"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." Jorge Luis Borges
"A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library." Shelby Foote
"Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul." Library at Thebes, inscription over the door
"We may sit in our library and yet be in all quarters of the earth." John Lubbock
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Cicero
What are your thoughts on libraries?
"The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books."
ReplyDeleteHenry Wadsworth Longfellow
"The two greatest inventions of man - indoor plumbing and public libraries" - Mrs. Eckhart
ReplyDeleteMe, I'm thinking about libraries today as ours have been in the news connected with bed bugs. Yuck. Not uncommon I've been reading though! And I love my library :(
well, i love the library, but my town's library not so much. most of the magazines are not there any more, no money for subscriptions, most of the books are beyond old, no money for new ones...thank goodness for donations of books....but that is how it is nowadays in california. sigh! but i keep going there.....something new(ish) shows up once in awhile! lol!
ReplyDeleteI love the library! So much so that I help out in the elementary school library when I can.
ReplyDeleteThe libraries in Ottawa are excellent. I am sitting in one right now while my daughter is at her sport training down the road. This one has recently added a bunch of arm chairs in all the bay windows so I chose one where the sun would shine on me and I am happily sitting here reading.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really like is that more often than not I read a review about a book on a blog and when I search for it my library has it.
Mind you I do support my library quite generously in overdue fines!
I love love love any library! Books have been with me my whole life - the birthday/Christmas/Easter present of choice since I was 4 years old. ( I agree with Heather T. about Ottawa, they are awesome.) I love the fact that in my county (south of Ottawa) I can search online for a book, request it no matter where it is, and get an e-mail when it's ready to be picked up at my local branch. I get lists of new books e-mailed to me, and they are open until 8 p.m. some days, so no matter your schedule you can get to the library. It is also a community center and about the best place in town to spend an afternoon.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in New England there were a lot of libraries being closed for lack of funding - that made me very sad, as every childhood should have fond memories of books and the library.
I adore the library. I joke often that they have a holds shelf with my name on it. We're in a pretty rural community, and the library system is county-wide, with 11 small branches. I love that I can request material online, that every week I have books to pick up, and that should I have twenty seconds to myself I could spend it curled up by the window in a comfy chair.
ReplyDeleteI'm a retired librarian - I worked for 35 years for a public library. It was a fabulous career - what could be better than books, people of all ages, information, all wrapped up in an altruistic institution that is free to everyone? And now that I've retired, I've turned into a regular borrower usually visiting my local branch once a week to pick up books I've reserved, to browse the new books, etc. - it's wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorite words about libraries:
ReplyDelete"There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the free public library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration."
--Andrew Carnegie
"You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library."
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
(Good Will Hunting)
When I discovered libraries, it was like having Christmas every day.
--Jean Fritz