The Library and its contents

I have recently taken to spending my lunch time (I can do that now because I'm going to leave my job) in the Boston Public Library reading. After a couple of visits, I started to notice the library seemed to attract the oddities of humanity. Now, the guy who is into Star Trek, the girl reading His Dark Materials for the 12th time, and the ultra nerd brushing up on paleolithic botany, don't fall into this category (neither do I mind you). These are the types of people you'd expect to see in a library.
What I didn't expect to see was such a high concentration of people talking to themselves. In the last week, I've seen (or heard rather) at least two people every day in the library that are talking to themselves. And no, they aren't on cell phones. In addition to them, it seems like the library is a respite from the outdoors for the homeless, or those who look homeless. That is OK too, I guess. But in addition to the talkers, there are all sorts:

Guy reading who decides to pull out a blanket and cozy up near the New Fiction stacks.
Girl who asks everyone who is passing if the book they're reading is any good.
Guy who, instead of a briefcase, has a plastic garbage bag. (Not homeless, unless homeless people have cellphones these days.)

I started to think how different the library was from Borders. It has fewer weirdos, more Lattes, and newer books. What strikes me is how it seems that everyone has been fooled by Border's. The Library lets you read these book for FREE. They even let you renew online! Admittedly, I used to be the guy (and my Father was as well) who loved to collect books and have them on display to show everyone how smart I am. But there was a small problem with that: You never read the book again! Border's charges you for the books, has nicer digs, friendlier staff, and less weirdos. That is all because they need you to come back and buy more books! The library would prefer if you didn't come at all, or maybe just one book from time to time because it would cost them less. Since they don't make any incremental money based on your reading preferences, there is no incentive for the library to be a comfy and cozy spot for you to read in.