Libraries.  A place of learning and a repository of knowledge.  The other day I visited one of our local branches with my son and grandchildren.  While he was returning books and looking for new ones I strolled around the place.  I had not been in this particular branch in over a decade.  I was surprised at how open it was.  Lots of free space.  The shelves were half covered with books.  The children’s section was huge.  Several people were on computers playing games or web browsing.  There was the large section of movies and audiobooks.  I made my way to the actual book collection.  The fiction section was the dominant part with just a small part for non-fiction.  As I browsed the fiction books, I noticed many contemporary authors and multiple copies of their books.  I walked through the aisles looking for classics or time-honored works.  I am a firm believer in classics.  They give us a good litmus test to judge contemporary works.  After going up and down all the rows of books I walked up to the desk to ask for some help.  The young lady behind the counter was very pleasant and seemed eager to help me. …