Day 28: When in doubt, go to the library.

I'm Adam Sell and I have two months left before I leave Boston. My challenge? Do something in the city every day. Have ideas for my adventure? Send me an email.

The Boston Public Library wasn't what I had planned on doing today. I originally set out for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, only to discover that it's not open on Mondays. That was a problem, but not one I couldn't resolve.

I hadn't been to the library in a couple years, not since I needed to use the microfilm room for a school project. And even then, those scoliosis-inducing tables were all I'd seen of the monolithic building in Copley Square. There must be some other stuff worth checking out. Maybe a special exhibit or two I could see — the John Adams private library, perhaps?

John Adams is one thing, but I think some of the earliest copies of the works of William Shakespeare might just trump it. There were several interesting exhibits running at the library, including one on the folios of Shakespeare's plays and poetry, up in the Rare Books room (which is not easy to find, let me tell you). I found the room with the propaganda posters from the First World War a bit more captivating, though. For a writer, I was never much of a Shakespeare dude.

I bounced around the first public library in America, rapidly losing track of time as the exhibits and the pretty outdoor courtyard caught my attention. I found a typo on a sign in the Marathon exhibit, which made me chuckle. It's a library — how does that get all the way to the public view without someone catching it? It was an interesting display nonetheless, outlining the history of the Boston course and the runners' experiences.

So while Plan A was a bust (and I'm not real keen on trying again), Plan B proved to be successful. (There's a cliche in there somewhere, I'm just trying to avoid it.)