Today was a day that was preposterously beautiful: the world was full of light and everything shone brightly; the clouds were like guests from a fairy-world. When the sun set, it filled the sky with tongues of hot-pink flame. So I didn't take a picture of it; it would have been in vain.
I was fascinated instead by the card catalog. Since the days of Google and electronic catalogs, I approached have card catalogs with an air of awe and trepidation. How did scholars of old do it? I mean, it worked when I was in elementary school and was researching the polio vaccine - I looked up "Salk, Jonas," and "poliomyelitis" - but how would I function now that I'm so used to WorldCat and Ebscohost and multiple search terms? The sheer majesty of this library's card catalog system inspires admiration and reverence - both for the librarians who made it and the scholars who relied on it.
3 comments:
What a wonderful shot. I have always, always loved a library card drawer, myself.
I'm a fan too - the promise of information. Great shot.
You are so right. I don't know how they did it. The more you think about it the more amazing it is.
I love your description of the day and the sky. Very poetic. The beauty of the sky is beyond capture.
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