Why I still love going to the library...

[stickybuns]

With an ebook reader, I could ostensibly do all my reading from home (or the beach or where ever) and never step foot in another library. But if I did that, I would miss out on listening to the old guy seated behind me singing a loud and VERY off key rendition of a Cold Play tune!

[Pomtroll]

You have a good reason to still go to the library in my opinion.

[jlmwrite]

I have completely changed from reading physical books to reading ebooks. With a few exceptions, I've replaced my collection of roughly 1100 paperback novels and thriller with e-versions, and I donated all of my medical reference texts and replaced them with e-versions. Now I have my Nook Color -- and a Kindle 3 gathering dust -- that has every book I could ever need. Heck, I even have several hundred books on my Android phone in my pocket at all times. (Note: I have several bookshelves in my home office with collector's edition books; no such thing as a leather-bound first-edition ebook, you know.)

But I still love libraries. A library is as sacred as any church or temple. Walking into a library invokes a visceral reaction. Somewhere there will always be a 1960s version of me, wandering in awe in the public library -- the smells of polished wood and the slightly dusty smell of thousands of books mixed with the ink stamps; the wonder of the people and places and things hiding behind the spines of all colors and sizes waiting for me to discover them; the smug success of mastering the card catalog and the Dewey Decimal system; the hushed sounds of pages turning and the librarian stamping return dates on the check-out cards.

I enjoy the convenience having every book at my fingertips no matter where I am, and I have fun rooting and hacking my ereaders. But there is no handheld device that can ever -- for me -- match a half-century of going to the library.

[tubemonkey]

I love visiting my eLibraries

[patrickt]

I really like visiting the library to watch the guys from the nearby homeless shelter sitting around playing cards and scratching their nether regions.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I really like visiting the library to watch the guys from the nearby homeless shelter sitting around playing cards and scratching their nether regions.

We should give the shelters computers so these guys can visit the eLibraries and scratch their digital bits.

[Tome Keeper]

I love libraries, even worked in them for many years, and while I still love them it's become less practical to go. Since moving to a rural area my library has only a few shelves of books and limited opening hours. So I now use e-libraries but it is not the same.

The reason I use libraries is the atmosphere and nothing is better than picking up a pbook and reading it.

[jersysman]

I think that is another experience that younger people will not get the privilege and experience of doing (because of digital age). I grew up in Philadelphia and we had a great library system. I remember just going to the library as a child and walking out with a handful of books to read. Enjoying the wonder of going into their and looking around in awe and wonder at all the books in my branch library. Then when I went to the main library, I thought I could live there forever. Because of cuts in funding and the digital age, not a lot of the younger generation will get to experience that. I think that is a shame!

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by jersysman

I think that is another experience that younger people will not get the privilege and experience of doing (because of digital age). I grew up in Philadelphia and we had a great library system. I remember just going to the library as a child and walking out with a handful of books to read. Enjoying the wonder of going into their and looking around in awe and wonder at all the books in my branch library. Then when I went to the main library, I thought I could live there forever. Because of cuts in funding and the digital age, not a lot of the younger generation will get to experience that. I think that is a shame!

I grew up in Philly too! I loved the library as a child. The regional branch near me had this wooden dragon with shelves that all of the children wanted to climb. I ended up working there as a teenager and the dragon was still there. Of course I borrowed books but I also use to borrow a lot of classic movies on VHS.

I live in a different city now but I still visit the library often. Even with Netflix and my e-reader there is still a lot of good material there. Plus, I can get a lot of reading done since there aren't many distractions.

[stickybuns]

I love visiting older libraries... ones that were built when ambiance was a desired trait for government buildings. My grad school has a very modern, very boring library that makes me really miss UCLA's Powell Library. I never actually got much work done there--the research library was for actual studying--but the lighting was just right for curling up on a comfy chair and reading a good book.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by jersysman

I think that is another experience that younger people will not get the privilege and experience of doing (because of digital age). I grew up in Philadelphia and we had a great library system. I remember just going to the library as a child and walking out with a handful of books to read. Enjoying the wonder of going into their and looking around in awe and wonder at all the books in my branch library. Then when I went to the main library, I thought I could live there forever. Because of cuts in funding and the digital age, not a lot of the younger generation will get to experience that. I think that is a shame!

I love Philly's library, too

[Sydney's Mom]

When I was 12, my parents bought a house 1 block from the library. I felt guilty for the longest time, because I thought the only reason they bought the house was that it was close to the library, and I was the only one who went. Given the antipathy towards reading in my family, I can safely say the location of the library did not enter into their decision,even a bit.

[Anthem]

Libraries are awesome! It is nice to see a place like a library wooing us all out of our increasing digital isolation.

Reading material is soooo tempting. Even if you are just gonna look at it on shelves.

[nastygurl22]

Even though I now have a Kindle I still go to the library, too. It's a great place to relax and read ebooks on my Kindle. And I don't lose my chair to someone else when I get up to select a book. Yea!

[BoiseShan]

Originally Posted by jlmwrite

But I still love libraries. A library is as sacred as any church or temple. Walking into a library invokes a visceral reaction. Somewhere there will always be a 1960s version of me, wandering in awe in the public library -- the smells of polished wood and the slightly dusty smell of thousands of books mixed with the ink stamps; the wonder of the people and places and things hiding behind the spines of all colors and sizes waiting for me to discover them; the smug success of mastering the card catalog and the Dewey Decimal system; the hushed sounds of pages turning and the librarian stamping return dates on the check-out cards.

Beautifully put.