Kentucky's annual budget looks to cut 1/3 of funding to libraries, which would force some to close.

"Kentucky is a cultural bastion of intellectual pursuits," said no one ever.

Which explains why Kentucky legislators have proposed cutting state funding to libraries from $7.8 million to $5.3 million, with additional language written into the bill that funding only go toward construction costs--mainly to support government bonds already committed to.

As the Lexington Herald Leader notes, many poor, rural communities that rely heavily on state aid to maintain a library might need to close.

"For the Hickman County library, state aid makes up 57 percent of the budget. For Knott County's library, it's 23 percent. For Livington County's library, it's 22 percent."

Republican lawmakers believe libraries have been receiving too much support while sitting on reserves of cash, as if librarians are Scrooge McDuck diving into a sea of gold coins.

"Some of them are sitting on quite a bit of cash, and I’ve been contacted from a lot of fiscal courts and county judge-executives saying our libraries keep raising taxes and we can’t do anything about it," said House Budget chairman Steve Rudy (R), Paducah.

Yes--those pesky libraries that somehow have the authority to just raise taxes randomly. Happens all the time.

A close approximation of what Kentucky lawmakers think librarians are doing

Some counties are cripplingly poor. As the Herald Leader notes, 22% of Powell County's 12,442 residents live in poverty. They only receive $13,000 in library aid from the state, which covers the cost of electricity, internet services, and programming for adults. Not salaries, not for new books. Just basic functioning of the building.

"In our area, quite a lot of the community doesn't have access to the Internet," one librarian told the newspaper. "You can come to us or you can go to the McDonald's or the Dairy Queen. But the difference is, we don't make you order anything to use the Internet. And not everyone has five bucks to spend around here just to go online."

That's right. The Dairy Queen in town in where all poor children should go to learn after school. Where else can they get internet access AND learn about the culinary delights that is soft serve?

Math was found in a child's library book!

It's so great to see children learning in various STEM areas!

(((re-reads news headline)))

OHHHH, sorry! Meth was found in a child's library book. Meth. Like, the drug. Not math. Small mistake, but I digress.

According to The Tribune-Democrat Newspaper, a 4-year old dropped off a book to the Shanksville-Stonycreek school library (about 80 miles outside of Pittsburgh, PA) packed with a small surprise of meth.

Being a rural town where the biggest crime is burnt cookies and an overcooked noodle casserole, the local police turned over the case to the Pennsylvania State Police, where the investigation is ongoing.

The most stolen book at the San Francisco Public Library is...by a conservative writer?

Typically, the most stolen item anywhere is a matter of demand. People desire it so much, they immediately resort to a little five-finger discount.

Which is why the San Francisco Public Library's most stolen book is curious on the surface. In a city known for its unabashed liberalism, the most stolen book is by a conservative commentator, according to the website The Gate.

"The one author our head of collections has to check regularly and purchase new copies of [are] books by Michael Savage," library spokesperson Kate Patterson wrote in an email to the paper.

"We check once a year to see if all the copies are gone and reorder. We have moved to e-book for most of them, so we can ensure copies are around.  The main title that disappears quickly is 'Liberalism Is A Mental Disorder.'"

First off, if you have to check whether ALL the copies are gone, you might want to check more than once a year.

Secondly, why Savage? Why that book? Are people embarrassed to take the book out? Or do they hate Michael Savage and want to rid the library of his books?

The library told The Gate that books about conspiracy theories and paranormal activity often go amongst the missing--and Savage is often included in the conspiracy theory crowd.

When told he had the most stolen book, Savage said he he was honored, but also questioned why. "Who is stealing it?" he asked. "Is it people who are poor who agree with my message and want it, or is it people taking it out and trashing it to throw it away?"

Eh, both? Neither?

When asked why she thought Savage's books are always stolen, Patterson had a simple reply. "Your guess is as good as ours."

A porn movie was shot in a library. Surprisingly, it wasn't in the "how-to" section.

A porn movie was shot inside a Santa Monica, CA, library recently, largely made up of a woman exposing herself in the aisles.

According to local television station KCBS, the 10-minute clip shows the woman flashing herself outside on the street, then repeatedly in the library, before a quick visit outside a grade school. Needless to say, there's outrage to be had.

