Does anyone still use their local libraries?
When I was in elementary and middle school we would go to the library almost every weekend and spend hours in there. We'd just sit in the air conditioned library reading and discovering while my mom read the paper. When we left, our canvas bag would be filled with all sorts of books. Aahh, the days when I would finish a novel in just one day and my mom read bedtime stories (she's really good at doing all the voices!).
Those days were also when you would actually have to go in the library to do research from books. While I never used card catalogs before, I do remember using those ancient computers with the black screen and green words. Internet was a new thing and really slow (ugh, dial up!!), so books were always your first choice. Now, I can do all my research on the internet and just e-mail my professors my paper. Oh, and I can't forget about online classes and e-books! I've taken a few online classes and liked it because I didn't have to travel to class and I could take tests from my bed! E-books are pretty rad too because they're cheaper and save trees. But, uh, this is pretty much all about making things easier and more convenient for us lazy humans, myself included. But that's a whole nother thing I don't want to delve into.
So in Hawai'i, our libraries are struggling. Maybe it's more of a nostalgic thing, but I love local libraries and fully support what they do. I mean, come on, you get to borrow books for free and rent DVDs for ONE freaking dollar! And their DVDs are new and old, mainstream and independent. I rent DVDs from the library once a week and always find something interesting!
And as that Honolulu Advertiser article pointed out, what better time to make use of your library (and your tax dollars) then now! Everyone's broke, in need of entertainment, and hot from the nasty muggy weather/vog. The Hawai'i state library should really use this incentive to draw more people in. I miss their old "We are Hawaiian, use your library!" commercials. I tried searching on YouTube for them, but got nothing. They were so cute, trust me.
Okay, now go to your library and borrow something! :)
Photo from Nylon Magazine via fotodecadent
13 comments:
Oh, I definitely think it's very safe to say that I absolutely detest Sarah Palin. She may be a very nice person in real life, but as a political figure, I can't believe the stuff that runs through her head. What am I talking about? She's like every racist Southerner I've ever encountered in my entire life all rolled into one. She's evil personified in a short white woman with a detestable voice. She scares the shit out of me, not because of her size or her threats (she calls them "promises") but because I never really thought that people could ever really justify making rape victims pay for their own rape kits. Or that dinosaurs never walked the Earth and that the bones in the museums are part of some twisted lie scientists are using to drive us into a moral wasteland. I give her props for having five kids (that's seriously a feat) and being cool about a pregnant teenager (because my mom would have WHOOPED my ass and then some), but as a political leader... I've gotta say I'll pass.
P.S. As a college graduate with a B.A. in English, I'm automatically inclined to hate anyone who tries to censor any type of literature. We're not North Korea, last time I checked.
Ok, that's the first and last time I'm ever going to talk about politics. Mostly because I don't really want to offend anyone, and politics isn't really a place where anyone can be right or wrong. I just had to get that out of my system.
ahh! this summer i went insane with the library. i hadn't been there in ages because we had a mysterious bill which shouldn't have existed but did and was like 55 bucks! insanity! that's like 2 pairs of alice + olivia shoes from payless kk. but i reluctantly paid it this summer and for like 2 months read like 15 books! but, now i've got another bill because my baby brother misplaced his book so when i get money i'll be definitely paying that off. but i don't see book borrowing happening in the near future. i've got to read enough for school as it is!
Library love. I use my local one so often I've exhausted their supply of books.
I'm so glad I now also have access to the huge city library. Such under-rated places.
i've always had a thing for libraries. the one in mill valley, where i'm from, is tucked away amidst the pine trees and it's such a shaded little retreat that always seemed magical.
I just had a discussion with someone about how nostalgic the public library makes me feel. I spent a great deal of my childhood among the dusty books. I remember I spent an entire summer seeing how many stories I could devour. Back then, they had programs where if you read 5 books or something, you got a free pizza or some prize. Then, in "grad school" the library became too stressful of a place; it totally soured my love for the public library. Actually, come to think of it, that experience soured my love for reading in general. But I digress.
I envy the fact you live in hawaii.
funny enough, i was sitting in a library just this morning.
i actually never appreciated them as a child, nor all through college.
but now, most definitely.
Just sent you an email to clarify.
I love the library, how could anyone not? All those books to choose from, and you can can simply read and return. When I find ones I really like, which is quite often, I can go out and buy a copy. And for univeristy I'm always in the library, noting and noting and noting!
cute photo! i love my local library. i go there about once a month to get books.
i love that picture from nylon. i love your blog
I use my library all the time, and I donate books and cds to it. The funding is always being cut!
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