Now with 75% less Microfilm

This summer, we highly recommend that you revert back to the days of Underoos and go out and get yourself a library card. Not only can you imerse yourself in some fine literature (and stop reading those g.d. Nicholas Sparks "novels." I think that Target must be forcibly stripped of their license to sell the printed word.) but you can also check out some music, rent movies, catch up on periodicals with no subscription fees, enjoy free air conditioning and, perhaps best of all, get yourself some inexpensive education. Most public libraries offer many resources that do not include checking something out at the circulation desk. Now, certainly the size and location of your particular library is going to affect how much or little they offer and on what topics, but usually if your branch isn't offering something interesting, you can check out your county location for some more variety. Here are some of the things that are happening at the Free Library of Philadelphia, just in the two weeks or so:

Seminars for the under- and uninsured
Small Space/City Gardening
Citizenship classes
Poetry Slams for Teens
Programs for developing Financial Responsibility
English as a Second Language
SAT Prep

Some of these are free, some cost a few dollars. Some you have to register in advance, some you can just show up for. None the less, these are viable alternatives to things that are held at much greater cost within the private sphere. Your tax dollars already go to at least partially fund these programs; you should take advantage of these things. Theoretically, once you apply your new knowledge, the minimal registration fees should pay for themselves in the long run. People would be so much less upset at paying taxes if they utilized more of the programs towards which their dollars were funneled. Plus, by educating yourself, you will not only reap the benefits yourself, but so will your community, either by consuming less, creating more, participating more actively, etc. So upgrade your gray matter, 'cause one day it may matter. Bonus points if you are one in a thousand who actually has a hot librarian. (I'm just saying, nerdery is definitely sexy in the right proportions.)

Free Library of Philadelphia
American Library Association

I try not to be one for afterthoughts, but it occurred to me the other day that kids growing up today (and probably even some kids who are already on their way to college, whoa) will never know a true, honest to goodness card catalog. They are doomed to the virtual, digital version forever. I haven't been back to my childhood library in years, but I'll bet the chest of drawers with the oak tag chronicle of volumes is long gone. There was something comforting about the worn note cards where author's names and titles of epic tales were hacked apart due to a lack of physical room on the card. Some of the monikers were badly abbreviated, some were simply divorced of their endings and ended abruptly with a faceless period. Now on my bucket list, my own personal card catalog. --toodles! mikey.