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September 30, 2004
The New York Public Library
There are few finer institutions or values for your tax dollar than the New York Public Library, even for those who hate to read. Anyone who lives or works in New York City can get a library card, which means millions of commuters have it at their fingertips. Best of all, you can search the catalogues on line from the comfort of your New Jersey home and arrange to pickup your items at a convenient branch. If you are eligible for a card, and haven't bothered to get one, this is what you are missing:
1) Thousands of CDs, covering all genres and periods, music and spoken word. Yes, there are hard to find classical labels like HatArt. Yes, you can check these out for up to three weeks and renew them as well.
2) Thousands of videos and DVDs that you can check out for a week. There are also extensive holdings of other films that you can arrange to watch on site.
3) Educational videos and tapes. Take that course in Ancient Greek you have been putting off for so long.
4) Hundreds of books on tape. Handy for airplanes and long commutes.
5) Access to thousands of newspapers, magazines, journals and other databases. Several of these are available via the web. Just enter your card number and go. Search then email results to yourself to download and read on your Palm.
6) Books.
Visit the library. Donate, too. NYC has other bills to pay. The library can use your spare change. You will get your money's worth.
Posted by apc at September 30, 2004 12:45 AM