May 5, 2017
Dear Everyone:
I love libraries,
don’t you?
Almost as soon as we learned to read our mother took us all to the local
public library. Pencil
in hand, tongue firmly clenched between teeth, we entered our name and
address in what was probably the first form we ever filled out to get
our very own
library card. The key
that unlocked uncountable treasures.
There was even a special section set aside for us children.
I remember a bank of books, all with the same blue covers,
devoted to Young Fill-In-the-Blank
American. As in
Young Benjamin
Franklin.
Young
Betsy Ross.
Young
Paul Revere.
Young Martha
Washington. Short
novels ever-so-loosely based on the childhood of one famous
American Patriot or another.
However, the library did not
waste any of its valuable shelf space on
Nancy Drew or
the
Hardy Boys.
These were not considered literary enough.
And then there was a the Reference Area.
Whole bookcases devoted to one set of
encyclopedias
after another.
Americana.
Britannica.
Collier.
Compton.
Concise.
Universal.
And the ever-popular World
Book. I used to pick
a volume at random and just let it fall open to any page and start
reading. What a lovely way
to spend time.
Contra Costa County has an impressive
library coalition, with over two
dozen branches from
Antioch
to Ygnacio Valley. If a book
isn’t available in your nearest location you can request it on loan from
one of the other branches.
So it wasn’t exactly the End of the World when the
San Ramon
branch was shut down for renovation.
The Dougherty Station branch was still open, although slightly
less convenient. But for
nearly two years the nearest branch was officially unavailable while it
was being remodeled.
They reopened it a few weeks ago.
I was eager to see how much it had changed.
In a word: Lots.
I hardly recognized it.
For one thing, the entrance is now on the other side of the
building. That took a few
minutes to get used to.
(Oops! Wrong way!)
The Children’s Area, beloved of my youth, now occupies one whole side of
the building. Tiny little
people with tiny little tables and chairs, sitting at tiny little
computer stations, pounding on tiny little keyboards.
Most importantly, the whole area is now glassed-in, which means
you can see all the wonderful tiny little people without having to hear
their tiny little shrieks of delight all the time.
The teenagers also have their own section now, upstairs.
Along with the books there are computer stations, study rooms and
even listening rooms for the impressive collection of jazz music.
More importantly, the noise-reduction technology seems to be
working admirably. Hardly a
peep.
There are now lots of tables spread around the general area, each table
equipped with electrical outlets.
You can even check out a loaner
laptop, using your
library card, for up to two hours, in case you forgot to bring your own.
And there are plenty of chairs in various spaces for people who just
want to sit and read.
And speaking of books, there didn’t really seem to be very many.
Lots of space on the many bookcase shelves.
I roamed through the stacks, sometimes seeing familiar authors,
sometimes not. I even found
one whole aisle devoted to “Adult
Graphic Novels”.
I once read a graphic novel version of
The
Count of Monte Cristo.
It took less than an hour, had great visuals, and left out
everything but the most basic plot lines.
Kind of like sitting down to dinner and finding a plate covered
with gravy and no meat. I
wonder what Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys would make of that.
There was also a set of metal drawers along one wall containing
DVDs that you can check
out. Assuming, of course,
that you still have a
DVD player.
And absolutely no encyclopedias.
Anywhere. The
librarian told me that there were some in the Children’s Area and that
they had more on order that would be coming in soon.
She also told me that most of the books were out because they
were scarfed up by eager patrons as soon as the library reopened.
They will all be coming back in soon, unless the reader has the
loan extended.
Another thing I love about the new library system is that you can get an
extension online from your home computer.
No need to go back to the library until you’re ready to check the
book back in.
That’s good because I couldn’t resist checking out a whole armload of
books on my first new visit.
Love, as always,
Pete
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