Went to do some library business, return books, renew books, and find Spook Country by William Gibson. It was listed as available at the North Austin Branch on the 5700 West block of North Avenue - since it happens to be the nearest CPL to my house- off I went.
It's one floor, with a children's side and the adult area. Pretty small collection of fiction but I found the book I was looking for, and a few more new books of note. This branch had a large collection of fiction and non fiction that was marked with a label to indicate African American content or interest. The books without that designation filled about 2 standard library bookcase sections. I saw a few people chatting with the clerks and talking about books they enjoyed. When I wanted to use the online catalog though, I was directed to a computer without a mouse or keyboard, and another library employee had to find one and attach it- at that point the computer had to go through its set up routine, and I didn't feel like waiting. Not sure if noone uses the catalog, or it was just a problem for that day? Seems like that's basic equipment to have operational.
That stretch of North Avenue is like a ribbon heading east into Chicago and Lake Michigan, and then all the way west to the end of suburbia in Geneva. It's a workaday library on a commercial avenue- no frills, but gets the job done.
1 comment:
I like the image of North Avenue as a ribbon and this library serving its function and quietly witnessing all that traverses that stretch.
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