy room and several study rooms for people who need a quiet space. It also has a lot of computers for public use.
I can't help but be excited about this. Libraries are very important to a community and very important to me on an emotional level. I always feel better when I have a connection to the library in my area. Oh, and because I'm poor, it's also a good place for me to go. As one of my friends often says, libraries are poor people's best resource for entertainment.
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