I suppose I should write about warm wooden tables and dark interiors, walls lined with heavy shelves that stretch from floor to ceiling, cozy nooks to hide and read in, quiet, peace, the endless options for learning or for escaping into a fictitious world.
I do love all those things about libraries. These new modern libraries with shiny white walls, giant atriums, minimalist archictecture and bright Ikea-inspired decor — they don’t speak to me. They don’t make me want to stay and cozy up. They feel cold and sterile, and they are noisy. I want warmth and muffled sound from a library.
But that’s not really what I want to write about. Library means something different to me now. Library doesn’t mean a place I drive to so that I can browse and check out books. Library means the suite of books stored on my nook. It means lightweight, easy to hold, no-car-needed access to any literature I could ever want. It means instant gratification when I finish a book and don’t yet have another. It means nonfiction during the day and fiction at night, without having to carry more than one book. It means I can carry Lonesome Dove and Gone With the Wind, and Pillars of the Earth, and they weigh ounces instead of pounds. It means readable without having to turn a light on, so I can read in bed without keeping my husband up.
To me, library now means portable. Library means the collection of books I carry in my purse.
Butterfly Mind 
True, though I confess I prefer the physical weight of a good book (and the heavy type are also good for propping open doors and tables, sorry, couldn’t resist). 🙂
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Never thought I would be carrying my own little library in my purse, but going on a year now and still loving the lightness! Also fun to me that no one really knows what I am reading anymore since the covers don’t give me away!
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I agree! I do love the portability and space saving storage of my digital library, though I will say that the feel of a book, the smell of the paper and ink, and as you said, the warmth and muffled sound of a library and even the smell of coffee in a quaint bookstore engages more of my senses and brings me a greater reading enjoyment. Even so, I pack my portable library with me everywhere.
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Have not tried that yet. I spent much of my childhood at the library. There wasn’t any nosie then.
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I have a kindle to read on. And because I don’t live in an English speaking country it also saves me a lot of time waiting for the book to be sent from USA to the place I live. However, I still really like how holding a book feels.
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I LOVE “traditional libraries” but I also love the library I can take with me on my devices. Nothing will ever replace the smell of old pages on a rainy day, though.
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