TheAnvil 0 #1 July 28, 2004 I was going to snag a book at the bookstore when I realized that the library is on the way. Hadn't been to a public library in a while, so I stopped by on a whim and ended up getting a book or two. Wondering if anybody else hits the library very often - I hadn't been in a long, long time, other than for research purposes. Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dropdeded 0 #2 July 28, 2004 hmm, funny you should ask. I was looking for some books last week, decided the same thing, "why not check out the library"? Went to the front desk to see if I had a valid library card and was told I owe 30 bucks for late charges. Turns out its books that the Ex checked out. Im STILL paying dropdeded------------------------------------------ The Dude Abides. - Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #3 July 28, 2004 The libraries in Tampa are used by the homeless as places to sleep during the day and get into some air-conditioning. They stink horrendously. You cannot sit at the same table. You also have to watch small items like pencils, pens, and paper. I quit going to the downtown library for this reason. College libraries are good though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craichead 0 #4 July 28, 2004 Does working in a library count as going to one? _Pm__ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricaH 0 #5 July 28, 2004 A while back I was studying for a financial exam... i couldn't find a good place for concentrating. One of my co-workers suggested the library. It was at that moment that I realized I had a) completely forgotten that libraries existed and b) had no idea where one was w/in the city of Chicago Now I've moved & still don't know where it is. I see people reading library books on the train so I know it's somewhere, just no idea where - nor even how to get a card. There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear. PMS #227 (just like the TV show) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craichead 0 #6 July 28, 2004 http://www.chipublib.org/ _Pm__ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #7 July 28, 2004 only library i go to is my college one, and thats mainly because they have a coke machine. when i was much younger, i would go there to rent movies since they didn't check to see if i was 18 whenever i rented an R-rated one. MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricaH 0 #8 July 28, 2004 thanks, but i don't care anymore (not studying for anything again) & I don't live in the city anymore. at least I know who i can ask if i have a question though edited to add: dork There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear. PMS #227 (just like the TV show) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craichead 0 #9 July 28, 2004 Of course I'm a dork! I work in a library, for crying out loud! _Pm__ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 1 #10 July 28, 2004 Libraries still exist!!?? Ever since Al Gore invented the Internet, I have not had the attention span to read an entire book! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #11 July 28, 2004 A lot of vagrants hang out at the NMSU campus main library near me. They are usually making noise... talking about some totally off the wall conspiracy theory. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MakeItHappen 15 #12 July 28, 2004 Quote Wondering if anybody else hits the library very often - I go to the library every week. Of all the skills people may have, reading is the one that is the most valuable. Active reading, questioning and understanding what an author writes, is a tremendous way to enhance your views and understanding about the world, its history and its future. Tim Berners-Lee wrote a book about how he invented the internet (He really did do that). It was very enlightening to learn how such a technology, fully embraced today, met with so much resistance in its formative stages. His vision on the potential capabilities of the internet are becoming reality today with RSS and XML meta data files. The scenes from Star Trek were someone asks the computer to dig up info on such-n-such event or person are very real today. Biographies are also good reading. Ben Franklin invented the library. He shared his books with several friends that also shared their personal libraries. The concept eventually lead to a 'public' library, were anyone could read a book without having to purchase the book. Thomas Edison invented many, many things, most famous was the light bulb. Did you know he took cat-naps when he got stuck on a problem? Buckminster Fuller's biography is interesting reading. Frank Lloyd Wright's biography is amazing. I recently re-read Animal Farm. It is a great book that is full of social commentary. I recently read a novel called 'The Aviator'. It's a sort of hokey short novel about a barnstormer type pilot that crashes in the Rocky Mountains with a young passenger that is severely injured in the crash. Everything was good except the ending. Those novels you had to read in high school take on new meanings when you re-read them as an adult with a different perspective based on real life experiences. Social commentary in great literary works will expand your thinking. Book reviews - also something you had to do in high school - is another way to expand your personal library and thinking. Whenever I read a book I make a list of the words I do not know. Then I look up the definition and put all that on a sheet(s) and total them up for the year. Each year I augment my vocabulary by a hundred words or so. One of Andy Rooney's books relates a story of a high school English teacher who asked if she could change a few of the twenty-dollar college words to simpler HS level words for distribution to her class. Rooney said no because it is much better for the reader to learn the new words than to water down his essay. I re-read many of the books in my personal library each year. My personal library is in a 12 ft by 12 ft building of its own. It is full up with 72 inch bookcases over flowing with books. Reading takes your mind into realms that you would never think of and allows you to travel the world and travel in time. (Oh yeah- HG Wells is a great sci-fi author, as is Arthur Clarke and Ray Bradbury) Sometimes I'll pull a book off the shelf on a topic that I have no interest in. I'll read it for 20-30 minutes at the library. I always come away with some new tidbit of information. Librarians are also a great source of information. One time I asked the Davis, CA librarian where I could find out how tennis balls were made. They have above ambient pressure inside, so I was wondering about what type of chamber pressed the ball pieces together. She found a reference that explained the manufacturing process. You might wonder where I find the time to read. Well, what started out as a one-month experiment of not hooking up cable or satellite TV when I moved to Hemet has turned into a 4 year no-TV situation. Kill the TV and get to the library. You can still check out DVDs or videos. It usually takes me two nights to watch a DVD because I fall asleep part-way through the movie. Compare that to staying up till 3am reading a good book. .. Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #13 July 28, 2004 QuoteYou also have to watch small items like pencils, pens, and paper. Why, do they do tricks? She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #14 July 28, 2004 Vin...is this your clever new pickup line? "Hey hot stuff, wanna go hang out at the library?" _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #15 July 28, 2004 Sure do. It's part of my job description.... My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evelyn 0 #16 July 28, 2004 I go to the library a lot. Don't borrow books anymore though, because I'd always forget to bring them back on time and end up with huge fines. So now I just buy the used books. Our library has a section where you can buy books, 50 cents for paperbacks and hardcovers for a buck. Much less expensive than paying overdue book fines. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing ~ Helen Keller Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cajundude 0 #17 July 28, 2004 QuoteSure do. It's part of my job description.... That's what they make Westlaw for... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unformed 0 #18 July 28, 2004 I don't go anymore because 1) I owe them way too much money that I don't plan on paying back. 2) I always forget to return books, which makes me owe more money, which then leads to 1) 3) Since I still do read a fair bit, I just them used off of ebay or half.com .... sometimes go to the bookstore ... but it's easier this way, as I can get a book knowing I want to read it, and then just wait a few weeks before I get around to actually reading it. It nice to have one or two unread books sitting around when I'm bored out of my mind or need to take an airplane flight. (for more than 20 minutes that is :)This ad space for sale. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #19 July 28, 2004 I don't go to the library anymore. I've read straight through the entire fiction section from A-Z, and since they have no money, they never have any new books, and the ones they do manage to get are reference/nonfiction. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 1 #20 July 28, 2004 QuoteTim Berners-Lee wrote a book about how he invented the internet (He really did do that). You mean it wasn't Al Gore!!??? But seriously, I do like to read too. I am currently reading 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand, but I really do have a short attention span so it will take me a few months to finish... And I just bought a biology book, so I'll probably end up reading them at the same time... I also enjoy biographies. P.T. Barnum's is one that I found particularly interesting. He was quite the ingenious businessman. QuoteWhenever I read a book I make a list of the words I do not know. I tend to look them up immediately because it will drive me crazy to go on reading if I don't. QuoteYou might wonder where I find the time to read. That is exactly what I was wondering, Jan. Even without TV, I'm sure you spend a lot of time on the computer... I don't watch much TV, but the Internet is a problem for me. It is probably the main reason I don't have much time for books anymore. It really caters to those of us with short attention spans. I find myself constantly thinking of things I want to know about, and the Internet often provides instant gratification (most recently - the history of domestic cats, what pathologists do and how autopsies are performed, why the Cherokees were moved to Oklahoma...). The problem is that I rarely learn in-depth information about any one topic... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheAnvil 0 #21 July 28, 2004 We'll see if it works.... Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #22 July 28, 2004 QuoteWe'll see if it works.... I'd prefer going back to the Oyster Pub at Daytona Beach, eat oysters on the half shell, drink beer and play pool! _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #23 July 28, 2004 QuoteQuoteTim Berners-Lee wrote a book about how he invented the internet (He really did do that). You mean it wasn't Al Gore!!??? Tim Berners-Lee "only" invented the World Wide Web (the most popular application on the Internet besides email), so Al can still claim that Internet in general if he wants. Quotemost recently... how autopsies are performed You might want to check out Stiff, by Mary Roach. Excellent and funny (while remaining respectful) book about what happens to our bodies after we die. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 1 #24 July 28, 2004 QuoteTim Berners-Lee "only" invented the World Wide Web (the most popular application on the Internet besides email), so Al can still claim that Internet in general if he wants. That's good to know... I was just about to lose faith in Al! (Ok, actually I already knew a bit about Tim Berners-Lee ;-) QuoteYou might want to check out Stiff, by Mary Roach. Excellent and funny (while remaining respectful) book about what happens to our bodies after we die. I was actually just looking at that book while at an airport on layover, but I didn't buy it because I already had a book with me. I'm glad you mentioned it though, because I had forgotten about it... So I have now put it on a sticky note to remind myself (if I ever finish the book I'm reading right now!). It does sound very interesting. Thanks for the recommendation! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites TheAnvil 0 #25 July 28, 2004 Count me in, chica. WHen are you coming back to FL?Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
TheAnvil 0 #25 July 28, 2004 Count me in, chica. WHen are you coming back to FL?Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
