View Full Version : Anyone remember the library?
When I was sixteen I lived in the library. I hated school for the most part. Yeah, I picked up a little information from time to time. But,when school was out I went to the library. I read everything I could get my hands on. I have visited my local library a few times in the last twenty years, but I succumb to the issue of most visitors of my age: I sit in the soft chair with a good book...and fall asleep. Maybe with the advances in tech it's time the retire the library. I know a bunch of people will protest that, but I won't. I had my good time.
Grew up in a rural area. School (1962) was brand new, brick. No library. No playground equip. We played on the stumps pushed up in a pile and ran around, played chase, etc. There was a truck that came by on Fridays ... Bookmobile. We could check out one book. First book I ever got from the library was "Go Dog Go." I had never seen such books. Later we moved to a larger city where the school had a wonderful library, a place where the city/county had libraries throughout the community. We could check out up to 12 books at a time. I routinely had about that many checked out. Throughout my experience in HS, college and post-graduate years ... positively loved the library. Truth is, still do. Guess I am a bibliophile of sorts. Cool. Sincerely. bruce.
clintonhater
05-24-2020, 06:10
What library? Every one around here has been closed for over 2 months as yet another way to keep the Chiflu hysteria at full boil. If & when they re-open, I'm sure the mask idiocy will be demanded, to which I'll NEVER submit. I have one book out that I never intend to return without a court order.
The un-incorporated village where I grew up had one small municipal bldg., the other functions of which I don't recall, but in one room of it there was the town library run by an "old lady" probably not as old as I am now. That was where I checked out what I think was the first book I ever read not written for juveniles: Audie Murphy's "To Hell & Back." Don't know why I picked it out, except for the title, but I distinctly remember the "old lady" expressed grave reservations about my taking it, saying something like, "your mother may not like you reading this." That was because, as I soon discovered, it was laced with mild profanity, like "God damn," the first time I'd seen such words in print. Of course my school had its own library where I read every "war book" it had (the "Landmark" series of history books, which included "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"), but there was nothing like "To Hell & Back." Murphy was a REAL hero, not a phony like McCain.
I still have an expired library card. I used to go all the time. In the military, every evening after chow. Many years ago, after retirement, I quit going because the computer said a book was "in" and it wasn't. Place a request that never got filled, because the book never came back. Books were stolen. A local community college had a copy of Sharp's Complete Guide to Handloading" I checked it out once, for the 14 day limit, tried again later but it never came back. I was president of a Friends of The Library Group that sold withdrawn, seldom checked out, or worn books. We returned the money to the library thru children's reading programs, special events, etc. Then thru internal politics, the friends program was disbanded, and now the library sells books directly thru the I'net.
Last time I was in a library, children were allowed to ru6n rampent. People talked in normal tones, more like a resturant. Library ettiquite as I learned it doesn't xist. Do I miss libraries? Yes, but I will not go back.
clintonhater
05-24-2020, 10:54
Last time I was in a library, children were allowed to run rampent. People talked in normal tones, more like a resturant. Library ettiquite as I learned it doesn't xist. Do I miss libraries? Yes, but I will not go back.
True of "city" libraries, & that's not the worst: many have been "colonized" by homeless people, which a public library can't legally exclude.
Most small town libraries, however, like my local one & others in the area (seems there's no hamlet too small to have one, most established in the 1870's or '80s), conditions are still what you remember.
m1ashooter
05-24-2020, 06:26
I'm a lover of history. I spent a lot of time lost in the racks of West Virginia Universities Library. Read an original book written by Major Robert Rogers and a lot of others.
Dan in NH
05-25-2020, 06:11
Went to the Boston City Library in January. Was suprised to see everyone there reading on laptops. Not one person had a book.
Vern Humphrey
05-25-2020, 07:12
I remember the Carnegie Libraries -- there was one in Lake Charles, LA, where I lived as a boy, It's closed now and houses the Genealogical Society. The Carnegie Library in Guthrie, OK, where my dad went, is now a museum. Our local public library in Mountain View, Arkansas, is thriving, however.
I remember the Carnegie Libraries -- there was one in Lake Charles, LA, where I lived as a boy, It's closed now and houses the Genealogical Society. The Carnegie Library in Guthrie, OK, where my dad went, is now a museum. Our local public library in Mountain View, Arkansas, is thriving, however.
our Carnegie Library (1902) closed when the county opened its library system (incorporating the other local small town libraries) and became the local museum. since the town has several other historical sites, its knows as the Port Huron Museum Carnegie Center...
the county library certain looks like the 1968 designed building that it is. i spent lots and lots of time there in high school; it was cheaper than driving around town all night and we were still able to talk quietly. when i got out of the Air Force i went discovered the internet...
Vern Humphrey
05-25-2020, 08:00
Our county library has wi-fi, free. During the warm months, you can drive by the library at night and see kids sitting on benches outside, taking advantage of the wi-fi.
