Last night while looking for links that discuss "book addiction" I discovered this humorous piece and through it found the blog Library Dust. My interest has been piqued, and this morning (when I ought to be getting ready to go to work) I started reading back posts from the beginning, and came across this one. It's all about Smiley Library! That's the public library in Redlands, CA, where my aunt and uncle and cousins have lived for the past 40+ years, and now my mother lives there, too. So I've been there lots of times. I even watched, with my dear cuz Mary, some of the filming of a movie there late one night a year or two ago. What a hoot that was! (I wish I knew what movie...)
Reading about Smiley brought back memories of visiting other libraries in small towns I have visited over the years. When my kids and I traveled (in their growing up years) we often visited towns and cities that were new to us. The two places we went to loved to explore in particular were the local grocery store and the library. In addition to Smiley Library, some libraries that stand out in my mind are the ones in Dublin, GA, Haddonfield, NJ, Burlingame, CA, Atlanta Ga (the old Carnegie library with its squishy floors and the Ida Williams branch, now the Buckhead branch) and the first library I ever went to, which was in Minneapolis, Minnesota -- it was a children's library and I loved it very much.
I'd put more links but I've gotta run!
Addendum: I left out two of the best libraries: The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County and the York County Library. Both are fabulous!
Update: Now that I have posted this, the "Library Dust" blog has been taken down. The author has started a new blog, On the Job, but it just isn't the same!
2 comments:
I'll have to take you to the Chicago downtown library when you visit. I do live a block away from a very nice library but it was probably built in the 80s so it doesn't have as much historical value or pretty architecture. The downtown library, on the other hand, is gargantuan and amazing.
You should have seen the Georgia Avenue Branch of the old Atlanta Public Library System back in the 1950's. I seem to remember the Stone (or cement) Lions on the walls of the steps leading in and the high ceilings, with tall open windows (no Air Conditioning then) and the heat and musty smell on a summer afternoon selecting books for summer reading. Also the woodwork. Dark wood was everywhere!
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