Norman Public Library, Y U NO like good books?

I went to the Norman Public Library today.

It was weird.

The end.

Not really. But I wasn't very impressed, and I've decided to rant about it. Libraries should be filled with every single kind of book that you may possibly want to read, accompanied by knowledgable 100 year old librarians who can find exactly what you need. Also dark corners where they keep all of the forbidden books and various other treasures and/or a secret tunnel to HoneyDuke's Candy Shop.

Instead, I found a dreary building that smelled funny, with some umm...interesting? people playing on the library's computers for entirely too long, and none of the books I wanted in were in stock, or even recognized by the unhelpful librarian. It was disheartening. It seemed like the citizens of Norman didn't really take their library as a resource, instead it's just a place filled with books. It also made me realize that libraries could be a thing of the past in a few years. With everything moving online, the possibilities of having online libraries around the country fill me with excitement and sadness. I'm excited for this possibility of online only libraries for convienice. Sometimes I can't make it to the library for weeks at a time, being able to download a book for free instantly sounds legit. I'm sad because there is something special about going to the library and finding the perfect book off the shelf. I'm sad because I enjoy judging books by their cover, and I like being able to read on the couches in the library. Except not the Norman Public Library couch, which was occupied by a screaming toddler and his bratty sister who may or may not have gone to the bathroom on the couch. (Her face made me nervous).

I wish we could have a nice, huge library. Like the one that the Beast showed Belle in his castle. But the sad reality is that many people don't like going to the library, and how beneficial a good library can be for so many reasons. Instead of concentrating on reading good books and learning, kids like to watch Spongebob Squarepants and go to the movies instead. Not that there is anything wrong with either of those things, but why not squeeze in a little bit of library time each week? Even if parents don't enjoy reading books, they should still be taking their children to the library at least a few times a year.

I think the harsh lessons I learned today at the library that were that A) People don't treat the library with respect, which I hate and B) Nobody wants to go to the library anymore. It's sad because an important part of the learning culture is a library, and generation after generation of people stop remembering that libraries still exist. What will that turn into? And what kind of consequences will come out of this new predicament?

I'm writing an anonymous letter to NPL about their couch. It needs to go.