• The largest library in the U.S. has over 35 million books---The Library of Congress.
• In ancient Egypt, all ships visiting the city of Alexandria were required to surrender any books they had to the library so they could be copied. The original would be kept and the copy would be given back to the owner.
• There are more public libraries in the U.S. than McDonald’s.
• Odd things that can be checked out of a library: humans as a living book with stories to share in Great Britain and in Toronto; art and sculptures in some German public “art libraries” (it may involve a fee such as renting it for a certain length of time); rubber stamps in Canann Town Library in NH; toys in a library in New Zealand; a Kill a Watt energy measuring device in Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Libraries, NM; tools in Berkeley, CA; art prints in Northern Virginia; a therapy dog for 30 min. intervals at Yale Law Library.
• At the age of 9, Ron McNair refused to leave the segregated Lake City Public Library without being allowed to check out his books. After the police and his mother were called, he was allowed to borrow books from the library. That library is now named after him---he became an astronaut and was one of the ones killed in the 1986 Challenger explosion.
• The Guinness Book of World Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from public libraries.
• In ancient Egypt, all ships visiting the city of Alexandria were required to surrender any books they had to the library so they could be copied. The original would be kept and the copy would be given back to the owner.
• There are more public libraries in the U.S. than McDonald’s.
• Odd things that can be checked out of a library: humans as a living book with stories to share in Great Britain and in Toronto; art and sculptures in some German public “art libraries” (it may involve a fee such as renting it for a certain length of time); rubber stamps in Canann Town Library in NH; toys in a library in New Zealand; a Kill a Watt energy measuring device in Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Libraries, NM; tools in Berkeley, CA; art prints in Northern Virginia; a therapy dog for 30 min. intervals at Yale Law Library.
• At the age of 9, Ron McNair refused to leave the segregated Lake City Public Library without being allowed to check out his books. After the police and his mother were called, he was allowed to borrow books from the library. That library is now named after him---he became an astronaut and was one of the ones killed in the 1986 Challenger explosion.
• The Guinness Book of World Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from public libraries.