Library Distractions (They're Fun, I Swear)

Hey guys, super quick post because I'm leaving the library for the day... (woot!).

Anyway, today I have been in the library all day (Did I mention that?). While I was here I had to pick up some pretty old books which I didn't want to mark up with sticky notes. Instead of this, I had to grab some old card catalogue cards. For you students who probably don't know what a card catalogue is, it is a system that used to be used to organize libraries. Most libraries use computers now to put things in the right spot, like Mrs. Walton does at RGNS. Anyway, big libraries like Alderman have a SURPLUS of old cards for cataloguing. Here at Aldy, they use the cards as scratch paper or bookmarks. I love picking these things up when I go look for books-- just to read them. They catalogue and sort all kinds of things from all kinds of places They are like historic fortune cookies. You can get a really neat idea of something just by reading its bibliographical info. Plus, they've all been typed by a typewriter, which is kind of cool looking-- especially when they are old and book-smelly and turning yellow (not kidding). Here are some of the cards I picked up today (they were in alphabetical order, hence the Ns and Os):

NC!!: "North-Carolina magazine; political, historical and miscellaneous. v.1, no.1l August 1813."

From the French Revolution... In French: "Opinion d'un ami de la constitution, sur l'enlevement du roi. Du vingt-cinq juin 1791."

From England in the 16th c?? (LOOK AT THE SPELLING): "[Openshaw, Robert]
Short questions and answeares, contayning the summe of Christian religion... London"

Also, as a really quick side note, if you ever get a chance to go into a big university library, go to a periodicals floor. You can find some pretty neat stuff down there. For instance, you could pick up a periodical like the old Saturday Evening Post or Life. Though documents like these are really helpful for research, they can also just be interesting to browse through. When I need a break from reading for work, I like to look at the old advertisements to see what people were buying or how much stuff cost. And, it's just awesome to look at things like this in their actual original form, too! I like to read and pretend that someone, say back in the 1950s, picked up this exact copy at the newsstand. More on this later... I've found some neat stuff I want to show you all.

Off to the swimming pool to teach some swim lessons.

Miss P, Out.