"God forbid, a child walked in the library and walked right in on the middle of it. That’s my biggest concern," said Janet McLaughlin, a neighbor, to the television station. "Children don’t need to be exposed to this. If you want to do porn, stick to the hotels."

"The hotels." But I digress.

City officials are aware the video exists, but say it's only a misdemeanor, and that's if they can even figure out who took the video or exposed themselves in the library.

"We have to have laws to stop them from doing things that puts children in harm's way," said McLaughlin.

KCBS reports that McLaughlin was sent the video from another parent that generates revenue by pay-per-click.

It makes one wonder what the other pearl-clutching parent was doing in their spare time to stumble upon the video.

Remember library card catalogs? They're still going strong in parts of Maine.

"Strong" might be a slight exaggeration. But the dusty and old wooden cabinet used to search by title or subject or author, a system that seems anachronistic by today's modern world, still exist in parts of America.

According to the Bangor Daily News, an estimated 25 of the 265 libraries in the state of Maine operate off card catalogs. No electronic filing system to be had, yet no worries either. People get by just fine.

Fort Kent--a tiny town against the Canadian border (and terminus point for US Route 1)--still uses the catalog cards at their library, yet patrons don't mind. "Look at how many books there are here," Louis St. Clement, a visitor told the Daily News. "(The librarian) knows each and every one and where to find it."

Alas, even cozy relics have to make way for technology, so even Fort Kent is slowly changing. For two years, the staff of two librarians have been digitally cataloging every book and periodical and research material, one at a time.

"It's been a labor of love," assistant librarian Cheryl Pelletier told the Daily News. "At one point our computer crashed, so for a year we wrote all the information in notebooks to be entered into the computer later."

Yeah--the computer crashed.

Maybe keeping the card catalog around might be a good idea. Just in case.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library is offering free cherry pie. Because...hey, it's pie?

Being president of the United States doesn't necessarily mean the person holding the office has a discerning palate.

Ronald Reagan cherished jelly beans, while Bill Clinton never met a cheeseburger on the campaign trail he could pass up. Dwight Eisenhower loved his wife's homemade fudge, John F. Kennedy adored New England clam chowder, and Woodrow Wilson enjoyed a good chicken salad.

Today being President's Day, this leads to curious deals and promotions, including the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum offering half-priced admission. And for the first 1,000 visitors, they'll also receive a free piece of cherry pie.

Why cherry pie? Why pie at all? One wonders. You might think the library would choose apple pie (you know, the whole "American as..."), or you might draw a logical conclusion that Nixon must have been obsessed with cherry pie. Except the library doesn't say.

Indeed, as noted on Business Insider, Nixon's favorite go-to food was something far more curious--so curious as to border on the bizarre. Apparently Nixon loved cottage cheese and ketchup. Together. Often as breakfast.

Ketchup. On. Cottage. Cheese.

Try to get that gelatinous culinary horror erased from your mind right now. You can't. That's a visual no one wants to have. And yet here we were thinking Nixon's worst behavior was about Watergate all along.

Beer drinker cracks open a cold one, watches porn at local library.

A Sandusky, OH, man decided to spend a Tuesday night relaxing with a few cold beers while watching porn on a computer.

There was a small problem, though. He was at the local library.

According to the Sandusky Register newspaper, at 7:15pm on February 4th, a resident alerted a police officer that they witnessed a man swigging back some beer and watching XXX material. Sure enough, after the office checked on the boozy book-lover, he found opened and unopened cans of Budweiser around the computer--with some extra cans stashed under the desk. Because you never want to run out once the party's started.

In the end, the man was charged with a minor misdemeanor count of having an open container in a public place and banned from the library for 60-days.

That's right. You, too, can go on a quick porn binge at the library and they'll invite you back in a couple months' time.

Librarian tracked down a list of books that inspired Kobe Bryant. It's only 75% predictable.

If you're a sports fan, you couldn't look for sports scores or stories in the past week without trudging through a media funeral procession for Kobe Bryant. The platitudes...the praise...the scandals...etc., etc., etc. It has been a public performance of artful misery to show you're dutifully depressed. A Sylvia Plath poem is a speedball of cheeriness by comparison.

