Library in Suspension

Now that I no longer head off to work each morning, some form of diversion from my house, even from My Space, requires some thought about alternate destinations.  I used to go to stores, not so much because I needed anything as much as they accepted my presence with no obligation on my part.  And there were a lot of them.  Weather permitting, I could go to a park, maybe fish unsuccessfully for a while.  And there is always the library.  It came to my attention recently that libraries are more popular destinations than I would have imagined, even in these days when access to cyberspace offers more to read or listen to than anybody realistically can.  There is something to be said among being amid people, even strangers who keep to themselves.

I've been a library enthusiast since childhood.  I might even still have one of those cards with a metallic insert to run under some carbon paper at checkout.  Card catalogs in big drawers are long gone.  I can access our library's holdings, including branches other than my local one, from my desk but it's not the same as choosing a subject like cooking and looking at the cookbooks on the shelves.

It came as a disappointment that my branch will effectively close for three weeks for carpet replacement.  Big project, since they have to relocate all the materials to do this.  As I walked on the floors today, peering downward, I did not see any ripped carpet that would risk a fractured hip nor any major soiling.  The commercial carpet seemed to have a reasonable amount of low pile.  The neutral color scheme seemed conducive to reading or typing away on their computers.  Maybe a generous donor offered new carpeting at a great price that couldn't be refused.  Or while the need was not obvious to me but may be apparent to the director.  In any case, functionally off limits for a few  weeks starting in just a few days.