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| - I've lived in a number of cities around the U.S. and around the world, and Pittsburgh definitely punches above its weight in the realm of libraries. Every time I go in, I feel bad for Barnes and Noble because I only need my library card to take a book home for three weeks at a time.
Of course, books are only the beginning of the story, since the library has a great selection of DVDs, CDs, magazines, and archival material as well.
All of this is completely apart from the experience of walking up the steps of the main entrance of this Beaux-Arts masterpiece. Sometimes the pure force of the architecture draws me in.
As of 2009-2010, the library system's funding has been threatened with cuts, which have mostly affected neighborhood branch locations rather than the headquarters, but I've been happy to write to my government officials to ask them to support this treasure. Heck, on Tax Day this year, I didn't even resent writing a check to the City of Pittsburgh: I just thought about the next book I was going to get at the library.
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