An Ode to the Library

"Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future." - Ray Bradbury

My mom introduced me to the public library when I was an impressionable wee lad, and I remember being amazed by how many books there were, and that we were allowed to take them home with us. As a teen, I'd bike over to the local library every week or so, and while in college, if I wasn't too busy shooting pool, I would spend most of my spare time at the library studying and whatnot.

When my wife and I lived in San Diego, our local library was within walking distance, and walk we did, rain or shine (mostly shine), to peruse the stacks, checking out books, DVDs and CDs. Upon moving to West Michigan, one of our first priorities was to get member cards at the county and city libraries, and we visit both locations on a regular basis. 

As technology continues to advance, so do the library's offerings. I've mentioned Hoopla and Overdrive before, and Gizmo (my 15-year-old Kindle, looking real spiffy these days in his brand-spanking new cover) holds at least half a dozen library eBooks any given week. But there's also a paper-and-glue library book in my backpack as backup, going wherever I go.

Recently, our local library informed us that Freegal Music is available to all patrons. Free streaming music without ads. Tens of thousands of albums, if you can believe. I've been playing instrumental post-rock while I write and, during the work day, introducing my students to the jazz styles of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, the slack key vibes of Leonard Kwan, and some really cool blues guitar compilations. Great background tunes for embarking upon scholarly pursuits.

All this to say, I've always been a big fan of libraries, and they keep giving me reasons to appreciate them for evermore.