Election Day night - and I'm two hundred miles from one of my favorite proud-to-be-an-American institutions - my neighborhood polling place.

Because I'm in Sacramento, learning about the design and planning of library buildings, I submitted my mail-in ballot late last week. I miss standing in line with familiar folks, smiling at my elderly neighbor who faithfully shows up every two years, casting my vote with pride, showing off my "I voted" sticker all day long.

Luckily, I'm just down the street from another of my favorite civic institutions - the public library - where democracy grows and thrives on the free availability of information, the strength of human connections and the promise of lifelong learning for all.

The polling places have closed for another two years, but the local public library will open again tomorrow morning. And I'll walk through its doors and open my book - my personal vote for libraries made once again.