TITLE: Wandering the Stacks
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: July 01, 2019 11:59 AM
DESC:
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BODY:
In
You Are Here,
Ben Hunt writes:
You know what I miss most about the world before Amazon?
I miss going to the library and looking up a book in the
card catalog, searching the stacks for the book in
question, and then losing myself in the experience of
discovery AROUND the book I was originally searching for.
It's one of the best feelings in the world, and I'm not
sure that my children have ever felt it. I haven't felt
it in at least 20 years.
My daughters, now in their mid-20s, have felt it. We were a
library family, not a bookstore family or an Amazon family.
Beginning as soon as they could follow picture books, we spent
countless hours at the public library in our town and the one
in the neighboring city. We took the girls to Story Time and
to other activities, but mostly we went to read and wander and
select a big stack of books to take home. The books we took
home never lasted as long as we thought they would, so back
we'd go.
I still wander the stacks myself, both at the university library
and, less often these days, the local public libraries. I always
start with a few books in mind, recommendations gathered from
friends and articles I've read, but I usually bring home an
unexpected bounty. Every year I find a real surprise or two,
books I love but would never have known about if I hadn't let
myself browse. Even when I don't find anything surprising to
take home, it's worth the time I spend just wandering.
Writing a little code
often makes my day better. So does going to the library.
Walking among books, starting with a goal and then aimlessly
browsing, calms me on days I need calming and invigorates me
on days when my energy is down. Some days, it does both at
the same time. Hunt is right: It's one of the best feelings
in the world. I hope that whatever else modern technology
does for our children, it gives them something to rival this
feeling.
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