A Lot Full of Bicycles

Tied to the meters are bicycles of all sorts, providing clues as to the types of people who might be inside. One is an expensive, shiny Cannondale road bike and another, is an old, rusty one loaded down with the entirety of a man’s possessions. Both men are inside using the free computers, reading books and browsing among the stacks. It’s the entire world to these men, and other men and women, who live in the small coastal community know as Galt Ocean Mile. Among the inhabitants are retirees, corporate titans of yester-year or single widows, spending the winter of their lives where it’s always summer – Fort Lauderdale. Many of the condo dwellers bought their condos on this barrier island for two reasons; the ocean and the local library. The allure of the ocean needs no explanation. But how can it be that people could base the decision of where to live on four walls filled with books? To understand what’s going on inside the Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center, one must venture inside to find out. At first glance, it looks like any other library with tables, chairs and a checkout counter. But upon further inspection, you will see all types, nationalities and classes of people. It’s a peaceful place, filled with knowledge and access. Join the local Library Friends group and a whole world opens up. Suddenly, to the lone bibliophile the library is home to a collective of people who get together to learn, socialize and remember. For the homeless man, it’s a place to go online and check email or read the Arts & Culture section of the newspaper. Without their library, they might be lost in a world that no longer understands them. In today’s digital age where more and more people download books, the Galt library patrons still turn the pages. Books can be checked out or used ones purchased for as little as a quarter. Also available to borrow are movies and classical music CD’s. This makes sense. On a beautiful, summer day at two o’clock on a Thursday afternoon, the place is packed. You can tell because of all the bicycles parked out front. And it’s not even season yet.