So, I’ve lived in New York, Cambridge, Ann Arbor, Charlottesville, Los Angeles, and Alexandria. And, according to Amazon, my current abode (Alexandria) is “the most well-read city in America”.
Of course, I am sure that Amazon came up with this evaluation because the yuppies and government workers that live here buy a ton of books from Amazon. And, since 1 June 2011, the sales of books, magazines, and newspapers on both book and Kindle versions from Alexandria outsold the other communities. (Alexandria also has a Barnes and Noble, and more than a few boutique booksellers, including used book stores, too.) And, according to Amazon, the most likely book to be bought is a romance novel. Not exactly highbrow. (By comparison, the residents of the number 2 city on the list, Cambridge, were more likely to purchase business books.)
What we also have is a wonderful central library, with 3 additional branches. Moreover, we have a fully functional eLibrary- one I access daily to examine journals, magazines, and books- 24 hours a day. Which means I don’t have to increase the number of subscriptions I already maintain.
The library has about 50,000 eBooks for borrowing and collections of journals and magazines that cover almost any interest. All you need to access the catalog is a valid library card. (I presume you can’t have overdue books, either, but I wouldn’t know about that.)
Besides being a yuppie town, we’re an educated one, with more than 85,000 folks having at least a Bachelor’s degree.. (The total population is just under 150K.) And, while the library is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year, that does not quite provide the real truth. The Alexandria Library Company was chartered in July 1794, and charged an annual fee for its use (and now has annual lectures to celebrate its continuous existence), so the library system in Alexandria is really 218 years old.
Have you visited YOUR library today? I vote you seek it out on the web. There’s a wealth of knowledge available for free! (Sorry, Amazon.)
Our library is within walking distance and I love going there periodically. It always brings me peace. 🙂
Cathy Miller recently posted..Online Connection Grabs Grandma and Grandpa
That is so nice, when one can walk to the library. I know my son walks to his libraries (two of them) every single day; ours is more out of the way. (I used to visit the “old” central library, but now that is on the other side of town….)
Thanks for you visit and comment, Cathy!
12 years ago I sold my book collection totally about 4500 books, this year I donated it to charity and it totaled about 2500-ish give or take a couple hundred. I’m getting old enough now where no matter how I try to pack boxes of books they are butt busters so I think my days of a personal library of books are over. It will be the library and e-readers from here on out. Bad back=no more 100 pound boxes of books lol. Oddly Alexandria must mirror the ancient Alexandria! The Egyptian library was the largest and the most important one of the ancient world! (as if you didn’t know that)
Seriously though, I don’t know where I would be now if I couldn’t read. It is the foundation of all education. It’s mind blowing to consider yourself without the ability to do what most of us take for granted! It is that ability that has brought me some of the best things of my life, including my late husband. Great post, Roy! Thank you as always!
Lisa Brandel recently posted..The Painted Lady by Lisa Brandel
I have an extensive library, Lisa. What else do ex-academics hoard? As if the technical, business, medical, and scientific tomes are not enough, I have a slew of religious/biblical sources and at least as many novels. Which is why I made a deal with my (now ex-) wife decades ago to remove one book for every new one I plan to add to my library… I’ve kept that deal, even though my ex is long gone.
Roy
haha – romance novels? I would have thought that the most popular genre in an area populated by government workers would be fantasy.
Carolina HeartStrings recently posted..WORDLESS WEDNESDAY
Alessa-
Folks don’t want to read what they do all day long- they want something different! Hence, here they read romance novels- since there is no love lost among the party members 🙂
Statistics are an interesting thing, for sure. (I lived in Alexandria one summer, but didn’t get to partake in the libraries.) I myself would like to see more energy going into what can be done to bring more books to impoverished areas. 🙂
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Lisa…
There is a real problem here. We now have many states (those run by a certain party) looking to slash and burn their budgets. One of the first things to go is the library. If I recall properly, the city of Philadelphia shuttered theirs last year to save money. (That certainly leaves the lesser financially endowed at a grave disadvantage.)
