re:Libraries (zaibatsu), 08/29/2019
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A few other sundogs  wrote about libraries[1][2]. I'm pretty
sure I read a few replies out in gopher space as well. Since
I'm sitting  in my  local library right  now, I  figured I'd
chime in.

On the childhood memories, I'll say just a few things:

1. I recall  when libraries were only about  books. I recall
when computers and  the internet were added into  the mix. I
think the transition  period was the worst;  now that things
are  well  integrated,  I  feel that  the  resulting  modern
library is very much an improvement, at least from what I've
experienced.

2.  It  seems  like  selections, and  the  ability  to  find
things quickly,  have both improved.  I do recall  some very
interesting book  finds as a  youth, and perhaps  the modern
library is a little more  scrubbed, but I think overall it's
still  good. Card  catalog systems  were good,  but computer
systems that I can  access from home, inter-library lending,
etc. all make the computers an invaluable addition.

3. On the  topic of computers, my first intro  to a terminal
was at  the library.  My first  use of  the internet  over a
terminal was at  the library (where we had  fun breaking out
of their menu system and  accessing whatever we wanted, back
in the  dialup days). Our  library had green and  amber wyse
terminals back then. I still love those things.

That's about it for memories, at least ones that stand out.

The library I'm sitting in is our local Fulton, MO library.
It's small, but  it's not tiny. They have  books and movies
and  tablets and  computers and  STEM kits  and probably  a
lot  of things  I'm  not aware  of.  There's a  micro-fiche
reader upstairs,  for archived  local history  I'm thinking
(newspaper and the like).

I find  that the  book selection  here is  somewhat limited.
Thankfully, this library  is part of a larger  system; I can
go  online  and get  books  from  any  of the  other  member
libraries, and  they'll bring them here  for me in a  day or
two. I love that. We like  to go to the Columbia MO library.
That one is quite nice, and much larger.

Another fun  thing that I  forgot to mention is,  my library
card  gives me  access  to hoopla  digital,  which has  some
audio books  and movies  to watch. Free  streaming services,
basically.

I love modern libraries. I  love large libraries. I love the
expansion beyond books. I love usable spaces, shared spaces,
work  spaces,  and maker  spaces.  It's  quite amazing,  the
benefits of society.  Sometimes I think I want  to live 1000
miles from  everyone, in the  woods somewhere, but  I'm sure
I'd miss all this.

[1] gopher://republic.circumlunar.space:70/0/~slugmax/phlog/2019-08-17-library-nostalgia
[2] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space:70/0/~solderpunk/phlog/in-praise-of-good-libraries.txt

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