In with the new

Remember using these things, the old-fashioned card catalogs? They were nice, weren't they? For one thing, they didn't crash right before telling you the call number of the anthology of medieval drama or massive cooking tome you were looking up. Plus, they were homey looking, those big, polished cabinets that smelled like furniture polish, paper and ink. Of course, it was always a bit annoying if someone else was looking something up in the very drawer you needed to get into, but then again, there aren't always a lot of extra computer terminals at the public library either.

I kind of miss the card catalogs.

But I'll tell you one innovation that I am behind 1001% and that is the automatic renew feature, where you can just click to the public library's website, key in your library card number to access your account, and then renew your books from the comfort of your own desk.

I estimate that this has saved me probably a million dollars in fines, but has inhibited the library in its ability to buy multiple copies of The Gilmore Girls, seasons one through seven. Because every time I access the library's computerized catalog from my desk -- admittedly another great feature -- Lorelei and Rory are simply nowhere to be found.