Library Saturday

Nothing like spending a Saturday afternoon at the library. I've spent a lot of time in libraries this last year, due to my lack of internet at my apartment. Yes, I know. How do I live like that? You wouldn't survive long without internet, yes I know. :) Can you tell I've answered that question a lot? Surprisingly, living without the internet isn't as bad as it sounds. I've spent a lot more time in libraries, coffee shops (lots of hot chocolate :)), and McDonald's (free wi-fi there) than I might have otherwise, and yes, it's annoying not to be able to research or look up things right away, but it's been sort of liberating to be free from the constant presence of facebook, google, etc. I kind of enjoy just thinking, or picking up a book. The experiment is soon coming to a close, however. I've realized that despite my new-found freedom from technology, it's probably more work in the long-run to have to go to coffee shops and libraries all the time when I just need to "look something up." But, I hope that I can take some of the things I learned during this time with me as I step back into the land of 24/7 internet access and retain some of that quiet time.

But I digress.

This post was really supposed to be about how much I love the library. Right now I'm in the Milwaukee Public Library, and the building is pretty impressive in and of itself. But no matter the place, libraries just have some pretty great things in common.

1. Random, interesting books that I never would have thought to write or read, but now I want to. I love finding books on anything and everything. And I love how the librarians seems to know exactly which books to display that I'll want to browse through. A book on green jobs? Surfboards? Why not?

2. Interesting people. There seems to be a nice cross-section of humanity in a library, and I enjoy seeing everyone here, whatever their reasons. I like being with the people.

3. Quiet. I love that it's some sort of unspoken rule to keep quiet in the library. A guy walked by a few minutes ago, loudly talking on his cell, but generally, it's pretty darn quiet in here. I love it. A place you can read and think and just be.

4. The way time seems to stand still. I'm not sure what it is about a library or a museum, but when I'm in them, it seems as if I've stepped into some sort of timeless place, where I'm free to ponder the world, my life, ideas, places . . . without interruption. I don't seem to notice the hours go by—I could spend a whole day in a library and not really tire. Yet, after about an hour doing just about anything else, I'm totally ready to move on to something different. Strange.

I used to think it was pretty nerdy to love libraries, and it still might be, but I can't help it. Go to the library :)