Nothing Like a Good Library

Yeah, I know -- the true geek comes out when you make travel commentary on a local library, but the reality is there's nothing like a good, relaxing visit to a quality library. Particularly when you've already exhausted the local options.

The downtown public library here in Little Rock is one of those such spaces, and the friends of the library bookstore next door (OK across the parking lot, but it seems next door). It also afforded me the chance to do a little reviewing on Manjoo Farhad's True Enough -- a book I'd struggled to find sitting on anyone else's books shelf.

The CALS (Central Arkansas Library System) is also the home to a real hidden gem -- the Jay Miller Aviation Collection. Jay had one of the largest private collections of aviation books, real obscure texts and primary documents like NOTAMs and FAA regs.

Not the first time a road library has come to the rescue. The Nashville, Tenn., downtown branch got me up close with Neil Postmann's Amusing Ourselves to Death before I could find my own copy through the used books store system.

Rating libraries by the recent visits:

Nashville downtown (which also has one of the best little brassaries located inside the building)
Seattle downtown (fabulous architecture)
Little Rock downtown (I even liked the old location away from the new sparkling River Walk building)