Also, they're a great place to pick up comics and movies.
I don't often use the word "love" in any context outside of my relationship with singer/songwriter Norah Jones, but I do have to say that I LOVE the public library.
So why do I feel like I need to shower when I leave?
The library in downtown Salt Lake is easily one of my favorite places in the city. Its four floors and basement are full of just about every book and movie I've ever needed to find. However, it's also one of the FILTHIEST buildings I've ever been to.
I often spend several hours in the library at a time, and if I have to go to the bathroom during that time... I'd rather just hold it.
Just the other day, right as I walked into the library, I saw a young couple with their dog on a leash. Before anyone knew it, the dog let loose and peed all over the carpet. Thankfully, the couple ran straight to the reference desk to inform the librarian (who most likely got a college degree so she WOULDN'T have to clean up pee for a living). Still, the whole thing was... disgusting.
Above: I have a college degree.
Libraries are free to the public, but they're not a public park. Just because they don't charge you for admission and let you take their stuff whenever you want doesn't mean you can spit raspberry jam all over the mirror and expect them to clean it up. Librarians aren't your mom, and you're not four anymore.
So, please, make a pilgrimage to your local library, but for Dickinson's sake, be clean about it.
3 comments:
My sister used to work there for a while. She said that a lot of homeless people like to hang out there all day till closing time, the return box for books are often littered with nasty things she doesn't want to touch, and the toilets often get clogged up from druggies dropping their needles down them.
The building is pretty neat though. Still, Salt Lake transfers their materials around to other libraries, so you can get the selection without feeling like you have to take a shower.
I love the building, but I am scared to go there most of the time. :(
xox
I recently made a forage into my local library in search of some good summer reading--and I realized that as much as I love revisiting my past by visiting the local library, I do not enjoy browsing as I once did. Unfortunately, reading a book where someone else has already cracked the spine and fingered the corners makes me feel less excited than when I open a brand new book from the local B&N.
Call me a book snob, but that's how it is...
Post a Comment