When I was a kid from 10 until 18, during the summer I would bike to the library at least twice a book. I always would check out science books, science magazines, classic novels, music, movies, geography books, and the fiction books that were popular at the time. No way I could have afforded to buy all that stuff. And no way, would I have gotten a killer SAT verbal score or so interested in science if I didnt spend all my days reading. The library was right next to a gas station to buy candy from, the piano teachers house, and sports practices. A local library is also where I found Dinesh D'Souza's book on colleges :).
And I too was sad when they had to close or had shorter hours on a day.