I was fifteen minutes too late; my local branch closed early due to ongoing heating and water problems–that I learned today are because the school next door actually controls the plumbing and HVAC system. Sigh.
Twenty minutes later a bus dropped me off at the Parkway Central Library. The building is a neo-classical treasure (technically in the Beau Arts style), maybe a little worse for wear in spots but still awe-inspiring and curiosity-triggering.
The contents of the building can be equally inspiring and a little more quirky. A few of the curiosities I encountered today included a free-to-take *seed* catalog, an original Maxfield Parrish with blues too intense and layered for digital justice, the current exhibit about book censorship, and … working typewriters for some very analog clack-clack-clack enjoyment.
I knew it was time to head home when the three grandfather clocks in the Rare Books Department struck Five–at more or less the same time. Differing ages, variations in climate, and the fact that the librarian winding the clocks every morning takes a few minutes to get them all means there’s no atomic clock precision.
Never been to the Parkway Central Library? Go.
Have a favorite library you think I should visit? Tell me!