We need to impress upon our elected leaders the need to provide MORE- not fewer- library services when the economy is in a downturn!
I do use our local library. Orange County Florida has one of the finest systems in the nation. I can order a print book and have it delivered to my house. I have taken free computer courses (might as well give it a try) at my library and taken my kids/grandkids for story time. I understand they are now making available the lending of ebooks, though I have not looked into that yet. Thanks for the encouragement for people to use their library. My nine-year-old grand daughter told me on Sunday that she wants to be a librarian or a teacher. I thought that was a good sign.
Bonnie Anderson recently posted..Something to Crow About
It certainly is. My eldest step-daughter volunteered for years at the library. And, my children (and now grandchild) employ the resources of their libraries routinely. The most deficient user is ME- unless you count the electronic perusing that I employ…
Thanks for leaving your thoughts, Bonnie. It helps round out the discussion!
I haven’t visited my library in some time. The ones here are getting harder and harder to visit (less hours and not as complete with the newest books). I was recently thinking I should check out the e-lending again as I haven’t looked at that in a while either. Part of my issue with borrowing is that I am a very slow reader and usually have to renew a book 3 or 4 times (even with the lengthy borrow times) before I complete one. That being said, it might be a good way to “test” a book out to see if I want to purchase it to hang on to…
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I’m noticing the shortening of hours and availability of libraries, too, Nicole.
You may find the electronic approach a good intro to the book- one to see if it’s worthwhile, should you invest in your own copy, etc.
Thanks for the visit.
When we moved to Texas we moved to a very small town. They tried to have a library but when the kids and I first went there our library at home was larger. We homeschooled & I sold used books so maybe it wasn’t fair.
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I think the electronic library concept would thus be right up your alley, Shawn!
I grew up loving our public library in Tyler, Texas. It was on of the many endowed by Dale Carnegie. I also loved the one in South Texas with the giant black cat, appropriately named Booker. Now I just buy a Kindle Book for my not-so-smart phone. I read all day long and by night time, I just want to rest my eyes. What do I read? Mostly Stephen Koontz, a little horror, a little murder and mayhem and a lot of good and love triumphing over evil. Thanks for the fond memories, Roy.
Getting lost in the library is one of life’s great pleasures, Ann…
Glad to “kindle” those memories!
Thanks Roy for the reminder. I have not been to my local library in a long time. I think it would make for a good ‘field trip’ and possibly an eye opener, or not, but you are right. There are so many other resources we forget about when it comes to books. I have noticed so many little book stores in the town I live in. I have been to a couple and they have added an area where you can sit, drink your coffee and read!
Appreciate your reminder and hey…. my parents lived in Ann Arbor. I was born outside of Detroit. Small world!
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And, that’s where Borders began- before it was KMartified, Lynn!
Glad to serve as a pleasant reminder.
Roy
My local librarian addresses me by name when I walk through the door.
David Leonhardt recently posted..Daydreaming Leads the Way
Your real one? Or the one you give when you don’t behave?
Seriously, though, Dave, that’s the way we all should deal with our libraries…
Roy
I just love books, but I am hard on them sometimes and am not the type of person who picks one up and reads it right away. It may languish in a pile for a day, a month, or a few years. So, I haven’t really visited the library as much as I should for fun. I have become more interested in them lately because of the ebooks and films to download. I like the ebooks, especially on trips. By the way, one place that I recycle my book collection is swap.com. You can trade your books with someone else all over the country for the cost of postage (BTW, I have no relationship with the site, but just love it). So, I am just rotating my stock of books all the time. Each time I finish one and trade it, I can get a new one to read! I have reached the point in life where I need fewer books in my life permanently.
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Kristen:
Thanks for that information. I’ll have to try it out for some of my “junk” books. I doubt it will work for my technical tomes!
And, thanks for visiting and commenting.
Roy