Miles's blog

It is really cold here (which should not surprise me, it being winter and all, but I hate it; every year say I should go to Florida for the winter).  Avoiding any outside activities, even walking around too much, I decided to go to the Stamford Public Library.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Sometimes I need to be reminded just how great libraries are.

There is something special about walking through shelves filled with books.  Each shelf is a repository of an incredible amount of information.  Looking at all those pages of knowledge makes me want to read all of them, to know everything inside those covers.  (My memory being what it is these days, I could read all of them today and forget about 99 percent of what I read tomorrow.  That would not diminish the joy of learning all those new things.)  The Dewey Decimal System, as confusing and arcane as it is, has the benefit of bringing books on common topics together facilitating browsing.  I was looking for a biography of Jesse Owens, and although they were all out, the library had three separate books about the 1936 Olympics.  

I spent some time in the history section, reading New York Times front pages.  (I actually have this book in a storage locker in Lakewood.  I miss all my books.)  I find it fascinating to read history as it was written.  Newspaper front pages give you a sense of life in the past.  Not merely a recitation of the facts, as you would find in a history book, but history as life.  Unlike a history book you get no perspective, which can make reading about events as confusing as today’s paper is, but what it gives you is context.  On the front page carrying the story of Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic, for example, is an article about arrests made for violating prohibition. The reporting of what we now call “Kristallnacht,” one of the most blatant escalations of the Nazi’s persecution of the Jews, is side by side with stories about Joe Louis. 

Looking back we view events in a vacuum sometimes.  We picture world war II as an all-encompassing event which monopolized people’s lives.  We forget, that even in the most historic, most dramatic, most compelling moments of history, that daily life concerns much more even than a war.  People still went to the movies, listened to music, took vacations (although not many), and read books.  Everyone had to buy food, gas, and clothes which was a challenge due to rationing, but nevertheless made up life on a daily basis.  Reading the newspaper itself, rather than just articles online, helps me envision life in 1938, 1944 or 1955.   Reading stories from times I remember, brings back my life from those times.

However, a modern library is much more than books (although those are the best part).  There were hundreds of movies, even blue-ray titles.  I don’t have a local ID so getting a library card is difficult, but it occurred to me that once I can get a library card, I will have no need of Redbox.  I can spend months watching DVDs from the library.  

There are also audio books, both bestsellers and more educational fare.  I noticed some are even in a digital format for use on an iPod.  The library contains numerous educational tools, such as classes in audio and video formats.  Of course there are magazines and other periodicals.  

Fortunately, Stamford has a very nice library, which is a short walk from my apartment.  It is pretty quiet, well-stocked, and the employees seem very nice. I have neglected libraries too long and I plan to spend some more time there.  Once I get a library card, I might just watch some movies, too.