Making Use of the Public Library

I live in a relatively small, suburban city that does not have an apparent central Art's District hub where creative energies flock like major cities. The closest areas for art inspiration are usually the laid back independently-owned tea shops or coffee lounges where local artists hang their art prints on the wall to sell. I do enjoy seeing relatively unknown names getting their work displayed.

The obvious trouble with living in a smaller community is that it is difficult to figure out where all the comic lovers hang out. Given that the creation of comics is not traditionally a social endeavor since a lot of the creation process is done alone, I find my quest to find a social circle of people who enjoy the moderately antisocial activity of drawing webcomics unfulfilled.

The one outlet that I am very pleased about is that there are two public libraries in my city that carry an extensive collection of comic books and graphic novels. It had been too long since I had read printed comics before I started frequenting the library. It gives my eyes a chance to rest from staring at a back-lit screen all day. I love online comics, but I am sure my vision has dropped at least one point from the amount of comics I read from a computer screen. I am currently reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman series from the library and it is awesome. The other benefits of using a public library to read is that it is free (as long as I do not incur a late payment charge), it is not frowned upon like reading in a bookstore without paying, and I can renew the books up to two times until I finish reading them.

Sure my town does not have any arrows pointing to a comic community fan-base, but they do have a nicely stocked library for any comic-thirsty fan.

When was the last time you went to your local public library?
Does the library in your hometown carry a drool worthy comic collection?


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