A woman in my department at the Denver Public Library sent a link to this opinion piece about libraries by Garrison Keillor (of Prairie Home Companion fame). Mr. Keillor views libraries as a sort of sanctuary from a world that can be pretty ugly (particularly the world of politics), and I'm inclined to agree with him -- to a point.
The atmosphere here in the "main branch" can be intimidating to those who are not seasoned to the seedier aspects of urban life; one former employee here was known to describe the library as "the city's largest homeless shelter", and it's hard to argue with that observation, especially during the winter months. I won't attempt to sugarcoat the many unpleasant and even violently disruptive events that have occurred in recent years at my place of work -- rampant vandalism, drunken disorderly behavior, "misuse" (euphemism of the year!) of computers with internet access, assault, etc. It's all too common in Central, and it can have the unfortunate repercussion of driving patrons away from the positive things our branch has to offer.
Nonetheless, libraries for me have always been a haven. I spent much time in them as a child, and even if I wasn't spending my time as I was supposed to (e.g., checking out fiction or personal interest nonfiction instead of doing research for yet another dull school assignment), I truly felt at home. Where else could an introverted misfit bookworm such as myself bask in the glow of so much literature? (Mind you, this was well before the advent of such big-box bookstores as Borders or Barnes and Noble).
Anyway, I suppose it's no accident that I ended up working in a library, although to be honest I never really considered it as an option prior to taking my current position in March of 2002. So more power to Keillor, more power to me *grin*, and please support your local libraries -- regardless of how many sketchy types you may find hanging out in them on occasion. Libraries are an extremely valuable resource and they must be cherished! Thank you. :-)
