Friday, November 20, 2009

The Place With The Free Books

I now have a library card for the first time since college.

I'd been an increasingly regular patron at Borders book store over the last couple years, and Hidden Blog is saturated with all kinds of favorite nuggets as a result. But I got to wondering if it was really a wise use of $20 to read a book once. I generally thought of the library as having a bunch of old books, not terribly exciting or mainstream, but why not give it a try? If nothing else, it'll make for an interesting blog post. And it turned out to be a lot more than that.

The cramped little parking lot at the Normal Public Library is now adjoined by a massive public parking deck, with... wait for it... free parking for library patrons! That unexpected perk got my spirits up as I walked in.

I used to make my way here when I was cramming for finals and the ISU library was too packed. Now it was modernized and more crammed with signs than people. There was a DVD section, audio book section, and all kinds of other 21st century trendiness. The key ring sized library card was another pleasant plus. And it all paled to the display practically smack in my sternum as I got inside. "New Books" was just what I'd hoped for. And right away I saw three interesting sports books that I'd never come across at Borders. It never crossed my mind that the library might have a better selection than the book stores. What a trip!

Three whole weeks to digest awesome tales of baseball and hoop dreams. Learning rocks!

No comments: