A Trip to the Library

It used to be that a visit to the library was something to celebrate. One wandered the stacks, picking up fascinating volumes at random, discovering whole fields and respected authors one had never heard of. The knowledge was right there, between the covers of books, many books in a row all on the same subject.

Now, I have occasionally visited the Ohio State University library. It hasn’t changed much, and the experience I described can still be had there. In fact, it has grown, and while many of the stacks have moved off campus to a special facility, a massive selection remains for browsing.

But at the once-enormous Columbus Metropolitan Library, regarded as one of the best less than twenty years ago according to the Hennen’s American Public Library Rating, everything has changed.

I had to visit the main library because I needed access to the Foundation Directory (for fundraising for the Knowledge Standards Foundation). Access was available only on the premises. When I arrived, I was greeted, well, strangely: two or three librarians stood next to modern check-out desks, looking (could it have just been my imagination?) hungrily at the visitors, eager to have someone to help. I told them the reason for my visit and they said I would need a library card. It seems my old library card number was no longer recognized in the system, so a new one was issued on the spot. The librarians were helpful and the procedure was quick and easy.

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