Luckily, there's the Los Angeles Public Library offering a lighter take!

Keith Kesler, the social media librarian for the institution, searched through public interviews and social media posts for any literary mentions that the basketball superstar uttered. From that, Kesler cultivated a list.

The books Kobe read include:

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
 
“The Illustrated Art of War” Sun Tzu

“Blink” and “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell

“Children of Blood and Bone” Tomi Adeymi

“The Hero’s Journey” Joseph Campbell

“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” Richard Bach

“Lone Survivor” Marcus Luttrell

“Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable” by trainer Tim Grover

“Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike” Phil Knight

“The Silver Linings Playbook” by Matthew Quick

“Sunny” Jason Reynolds

“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin

“Thirty Rooms to Hide In” Luke Sullivan

“Tuff Juice” by former NBA player Caron Butler

Look at Malcolm Gladwell with two books! And Doris Kearns Goodwin gets a shoutout!

I have to admit. I didn't think I'd ever mention Kobe Bryant and Doris Kearns Goodwin in the same sentence during my lifetime. Yet, here we are.

Polish woman caught trying to sneak into the U.S. from Canada...using a library.

The Haskell Free Library straddles the international border between the United States and Canada, with half of the building in Derby, Vermont, and half in Stanstead, Quebec. It's the only library in the world with such a distinction, which we detailed in 2017.

Visitors are allowed to enter the library from either country's entrance, but immigration officials for both the U.S. and Canada park outside their respective sides to make sure whomever enters the library in one country also exits the building in the same country.

Which brings us to this week, where a Polish woman, Julitta Jaka, was dropped off by a random car in Stanstead, walked through the library, and then tried to hail a taxi in Derby.

As Derby is a bustling town of 4,600 people, where cabs are more mirage than reality, this offered ample time for American authorities to arrest Jaka.

It turns out Jaka tried hustling across the border in Niagra Falls earlier in the week, but was simply turned away. After her library hijinks, authorities plan to deport Jaka back to Poland.

Lest you think this is an isolated incident, the Haskell Free Library is a hotbed for international fun. In 2018, a Montreal man was convicted of smuggling over 100 guns from the United States into Canada, where he used the library as his gateway.

Is Derby, VT, just baby Miami? Somewhere, Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas are just cracking down on criminal syndicates in the northern woods.

Gallup Poll: Americans visit the library more than movies, zoos, and museums combined.

That's not the real story here.

Sure, Gallup breaks it down by income (what?!--poor people visit the library more than rich people?!), gender (what?!--men visit sporting events more than women?!), and age (what?--college-aged people use libraries more than middle-aged folk?!).

Mind = blown.

No, no, no. The real news from all of this polling is that people who have children under 18 are nearly twice as likely to visit a "gambling casino"* than those who don't have children. That's the big takeaway.

Questions arise. Are parents looking to win some sweet, sweet casino cash to send little Bobby or Suzie off to college? Maybe they're burning through their retirement after realizing how their progeny turned out? Are they looking for vacation money so they can escape their child?

Or are they bringing the little ones to the casino itself? It is a wonderful world of sights and sounds after all, and little Bobby and Suzie need to earn their keep. Those slots don't spin themselves, y'know?




*"Gambling casino" is Gallup's phrase, which is a little odd. Are there casinos where gambling doesn't occur? Just casual casinos? Casinos where people mingle and eat finger sandwiches and talk about the weather? Because this is how the great Google machine defines casino:

Or is Gallup gambling on redundancy?

Library gives lonely book a day out and about.

Sometimes the most forgotten things are suddenly remembered.

Looking over their database for the most-borrowed book of 2019, the Royal Halloway Library in Egham, England, stumbled upon one bit of sad news: The one book that had gone the longest without being loaned out.

So, they changed that.

The book--There and Back by George MacDonald, originally published in 1891--was given a whirlwind tour, which they detailed on their Twitter account.

Loyal followers. We bring sad news.

As part of our research into the Top 5 Most Borrowed Books 2019 we found that one book hadn't been borrowed for a very long time. It's just been there, collecting dust, staring out the window at other books achieving their book destiny. pic.twitter.com/K8mnzAkxCo

— RHUL Library (@RHUL_Library) January 15, 2020

This could not stand. So we did the right thing, the honourable thing, and took the book out on loan for a day that it would never forget.

