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So I was at the Library...


Libraries function as crucial technology hubs, not merely for free Web access, but those who need computer training and assistance. Library business centers help support entrepreneurship and retraining. ~ Scott Turow In America there is a public library in every community. How many public libraries are there in Africa? Every day there are new books coming out and new ideas being discussed. But these new books and ideas don’t reach Africa and we are being left behind. ~ George Weah I fell in love with reading when I was allowed to choose whatever books I wanted to check out of the library. I was around nine years old when I began choosing my own books in earnest. ~ Adriana Trigiani There were two free public libraries within walking distance of my home; I remember taking six books home from every visit, the limit set by the library. ~ Martin Lewis Perl With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one - but no one at all - can tell you what to read and when and how. ~ Doris Lessing The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history. ~ Carl T. Rowan I remember finding a Houdini book at the library and seeing an image of him chained on the side of a building. He looked so intense and scary, and I couldn’t get that image out of my head. That started building up my love of magic. ~ David Blaine I took up a sort of a hobby of just hanging around the local library. I’d pick out an author and I would read all their books. ~ Tom T. Hall I always tell people that I became a writer not because I went to school but because my mother took me to the library. I wanted to become a writer so I could see my name in the card catalog. ~ Sandra Cisneros There’s no architect who doesn’t want to build a library - and I am no different. With so much scrutiny now attached to reading - because of technology and how we approach it as a social activity - that is a very exciting area in architecture. ~ Annabelle Selldorf I’m living two blocks away from this library - and I don’t know why I was so elated about this - but I’m in my mesh jogging shorts in the elevator and I saw that my book ‘Swamplandia!’ was their book club selection. And I was over the moon. ~ Karen Russell If there’s a 13- or 14-year old kid who is yearning for something beyond the social forces in his own world, in his own neighborhood, the library is the only place where he can go to find that. It was exciting and thrilling to me all the time I worked in the library. It’s such a force for social good and it can do so much. ~ Gary Ross My father was an engineer - he wasn’t literary, not a writer or a journalist, but he was one of the world’s great readers. Every two weeks, he’d take me to our local branch library and pull books off the shelf for me, stacking them up in my arms - 'Have you read this? And this? And this?' ~ Janet Fitch I was that weird kid that checked out all of the non-fiction paranormal studies books from the library. I’ve always been fascinated by the supernatural, particularly movies and TV shows that manage to blend humor with the horror - ‘Supernatural’, ‘Buffy’, ‘Angel.’ ~ Molly Harper I read all the time. I love it. My fantasy would be to be locked into a library. I’d be very, very happy. ~ Pink Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay. ~ Zadie Smith A library is a place that is a repository of information and gives every citizen equal access to it. That includes health information. And mental health information. It’s a community space. It’s a place of safety, a haven from the world. ~ Neil Gaiman

Going on Vacation? Suspend Your Holds!

Picture this: You're lounging at a remote beach in the Caribbean. Suddenly you realize you have holds available at the library. Oh, the humanity!

Luckily, you can suspend holds that are not available yet. You still rise up the hold queue when the hold is suspended, but it doesn’t become available until the “unsuspend” date.

Here's how you do it:

  • Log in to My Account.
  • Click on the Holds tab.
  • Select the title you'd like to suspend and click the "Suspend Hold(s)" button at the bottom of the list.
  • Enter the start and end dates for the suspension.
  • To cancel your hold suspension, select the title you'd like to unsuspend and click the "Cancel Hold Suspension(s)" button at the bottom of the list.

Awesome!

Why We Do What We Do

A PPLD staff member was at the Walmart across the street this afternoon when a cashier approached her and said (with tears in her eyes).

“I just wanted to thank you for being so kind to me. It’s because of you that I got this job here. I was at the library some time ago and you let me use the computer, even though my card was blocked. I needed to fill out the application for this job, and I did, and I got it! I was on the verge of homelessness and hopelessness when I came into your library, and because of you my life is better. Thank you so much!”