Literature Is Not Dead

It is a fact generally observable by all that the world is filled with idiots and boors including (but not limited to) people who place perspiring beverages on antique wood surfaces, women waiting in line at the bank who declare loudly that the tellers should “stop checking their email and help customers” and individuals in blue Hondas that make right turns from the center lane without using a turn signal. However, since I find myself lucky enough to abide in the richest nation on Earth, I cannot justify complaining, even if I have to share said nation with said idiots and boors.

Instead I shall point out the delightful. The public library (at least its incarnation in Baltimore, the Enoch Pratt) not only offers a variety of books and videos for free, it also offers classes, research assistance, and expensive databases, all for free.

Since free is the price point at which I prefer most things, I found this exceedingly exciting. If only I had known while laboring on research projects at school that public librarians were eagerly awaiting the chance to do my homework for me, I would have lived a happier if slightly less educational youth.

I just took a class on grant researching and writing at the Enoch Pratt and it was wonderful. I also learned the library has a collection of sport memorabilia, a collection of old menus from Baltimore restaurants, and even a lock of Poe’s hair!

Though the world seems at times exclusively comprised of the idiots and boors, the truth is that they are just the most salient, often because they nearly run you over in their blue Hondas. So, stay nimble and you will make it safely in the library’s doors, to find that inside they offer, free of charge, the chance to forget the idiocy outside.