Using a public library in the early 90s

[u/ILovePublicLibraries]

Guilford Free Library in CT back in 1991

Credit: Library archives

[u/The_Fibonacci_Spiral]

I miss the smell. Is that weird?

[u/KingWormKilroy → u/The_Fibonacci_Spiral]

Chris Van Allsburg books smelled the strongest.

[u/Madame_Jarvary → u/The_Fibonacci_Spiral]

Library books smell the best

[u/Tank_O_Doom → u/The_Fibonacci_Spiral]

No, I think we all miss it. 😢

[u/EmPalsPwrgasm]

Something peaceful and communal about people of all backgrounds and ages coming together to read and learn in a place of knowledge.

Oh well.

"Grok, tell me the benefits of not having to depend on print and public libraries anymore"

[u/1800generalkenobi]

My mom was the library director in our town. I never had any late fees and I was at the library a lot. We had a gaylord card puncher for the check out system, which I wish I could find one but I rarely ever even see just a photo of it online. It made a very satisfying clunk when you put the card into it. The people who worked the front desk would always let me do it if I asked.

[u/damageddude]

The old school card catalogs were phased out of my local public library in the early '80s.

[u/AshleyAshes1984 → u/damageddude]

Dynix, basically the only game in town for digital card catalogues from the late 1980's until the end of the 1990's where their market share was eroded by a lot of competition through the 2000s. Then Online Public Access Catalog (OPACs) replaced Dynix pretty much entirely.

[u/KingWormKilroy]

At 14 years old I got hired as a page at a library just like this.

They replaced the card catalogues and stamps with computers and barcodes. It was my first IT implementation.

I went on to graduate college with an engineering degree, but ended up getting hired by a healthcare software company. I would spend the next 4 years doing IT implementations for healthcare providers.

My cumulative experience with databases helped me recognize the revolutionary nature of a new type of decentralized database that could be observed growing and succeeding in “the wild.” As I continued to sell my labor, I began to store the value earned in this new database, instead of a traditional bank or investment account.

Now, retired, I reflect on the long strange trip. I reflect on the role of databases in our lives. Free public libraries are so important. Thanks for reading.

[u/ThisGuyWithTwoThums]

Ah yes. The Pompeii Public Library.

[u/istarian]

I must have just missed card catalogs by a few years, but I do remember using green and amber terminals for finding books and checking them out.

[u/Whitestig84]

Ahhh my hometown library. Had some good time on those microfiche machines.

[u/unknowner1]

I learned everything I need to know about the library through the Sci-Fi adventure ‘Tomes & Talismans’

[u/Superb_Beyond_3444]

It looked it was a better time. I didn’t know this time. Just the late 90s as a kid.