I love books. I read two to three books a week. I read fiction and nonfiction, technical and nontechnical books. I finish books I don't like. I regularly use Ohio Link. My wife Kathy and I do not own a functioning television. Instead, we read books or listen to the radio. If the radio is on, it's usually tuned to NPR.

I love children's books. Harry Potter rules, but I love Shel Silverstein and Maurice Sendak. I don't have children, but I have my own copies of Alice in Wonderland, The Narnia Chronicles, and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. I don't play video games. I don't surf web sites for fun.

I am a regular user of the library. I do have a chronic problem returning library books on time, but I happily pay my fines. I think my book fines paid for all of the doors and doorknobs at the Mayfield Regional Library.

I prefer to use library books, but when I have to buy books I try to buy them used. My favorite store is the Half-Price Bookstore. I cannot leave without a book. I'd rather buy books than clothes (or pretty much anything else). I will shop at Borders but generally don't buy there. I miss the little independent bookstores that the big chains have eliminated. I research at Amazon.com but have never bought anything there. I prefer to see and smell and feel my books.

My most important conversations with my 90 year old grandmother are about what books we've read. She doesn't own a television either. She's determined to read everything that's ever been written a second time.

Kathy and I love living by the Lake and we love living in Fairport Harbor. Fairport's library, like the library in any community, should be a gathering place for people of all ages and interests. The library should be used by every person in the community on a regular basis.

When I am in other towns for business or pleasure, I visit their libraries. If I am on a college campus that I've never visited before I always stop at their libraries. Except the legal libraries.

I am self employed (with one employee) and write for 10-20 hours a week.

My wife Kathy and I have written a popular web site for the Grand River Sailing Club. We've received 5000 hits in just 9 months. Our site is linked to by sites all over the country and in Europe.

My standard bio that I provide for customers is:

Paul Mathews is a physicist by education, an engineer by experience, and a hack statistician out of necessity. He holds a BS in Physics from Miami University (Ohio) and an MS in Physics from Case Western Reserve University. He worked for General Electric lighting for 12 years as a high intensity discharge lamp design engineer and optical thin film designer. For five years he was an Assistant Professor at Lakeland Community College where he was responsible for the Quality Engineering Technology program. He now teaches part-time and provides quality engineering and training services as an independent consultant. Paul is an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer and holds nine patents.