It’s really no secret that I’m a library junkie.
Benefit: this addiction comes in handy when saving money for travel.
The internet teems with free blog posts and paid-for subscriptions that, at the end of the day, leave me wishing for more depth and/or less fees.
So I instead turn to my local library and its ridiculously vast collection of paper-in-the-hands resources with tables-of-contents, indexes and glossaries, coffee table books with rich photos, DVDs featuring footage and histories of far off lands, and, yes, user-friendly how-to guides to accompany me on my let’s-make-friends mission with the camera.
And let us not forget the other beautiful thing about the library: free wi-fi sans coffee purchase. I’ve found this perfect perch, next to the spinning globe at my little Belmont Branch of the Multnomah County Library. While Ted has been finishing up his last few weeks of work and we’ve been commuting back into Portland from my family’s home in the country, I’ve been carpooling with him and finding digital work spaces to use during the day.
Must remember this library hack when we’re abroad. (Also, it turns out the National Library in Buenos Aires provides guided tours in Spanish and English. Who knew? Maybe I can score a card and stash it alongside the one I received at the Library of Congress in D.C.?)
If I seem a little over the top about libraries, it’s because I am. Continue Reading…