On the Virtues of Public Libraries

I passed the New York City Public Library's Morningside Heights branch constantly last year, always promising myself I'd stopped in and get a card. Now that I have a slightly slower lifestyle, I've finally made good on the promise, albeit at a different location. And I have to say, the downtown location of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library is impressive. Not only is in a beautiful old building (a WPA project like so many public buildings of its era) with an amazing glass and steel addition, it also has a DVD sections that rival most Blockbusters and thousands of CDs. It's right near that courthouse, so I often swing by for lunch, grab a sandwich in the basement cafe, and check out some "AV" materials. I still tend to purchase my books, but fortunately, some books that a withdrawn from circulation are on sale in the gift shop for $1-2.

Why did I have to move to a small city before I started using the library? Was it just the Kim's Mediapolis was open late?