Where would you live?

Very quickly when I look at this prompt, I pick Library.  Although museums and zoos are places that I like to visit, I think a library is more in line with my daily life.  I am a reader.  Perhaps it wouldn't be untrue to claim to be a voracious reader.  I've been known to read multi-100's of pages in an afternoon, and have to ability to finish large books in a day or two (when the time is right and the book is interesting)  Living in a library would ensure that I had access to many many books.  Libraries are store-houses of books, so there would be a collection of my old familiar favorites that I could re-read over and over.  There would also be a steady stream of newly published books that would available each month.  With new library trends, there are also electronic books available for sharing, so I could even bring my Kindle (although, I'm not a book snob like some people who have forsworn print books in favor of the new Kindles - I still enjoy having a paper book in my hand but can still have fun reading on my Kindle).  Most libraries also have computers with internet access, so that would be another plus.

Interestingly enough, I have actually worked in a library, museum, and a zoo.  In that order.

During high school I had a part time job at a small branch library in our city.  My main job was to take books recently checked in and put them back on the shelf.  That usually took a couple of hours and then I was free to help out in other ways - helping patrons find books, working at the desk, ordering books from other libraries from patrons.  It was a pretty enjoyable job, if a bit boring.  During that time, I definitely enjoyed the ready access to many different books and the ability to be one of the first to read a new book.

In college, I managed to get a work-study position at our college Natural History museum.  Being a science buff, this was a cool place to work.  My favorite area was the Hall of Ancient Life - where there were dinosaur bones and many other ancient fossils.  My job involved working in the hands-on room for children (the "Discovery" room).  During the week I would lead classes for students in field trip groups, and on the weekends we invited the public in.  I enjoyed the academic thrill of this job.  Children would come into the room with such excitement and be thrilled to learn all the fun science facts that went along with all the artifacts.  One of my favorite activities was being invited to help the staff create activities and exhibits to create a hand's-on learning environment for the room.

And lastly, the zoo.  What can I say - this is one that has now marked me for life.  Years later, I still get introduced to newcomers as a zookeeper.  I've accepted it will be one of my titles for life.  I've always enjoyed visiting zoos and seeing all the beautiful animals.  When I was younger, we managed to visit zoos in just about any state we happened to pass through.  Being accepted to work at a zoo was an interesting adventure.  It is almost unreal to get to go back behind the scenes and interact with the animals in the daily zookeeper routines.  Doing so, you get to learn about the animals individual quirks and personalities.  Also, you get to participate in something bigger than yourself - the conservation and preservation of endangered species.  My time at the zoo was filled with hard work in all sorts of weather, but was tempered by the animal interactions, designing naturalistic exhibits, and helping to incubate and raise  young animals.

But, back to the prompt - of all the places to be forced to be confined in. I'm still sticking with a library.  Books have been my friends for a lot longer than these other places, and have been a true and constant companion throughout my life.  I think museums and zoos are very interesting places to visit, but a library will be the enduring constant.

Missy Bree
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