A trip to the library

It was warm at lunch, and I didn’t really feel like staying in. What to do? How about a field trip to the brand new Cherry Hill Library!

(My stars, the wonders I could do if unleashed on their website…)

I don’t remember the old Cherry Hill Library. I used to frequent the Voorhees branch of the Camden County library – now called the M. Allan Vogelson branch. (Judge Vogelson officially divorced my parents. Some names stick with you) . The “Vogelson” was a spiffy place to be in the mid 70s. Thirty years later, it looks the same. Ratty orange carpet, dinged up shelves. You expect to turn the corner and see the Bradys in the children’s section and the Sweathogs trying to find porn on the Pentium IIs.

But this new library (price: $21 million)…I could move in. There’s a scuplture on the lawn outside called “Sunday morning.” It’s composed of two figures, male and female, sprawled on the grass reading the Sunday newspaper. The New York Times, mind you. Not the paper that’s actually published in Cherry Hill!!!!

Right next to the latest releases section, there is a fireplace and leather chairs. The whole place is a wifi hotspot. The reference room is dotted with flat-screen monitors and has private rooms with doors for study groups. In the A/V section, there is a table full of gorgeous Macs running the lastest OS for your movie and music sampling pleasure. (Hm…what’s the difference between borrowing a CD from the library and copying it and downloading tracks from the internet?)

Children’s section? Whatever! It’s the entire third floor. The kiddies have their own fireplace, and miniaturized versions of the adults’ leather chairs. Only in cloth.

Oh, did I mention the COFFEE SHOP? With pastries and sandwiches? And the outdoor patio?

But I neglected the best part….there are self-checkout stations! All I had to do was:

1. Touch “Start” and scan the barcode on my brand new library card
2. Put my book on a magnetic pad. The pad reads a sensor in the book and displays the title on the screen. This works with a stack of more than one book.
3. Touch”Okay” when I see the books’ names.
4. Touch “Receipt” to print out a receipt with the due dates. Voila!

(toys around with the idea of becoming a librarian so I can go work there…kinda like moving in…I can be organized…I can be a hot librarian…)

I checked out I am Charlotte Simmons. It’s due a week from today. It’s huge.

In other news, I’m still fighting my cough and feeling beat.

And I now have an RSS 2.0 feed for those of you who wish to read me w/o the hassle of visiting my site. Still working on the Disney trip Top Seven in between Nyquil doses.