My Julia Book is in Libraries

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2023-12-06 16:30:01

I’ve made countless amazing discoveries in libraries. I don’t know where I’d be without them. During my elementary school years, I walked to one of two public libraries near our apartment on the Lower East Side to do my homework or seek entertainment. In high school I learned how to perform research at one of the world’s great resources for scholars, the beautiful Main Branch of the New York Public Library.

Soon after I encountered the unique charms of university libraries. I remember sliding an interesting looking volume off the stacks and finding that it was printed in the 1700s. I didn’t know if it was an oversight to leave such a thing thus exposed, but I didn’t tell anyone. I carefully browsed the compact packet of history in my hands, and slid it gently back onto the shelf. I love the Internet, but some forms of knowledge will always be beyond its reach.

Cousins to academic libraries are those maintained by other kinds of institutions. The well-stocked library at the Naval Research Laboratory was a good friend during my internment there. They had rows and rows of bound scientific journals stretching back to the 19th century; another example of invaluable physical contact with history.