Here's what we got up to on our book date with 'There and Back' by George MacDonald. pic.twitter.com/dBvgNbsJ9m

— RHUL Library (@RHUL_Library) January 15, 2020

We took it to all the best spots in the library: the Mezzanine, the Feature Wing. We settled down for a good read on the bridge in the Atrium. You can't say we don't know how to show a book a good time.

It's also a prime spot for keeping an eye on the queue for coffee. pic.twitter.com/eMpiBpSBSx

— RHUL Library (@RHUL_Library) January 15, 2020

The staff became quite smitten with the book during the day with There and Back. And like any true love that develops, it's what's on the inside that matters most:

We used sticky notes to highlight our favourite bits in the book. NOT PEN 😠 as we all know how to be respectful to books.

Whilst the cover is nice, the content is what really makes this book beautiful.

This particular chapter, a triumph! pic.twitter.com/FxoZLo7A8Z

— RHUL Library (@RHUL_Library) January 15, 2020

After a while, they even did a quick twirling video that channeled everything glorious about the Mary Tyler Moore Show intro.

It might be bold, but at the end of the day, we weren't ashamed to admit that we would have made room on the raft for this book. pic.twitter.com/3tXVpYmj9T

— RHUL Library (@RHUL_Library) January 15, 2020

Of course, like most whirlwind relationships, their time together came to a close:

We'd had a great day together and after REMOVING ALL STICKY NOTES 🤨 we put the book in the automatic returns machine.

Speaking for ourselves, we'd certainly be happy with a second borrow. pic.twitter.com/6l8iqD8WYR

— RHUL Library (@RHUL_Library) January 15, 2020

Obviously, now that There and Back was everywhere and back, this means there's a new book that holds the title of going the longest without being borrowed at the Royal Holloway Library.

Sadly, they never mention that book.

Sometimes the most forgotten things remain forgotten.

Teens take over 70 books from a Little Free Library. Library owner wants them back.

Little Free Libraries are all the rage these days in cities large and small. Much like the "leave-a-penny, take-a-penny" trays at grocery stores, the ubiquitous and squat book abodes offer passersby the chance to leave books or take books freely.

Caroline Barnes of Portsmouth, VA, has one such Little Free Library outside her home. She apparently only has the latest hot page-turners, as local teenagers "stole" over 70 books one night recently.

There's the rub, though. It's a Little Free Library after all. You know, the whole "free" angle.

"We put this stamp in the books that says, 'Always a gift, never for sale'," Barnes told local news station WTKR.

But earlier this week her video doorbell caught the teenagers grabbing everything they could get their hands on.

As she told WTKR, "We heard them a little on the video say, 'We are going to sell these,' and and I thought, 'You are stinkers,'" she said.

Well, they might be stinkers, but they're literate entrepreneurial stinkers. Barnes showed the video to her local police, who broke the news to her that law enforcement can't do anything because--uhh, well---you can't "steal" if it's offered for "free."

Also, this being the Commonwealth of Virginia, this means some of the books "stolen" were also Bibles.

"We are hoping maybe they are using some of it for moral guidance because they sure need it," Barnes told the news station, seemingly still unaware how free things logically can't be stolen.

Unless when God said "Thou Shall Not Steal," there was some fine print we all missed about free books not being free.

Proposed Missouri law could land librarians in jail for objectionable material

A Missouri lawmaker has proposed a law aimed at making libraries "safe" for children--a law which critics say could land librarians in jail.

Rep. Ben Baker (R - Neosho*) introduced a bill that would create a five person parental review board to make sure "inappropriate material" does not fall into the hands of minors.

"The main thing is I want to be able to take my kids to a library and make sure they’re in a safe environment, and that they’re not gonna be exposed to something that is objectionable material," Baker told KOAM-TV news.

Missouri must be a hotbed of library hedonism, where the Judy Blume books practically throw themselves at small children.

"I just think that we need to be careful about funding something with our taxpayer dollars without parental consent," Baker said. Indeed, the parental board's decisions on what is or isn't "appropriate" will be final, with no appeal allowed from librarians.

