Today is Dewey Decimal System Day. My brother asked me if kids still learn the Dewey Decimal System (DDS) in school and I honestly don't know. I know there are still shelves and shelves of books in my favorite library that are arranged numerically according to the DDS but I don't know if they actually learn the system in school or just how to Google it. Some things just aren't the same as they used to be in the library. Computers have replaced the card catalog. Bar codes that can be scanned for checking out your books (a do-it-yourself process) have replaced the date due stamped card which the librarian carefully slid into the pocket pasted inside the book cover. The librarian of my youth remembered my father coming into 'her' library and reading every book in the place, which made me feel right at home. While I nostalgically miss some things about the libraries of my youth (I was a library volunteer in high school), there are lots of things I really do appreciate about today's library. Being able to renew checkouts by phone or on line, large print books, curb side pickup, 3-D printers, a coffee shop, and an amazing children's section are just a few of the wonders of the modern library. Then or now, I am addicted to the library, and did I mention it's all FREE!! Well. except for the 3-D printer.
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