As a result of The Purge a while ago, my bookshelves look, if not sparse, at least well kept. Â There is a general lack of untidiness in the bookal regions of the house and I am digging it. Â In order to keep it this way, we’ve decided to make as much use of the library as we possibly can.The Beamsville Library is housed in a very, very old building on Beam Street. Â It’s been around for 152 years in various incarnations. Â The current library is in the old Town Hall with a relatively new addition. Â It the Fleming Branch, named for the Fleming family who have been active in Beamsville basically since the town started.
There are probably a couple of thousand books. Â Amy remembers going to story hour a couple of times a week with Miss Elisabeth who is still working at the library. Â I picked up three books this time around and I’m planning to go to the Vineland branch and pick up Neal Stephenson’s latest, Anathem.
The concept of the library is fantastic to me. Â Most people do not want to re-read most books at any time. Â I myself have several books that I read over and over but I’m rarely reading all of them at once. Â A conservative estimate of our home library is in the neighbourhood of 400 books, including textbooks and children’s books. Â Most books I read I am happy to read once and then put down forever. Â I thoroughly enjoy the fact that there is a place that will just hand me a book and say ‘go nuts, bring it back when you’re done’ and it’s free. Â Being a frugal (read: cheap) person, this is a great boon to me. Â Not only am I saving money on the books themselves, I am saving money on building shelves to keep said books. Â I am hoping that, as Beamsville gets larger, our public library grows apace and maybe finds a better way of organizing their paperbacks.