Doubling-down on the legislation, librarians found to "willfully" disobey the board's rulings may be fined $500 or face up to one year of imprisonment in a county jail.

Before you dismiss Representative Baker's bill as being misguided, his own campaign website lists his belief in fighting for "excellence in education" and "defending personal liberties."

Because nothing educates a child quite like taking away their freedom to read a book.



* While Neosho sounds like the name of a futuristic city in some Japanese anime show, it's a small town of around 12,000 people in the southwestern corner of Missouri, down near the Oklahoma and Arkansas borders.

Don't assume it's a backwater no man's land. Its citizens have a multitude of things going for it, including a Walmart, a Taco Bell, and a gnawing sense of desperation and melancholy you just won't find anywhere else.

The New York Public Library released their top-10 most loaned-out books of all-time...

...and the winner is a children's book. The Snow Day by Ezra Jack Keats leads the way.

In fact, most of the list is made up of children's books, which makes sense considering they're a quick read and children tend to mow through books in about five minutes. All the rest of the books on the list are quite short, too, ranging in the 300-page area.

The New York Public Library turns 125-years old in 2020, which means they're looking back at their history. This leads to wondering what books they've loaned out the most in that time. All books on the list are fiction, except one--the 1936 self-help How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

That's right--nebbish Dale Carnegie was an influencer long before Instagrammers wooed the masses and hawked moisturizers and salad mixes. The book was a major draw for decades, even leading Time Magazine in 2011 to award it as one of the 100 most influential books.

So, what cracked the top-10?

The Top Ten:

1.)  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats: 485,583 checkouts

2.)  The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss: 469,650 checkouts

3.)  1984 by George Orwell: 441,770 checkouts

4.)  Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: 436,016 checkouts

5.)  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: 422,912 checkouts

6.)  Charlotte's Web by E.B. White: 337,948 checkouts

7.)  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: 316,404 checkouts

8.)  How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: 284,524 checkouts

9.)  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: 231,022 checkouts

10.)  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: 189,550 checkouts


The Caldecott Medal-winning The Snowy Day was released in 1962, but eight of the ten books listed all came from a window ranging between 1949-to-1969, with only Harry Potter and the aforementioned How to Win Friends as the outliers.

If you're wondering why Goodnight Moon isn't included on the list, not only do you have a curious and discerning taste in children's books, it's because the NYPL's children's librarian Anne Carroll Moore despised the book and refused to have the library carry it for decades. She died in 1961, so by the time the NYPL reaches its 200th anniversary, the book will crack the top-10.

Admittedly, how often are you making Bundt cakes?

It's time to sit down, be honest, and ask yourself: How often am I making Bundt cakes in my everyday life?

Probably not enough, which explains some of the general disappointment people feel around you. Now you can improve everyone's mood by borrowing baking pans of all sorts from the library of all places. Specifically, the Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque, Iowa.

Sure, Dubuque is a bit of a haul for most Americans to visit to borrow a pan, but it's worth it in the end once you realize Bundt cakes en masse are about to come out of your kitchen.

Carnegie-Stout Library Director Susan Henricks tells local TV station KCRG it's all about reaching out to locals. "We're trying to meet people where they're at. Getting them to come in and see what we are like," Hendricks said.

What they're like is deliciousness. Library Bundt cake deliciousness.



If you're wondering why I keep capitalizing the word "Bundt," it's because the word was trademarked by Nordic Ware in the 1950s. "Bundt" is just an Americanization of "bund," which etymologists aren't even sure is authentically German with regard to food, since "bund" largely refers to a federation or alliance. An alliance of deliciousness on our taste buds, perhaps.

California library is using dogs to find hidden bed bugs.

Lover of bites and books.

Who knew bed bugs were such fans of literature? You always figure they're just traveling around hotels, when in reality they're lovers of the literary scene.

The Buena Vista Branch Library in Burbank, CA, has taken to using trained dogs to sniff out hidden bed bugs in its building. The apparent infestation has been going on longer than officials care to admit, so they've taken to using dogs to sniff out the visitors.

