posted July 21, 2009 08:57 PM         

I think the brick'n'mortar libraries may become scarcer, as more and more of the printed word moves online and is available electronically (eg, Kindle). I, however, will probably be like Capt. Picard -- nothing can replace the feel of reading a book that you hold in your hands
And I'm a snob -- if it isn't a hardcover, it isn't a "real" book
Yeah, I have plenty of paperbacks

posted July 21, 2009 09:59 PM         

I'm a writer, so I love reading.

posted July 21, 2009 10:40 PM         

I wish I could be a librarian actually but I think you need a degree in library science, right?

posted July 21, 2009 11:30 PM         

By the time I was 6 I was using the library, both school & public. I was curious about everything, and they also provided some nice escapism since I didn't have the TV much (the 'rents had that covered).

Libraries also got me in trouble with school. One time was when a coach (who only taught history because the law mandated coaches also teach a subject) gave the wrong date of a famous battle. He mocked me mercilessly when I admitted my source was an Iron Maiden song, so I got books from both the school & public library and every single one said HE was wrong. This got me sent to the office, and the school library books mysteriously disappeared. There were other instances, too. And on that note, which are better, schools or libraries? I liked this guy's answer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=999ZEf2EpHg

Librarians and teachers later got me into unschooling instead of going to school. A local library hosted both homeschoolers & unschoolers after hours (1 day a week). One librarian taught me how to use many reference sources, and to this day I consider getting a MLS and becoming a reference librarian. Especially as many librarians are expected to retire over the next decade (but in NO way will I even consider taking a library director position).

When a library needed volunteers for a children's summer reading program, I signed up. I was also the ONLY one to actually show up, and I earned a glowing recommendation for doing the work expected of 12 people. Because I knew how to use a library as well (I even helped a school teacher who was having problems back when I was 17), they convinced me to volunteer full time. And I did with absolutely no complaints until a policy change alienated me.

As for what drove me away, the library board, which like many boards over schools & libraries, was very dysfunctional and fostered chaos while pretending they were all that stood between the library and chaos. They also decided to get a certain type of insurance which required that everyone--even the volunteers like me--be tested for drugs. Never mind that there was NO rational reason for this (if a person was that messed up--including on alcohol or meds--they'd be sent home anyway), or that some volunteers were GREAT GRANDMOTHERS who never even gotten a parking ticket their entire lives (and I personally felt I'd already proven myself, too), that this was a violation of our 4rth & 5th amendment rights (government--and this was funded by tax payers, so it counts--searching & seizing our bodily fluids without a warrant, and forcing us to testify against ourselves), we just had to do it. And not at our convenience, but we had to go to ANOTHER TOWN and be there at like 8 in the morning...and some of the elderly don't do well at holding their bladders for the pleasure of bureaucrats (when I pointed this last bit out, the director mentioned something about "running a swab in our mouths at the library" instead). I was so ticked off that I almost went through with it, and after I tested clean (just so he couldn't say I was on drugs later), THEN pee in another cup and throw my pee in the director's stinking face. Instead, I left. So did some of the other volunteers. Personally, I don't see how anyone with any self-respect could tolerate such treatment, especially when you're working for free (and without any history of problems)! And if anyone should've been tested for drugs, it should've been the library board!

Anyway, never volunteered at another one since then. But I still use a library daily for news (papers, magazines, etc), research, and entertainment. I somehow get shanghaied into helping others anyway, or find myself putting away books & magazines, as if I were a volunteer anyway for some reason.

However (just for fun here on), I've since taken a liking to TV shows more. Especially this show, even with an ep that had a librarian villain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5xoRSGum9c&feature=PlayList&p=C572E6D4B6EB4B55&index=18

Btw, while sharing about that, there's also a series of movies that blend Indiana Jones with spy thrillers & the like into a series called The Librarian (just for silly fun):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Librarian_franchise

And whenever I finally get to play the tabletop role playing game Macho Women With Guns, I plan on playing one of these:
http://maverick.brainiac.com/mwwg/mlwg.html

posted July 22, 2009 12:16 AM         

Thanks for sharing with us extensively!

D

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Every night and every morn,
Some to misery are born;
Every morn and every night,
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

posted July 22, 2009 11:47 AM         

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted July 25, 2009 08:44 PM         

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted July 25, 2009 08:54 PM         

"What do you think of your librarians?"

I dont really interact with them when I go.
Also, it doesnt seem like most of them like their job.