又得浮生半日闲

题鹤林寺僧舍 唐 李涉 终日昏昏醉梦间 忽闻春尽强登山 因过竹院逢僧话 又得浮生半日闲 I spent half day at 27E 39th street to get my Mexico visa. I looked nice on the photo, so I forgave the consulate for its inefficiency. During the 3 hours of waiting, I visited the New York Public Library-Research Library. I found out the NYPL was a public-private ownership organization. John Aster, the richest American by 1848 when he died, started the public library system in New York. Carnegie donated the branch library buildings and the city government provided the operational budget. Since 1886, NYPL has been providing the open space and free access to books. Now the libraries also major access to computers, public lectures and public theatres. I hope someday we could set up similar system in Beijing and make it public space for all.