SUPERX-M1
05-26-2020, 08:04
Mine was in Kent, Ohio. They added a large modern structure to the original small stone structure. The Mantua library was a two story frame house that was somewhat like an eccentric's used book shop. I refer to the 1950 era
Some of the robber barons did a bit of philanthropy. Some good and bad actors today do the same. Wonder what it really costs them. Money may go really far with taxes and non-profit. The Clinton's dtr. is involved with their foundation-nice salary.
My impression is that Bill Gates/Microsoft has always overcharged.Now he and his wife are doing good deeds. Interestingly, some of the super wealthy do not give their children vast fortunes .
clintonhater
05-26-2020, 01:16
My impression is that Bill Gates/Microsoft has always overcharged.Now he and his wife are doing good deeds.
Clearly, she wears the pants in that family (Gates FIRST girlfriend, I'll bet), so it's mainly her doing; but they can sure as hell afford it without crimping their life-style in the least.
Microsoft IS the Evil Empire, that ought to be prosecuted like any other criminal cartel! The constant stupid changes in their systems that always make things harder for anyone who's not a programmer are put there to cripple your old system, like my Windows 7, & coerce you into buying something new.
Vern Humphrey
05-26-2020, 02:28
Clearly, she wears the pants in that family (Gates FIRST girlfriend, I'll bet), so it's mainly her doing; but they can sure as hell afford it without crimping their life-style in the least.
Microsoft IS the Evil Empire, that ought to be prosecuted like any other criminal cartel! The constant stupid changes in their systems that always make things harder for anyone who's not a programmer are put there to cripple your old system, like my Windows 7, & coerce you into buying something new.
Just like the constant changes in automobiles? Of the "new and improved" version of any other product?
The LAST thing we need is for the GOVERNMENT to decide what Microsoft or any other company can do to upgrade their products.
clintonhater
05-26-2020, 03:01
Of the "new and improved" version of any other product?
New does NOT mean improved, as proven by Microsoft's constant changes for no reason but to make your current system obsolete.
Vern Humphrey
05-26-2020, 03:17
New does NOT mean improved, as proven by Microsoft's constant changes for no reason but to make your current system obsolete.
But who decides if a new version is an improvement? The government?
How about letting the consumer decide?
Seriously Humphrey, do you know what the hell you are babbling about? Microsoft determines what an improvement is by damning your present operating system to obsolescence. XP was doomed by Windows 7, which is no longer supported (as of January of 2020). Then came Windows 8. I had no choice in these so-called upgrades.
Seriously Humphrey, do you know what the hell you are babbling about? Microsoft determines what an improvement is by damning your present operating system to obsolescence. XP was doomed by Windows 7, which is no longer supported (as of January of 2020). Then came Windows 8. I had no choice in these so-called upgrades.
same for the cell phone market,
buy a phone vs 1.0 for $400, then V.2 comes out for $500 and 1.0 is now $150 and so on, and so on,
clintonhater
05-26-2020, 06:00
How about letting the consumer decide?
The consumer who is forced to upgrade is not "deciding."
Believe me,I'm no IT guy. I can barely put something in documents but upgrades to computers is not upgrading buggy whips. I think maybe phones get "upgraded" because, well people are silly. But an upgrade to windows every ten years or so I can kind of understand.
-buy a phone vs 1.0 for $400, then V.2 comes out for $500 and 1.0 is now $150 and so on, and so on-
I intend to buy V 1.0. My flip phone is going to die in June(I think it already is on life support). I am going to get me a SMART PHONE. Yeah! There are things that I think I could use on one. But I'm doing some research. Even the reviewers(do some homework) say that some V7's are pretty much V6 with a better looking case.
clintonhater
05-26-2020, 08:49
But an upgrade to windows every ten years or so I can kind of understand.
If you do, explain it to me, because I haven't.
Oog, you know that things change. There are thousands of very smart people from India that constantly work on improving things. Magical things that we don't understand.
Vern Humphrey
05-27-2020, 06:59
The consumer who is forced to upgrade is not "deciding."
Certainly he is. Remember the '60s? Didn't you get along just fine without a computer? You can still do without one -- except you DECIDE to have one.
clintonhater
05-27-2020, 07:44
Remember the '60s? Didn't you get along just fine without a computer? You can still do without one ...
That's false, unfortunately. But HOW I'd love to return to life in the '60s! The structure of life NOW simply won't permit it, at least not without unreasonable hardship--for ex., closing of many local stores means many things can only be found on-line.
What I DO get along without is a cell--I challenge you to do that!
Vern Humphrey
05-27-2020, 08:28
That's false, unfortunately. But HOW I'd love to return to life in the '60s! The structure of life NOW simply won't permit it, at least not without unreasonable hardship--for ex., closing of many local stores means many things can only be found on-line.
Which is to say you assess the benefits of a computer to outweigh the disadvantages -- and choose to own one.
What I DO get along without is a cell--I challenge you to do that!
I don't have cell phone service where I live.
I do have one -- $20 at Wal Mart, and about $20 every three months. I carry it when travelling and use it for emergencies.
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