My first post in this thread was suddenly realising how much something had changed, but this one is about how something has not changed, and is in its own way just as surprising given everything else. It requires a bit of emplanation, though.
The town of Alstead, New Hampshire is very small - if the population is over 5000 it would be shocking - but thanks to having been home to a rich old coot in the 1920s or so, it has a prety nice junior high school of its own, and a simply amazing (if small) public library, a beautiful building in the greek style, as in "built from massive blocks of stone to last for not less than 2000 years." The floor and four massive columns supporting a central dome are made out of pinkish-yellow marble, and all the furniture is dark-finished oak. It is, perhaps, sixty feet by ninety at the foundation, and the walls are two or three feet thick. The collection, obviously, is minited, even though it has a full basement as well as the main floor. The accoustics are such that any sound in the place is audible rom the (circular) librarians' desk under the dome, but speaking there doesn't carry to the stacks or reading tables. The area directly behind the desk from the front doors is dedicated to close-set stacks for the more serious works, while the casual reading books are in wings on either side, kids' to the right and adult to the left. Due to space considerations, there's only one catalog computer in either side, thoguh there's a few more for more general use downstairs, in the event/reading room.
This building, with the "back" stacks extended ala L-Space, is esssentially my vision of heaven. An eternal early afternoon with nothing to do but browse the stacks, in that confortable period when lunch has settles but you're not yet feeling peckish for dinner, in a quiet, cool place surrounded by the scent of books and the sound of pages turning, occasionally lunctuated by footsteps on the marble floor or the soft murmur of someone checking out a selection, and all the books that ever were or are or will be or might be (for such the back stacks surely seemed when I was a child) accessible if you just find the right way to walk down and across and back and around and down the same aisle except it's not the same at all. Music players allowed but only with headphones, and if you'e got them turned up enough that other people can still hear your selections the librarian will kindly but firmly ask you to turn it down. Firm chairs at the desks for sitting with good posture and taking notes if you want. Comfy cushioned nooks built into the walls by the widpows, for just loungnig about and reading.
Bliss.
Surely no city of gold or angelic choir could compare. Even 17 (or is it 23? I can never remember) virgins, while they might be more initially distracting, wouldn't be anywhere near as relaxing when they all started getting mood swings and craving chocolates.
- CD, will probably wonder why on earth I posted this in the morning, but it feels very right and significant at the moment
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
The town of Alstead, New Hampshire is very small - if the population is over 5000 it would be shocking - but thanks to having been home to a rich old coot in the 1920s or so, it has a prety nice junior high school of its own, and a simply amazing (if small) public library, a beautiful building in the greek style, as in "built from massive blocks of stone to last for not less than 2000 years." The floor and four massive columns supporting a central dome are made out of pinkish-yellow marble, and all the furniture is dark-finished oak. It is, perhaps, sixty feet by ninety at the foundation, and the walls are two or three feet thick. The collection, obviously, is minited, even though it has a full basement as well as the main floor. The accoustics are such that any sound in the place is audible rom the (circular) librarians' desk under the dome, but speaking there doesn't carry to the stacks or reading tables. The area directly behind the desk from the front doors is dedicated to close-set stacks for the more serious works, while the casual reading books are in wings on either side, kids' to the right and adult to the left. Due to space considerations, there's only one catalog computer in either side, thoguh there's a few more for more general use downstairs, in the event/reading room.
This building, with the "back" stacks extended ala L-Space, is esssentially my vision of heaven. An eternal early afternoon with nothing to do but browse the stacks, in that confortable period when lunch has settles but you're not yet feeling peckish for dinner, in a quiet, cool place surrounded by the scent of books and the sound of pages turning, occasionally lunctuated by footsteps on the marble floor or the soft murmur of someone checking out a selection, and all the books that ever were or are or will be or might be (for such the back stacks surely seemed when I was a child) accessible if you just find the right way to walk down and across and back and around and down the same aisle except it's not the same at all. Music players allowed but only with headphones, and if you'e got them turned up enough that other people can still hear your selections the librarian will kindly but firmly ask you to turn it down. Firm chairs at the desks for sitting with good posture and taking notes if you want. Comfy cushioned nooks built into the walls by the widpows, for just loungnig about and reading.
Bliss.
Surely no city of gold or angelic choir could compare. Even 17 (or is it 23? I can never remember) virgins, while they might be more initially distracting, wouldn't be anywhere near as relaxing when they all started getting mood swings and craving chocolates.
- CD, will probably wonder why on earth I posted this in the morning, but it feels very right and significant at the moment
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows