The largest library I've ever been in was my first university's library. Four floors, east, central, and west, and two half-floors (1A and 2A) that I would get lost in often. My second university's library was much simpler: two floors. My home town? Two floors. St. Louis? Two floors and a basement. Nashua? One floor and a basement. With the exception of St. Louis (where it was just one branch in a larger system), every space was full of books. It wasn't anything like the movies where they have rows of desks and all the books are on large shelfs along the walls.

Today I went to the Boston Public Library. Holy hell! It's like nothing I've ever seen. At first I couldn't figure out where to find the books! Everything was statues and sculptures and murals and marble. There were two lion statues in honor of the 2nd Massachusetts infantry that fought in the civil war. There was a French mural discussing the Muse.

I wanted to take lots and lots of pictures. I was less impressed at how few books they really had. I couldn't help but look at the shelves and think, Nashua has more books than this! Then I turned a corner. What? The library continues on for a city block? Oh, okay, so there are more books. I get what you're saying.

Wow. Just, wow. You know those rooms in the movies where there are rows of desks and a vaulted ceiling that's at least two stories tall? Yeah, I walked through that today.