The books are an amazing part of it, but it's also things like finding The Sandman comics which led me to Tori Amos (back when you could borrow CDs from the library). As a teenager, it was a great place of my own to escape and to discover new ideas. The town had two libraries, and I would go to both. And of course, it was free... until the book sales :D I remember picking up a massive HTML tome with the CD for just £1.
My mum was a college librarian before she retired so a lot of my early internet/fandom memories are linked to going to visit her after school and sitting there finding FF7 fic and art (and printing it!) before we got a home PC.
And when I went to Uni it was heaven; I would take armfuls of books that weren't even related to my subject simply because they were there and interesting. I might initially do a search for something but once I'm there I'll browse the entire aisle.
no subject
My mum was a college librarian before she retired so a lot of my early internet/fandom memories are linked to going to visit her after school and sitting there finding FF7 fic and art (and printing it!) before we got a home PC.
And when I went to Uni it was heaven; I would take armfuls of books that weren't even related to my subject simply because they were there and interesting. I might initially do a search for something but once I'm there I'll browse the entire aisle.