From time to time, I become aware of a place and think wow! I’d really like to go there. My assumption is that I never will, but more often than not it happens that I find myself walking through the door . . .

A trip to DC for work prompted me to ask friends where I should visit, even as a little voice in my head whispered: the ultimate librarytour: Library of Congress. I engaged in the bare minimum of research, glancing over the options for the Library of Congress. Three whole buildings (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison Memorial) dedicated to research, and at least one holding American folklife history as well as tweets.

Similar to visits to the New York Public Library, I opted to go for the iconic, even though I knew these beautiful spaces don’t actually house books (at least not books intended to be held, sniffed for their gorgeous and memorable library-smell, checked out.)

Of course, even in the halls of softly glowing marble, security guards, brightly restored murals, treasured collections (ensconced in glass), interpreters/tour guides, long, empty passageways, and tourists, I often find a haven for young people.

Locating books to touch and exclaim at and pour over, I soak them in.