"[The department of public works has] tried various techniques, various kinds of sprays and deep cleans, but they're just really hard to get rid of because they could be hiding in books, the carpet or in the [seat] cushions," library services director Elizabeth Goldman told the Los Angeles Times.

"That branch is extremely busy, so there's always warm, welcoming hosts for the bugs sitting in all the chairs," Goldman continued.

Warm, welcoming host. You've probably never been called that while entertaining friends for dinner, but you can now be called it as a bed bug's dream date.

"All was well for about six months, but then, in May, a patron who was sitting in one of our comfy brown chairs had a very strong reaction to some bug bites," Goldman said.

Goldman needs to get into used car sales, because she's somehow selling the appeal of the library despite--you know--bed bugs. Case in point? A "strong reaction to some bug bites" is usually not how one defines a "comfy chair."

In the meantime, the dogs continue their search.

For some reason, 4,800 libraries are getting involved in this solar eclipse craze.

Things just took a turn to sexy town.

Your lifelong dream of donning creative sunglasses and looking like a less cool Ray Charles / Bono / Roy Orbison are about to be over.

With the celestial hysteria amping up regarding the impending August 21st solar eclipse, the Space Science Institute, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Google are collaborating with 4,800 libraries to hand out over two million free pairs of protective eyewear. I'm sure they'll look like a poor man's Ray-Bans.

That said, this map detailing the 4,800 participating locations shows that some libraries are over a thousand miles away from the narrow peak viewing strip and will hardly have much of an eclipse at all. You're apt to harm your eyes as much by looking at a sunset on a partly cloudy day. Or watching Fox News.



Speaking of bubbling hysteria, CNN is now in a partnership with Volvo to "present" the "Eclipse of The Century." Swedish auto manufacturing is a natural relationship to have with astronomy.

The Scottsdale, AZ, library was a little short on DVDs for awhile.

A Scottsdale, AZ, mother of two is facing criminal charges after she tried to pawn 90 DVDs that belonged to the local library. And how did she collect all those DVDs? Like any good parent, she had her children borrow them. You can never start 'em too young!

According to AZCental, Joanna Marie Alvarez had DVDs worth $2,872--suggesting she wasn't pawning PBS documentary specials that retail for $2.99 at the local Family Dollar store.

Alvarez went to SuperPawn in Mesa ("Super" lends an air of sophistication to all of this) with her haul. An employee asked where she got the DVDs, to which Alvarez said at a Scottsdale library yard sale. Considering the DVDs all had the library's name on them, the SuperPawn associate called the library to confirm the priced-to-move yard sale action.

In a police filing, Alvarez said she didn't know pawning the items was illegal, and that she intended to get them back.

Authorities were only able to recoup 77 of the 90 DVDs in the end. After all, those Weekend at Bernie's director's cut DVDs are a hot commodity and don't stick around too long.

Ahhhh, relief.

Like this, except...only one.

Drank too much water? Had the refried beans last night with dinner? Good news if nature calls while you're visiting the North Amherst, MA, library. A port-o-potty is on the way to help you out.

It seems the western Massachusetts hub for books doesn't have a bathroom at its disposal, which leads librarians to send visitors across a busy street to a shopping complex to scope out an available toilet.

Retired elementary school teacher Terry Johnson decided to offer assistance. Knowing that visitors spike in the summer months, Johnson offered to pay the $500-$650 fee of renting a port-o-potty and having it cleaned regularly.

The library actually ignored Johnson's offer at first because they acquired a former auto mechanic shop next door and thought they could modify the bathrooms inside it. Alas, the bathrooms didn't meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, and fixing them wasn't feasible with budgetary constraints. The library was back to square one.

Luckily, Terry Johnson is a seemingly patient and kind woman, as when the town manager, Paul Bockelman, reached out weeks later to ask for the port-o-potty, Johnson still kept her side of the offer. The port-o-potty is on its way to offer relief to all those crossing their legs in anxiety.

Just don't bring a book in with you. There's only one port-o-potty after all, and people gotta go.

The never-ending library.

Through the use of mirrors and architectural design, the Yangzhou Zhongshuge library in Yangzhou, China, creates a mirage of never-ending reading space. It's hypnotic, relaxing, and unique.

Kind of like your local library if it had a budget and, you know...tried.