Libraries

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.
– Jorge Luis Borges”

There is no greater satisfaction than opening up a book and losing yourself in it for hours.My mother would take my brother and me to the library at least weekly. I would walk between the shelves, running my fingers across the bindings, gazing over the titles and breathing the smell. The smell of a thousand worlds colliding into one single space, allowing me to travel expansive distances and creating new lands in my mind. I was lucky to have well funded libraries (thank you rich old ladies) near me, that provided not only for books, but great library architecture. What I mean by library architecture is that the building itself lended itself to the enjoyment of reading. The Burlingame library had a spiral staircase that would lead you to the 3rd floor and the “tower”. Here, within the tower, there was big leather chair that had the perfect “sag” to curl up in. It sat underneath a round window, allowing for natural light to peek over your shoulder and read alongside you.
The San Mateo library had a classic 1960s look to it-so nothing that great about it. But just enough frump to make it neat. The library has now been rebuilt and expanded. It is beautiful, but needs a couple more years to make it look more worn in