Why do libraries matter?

Yesterday morning I watched a feature about World Book Night on BBC breakfast TV in which the wonderful author Frank Cottrell Boyce was interviewed in the stunning new Liverpool library.  This passionate author, who I had the pleasure of seeing at a reading of his book Framed a couple of years back, rightly described the closure of 200 UK libraries  as “an act of cultural vandalism” and further “an act of mad draining of our mental capital.”

Knowledge is power and libraries make knowledge accessible to all, so closing a library is a political gesture.

 

Libraries are treasure troves. Libraries played a significant part in nurturing my lifelong love of reading.  As a child I devoured the resources of my school library and our local library.  When I had exhausted their shelves, I joined what we called the “big library” in the town centre. Not only were books available there, but also music scores and cassettes and records, (invaluable for a music student).  Many years later, whilst an undergraduate at University, the library became my second home, my favourite place on campus, a dazzling source of knowledge that satisfied my thirst for research. 

Since then, libraries have been forced to adapt and re-invent themselves to justify their existence, offering dvds, computers, free internet access and meeting facilities, and they continue to evolve.

Although I love the 24/7 virtual library offered by the internet, not everyone has this access, and as long as there are people, there is a need for physical libraries.  I can’t imagine a world without them.  Can you?

Related posts: http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/world-book-night.html

http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/on-books-and-reading-and-pony-books.html

http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/on-ways-to-read-book.html
http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/a-library-in-my-handbag.html

A Library in my Handbag

When I was a child my favourite place was the local branch library.  It was just a five minute walk from my home and, amazingly, it is still there 50 years later when many libraries have since closed. An avid reader, I would go there after school and scour the shelves for anything about horses, ponies, boarding schools, girls’ adventures and the supernatural.

After I had read everything they had on these subjects for my age group, I progressed to the bigger central library, a huge, old building in the town, a 2 mile walk each way.  I proceeded to devour everything there.   By now, I had added horror stories, vampires and ghosts to my list.  I was allowed six books a week on my library ticket.  Only six.

Much later in life, when I went to Sussex University as a mature student, and the library there quickly became my new favourite place .  It was amazing, stunning, overwhelming.  Paradise for someone who is inspired by books, and who loves research.  When I wrote my degree thesis I got so distracted by the sheer volume and choice of texts on offer to me that my research went off on many tangents!  This was pre-internet and nowadays I would compare it to browsing on Google or Amazon.   I usually went home on the train carrying lots of heavy books, my bags weighted down.  I was only limited by the sheer physical constraints of what I could actually carry.

Fast forward 25 years to the kindle.   This neat little beast is portable, light and actually fits into my handbag.   I’m not restricted by weight, or a maximum number of books I can borrow or buy.  It offers me all the delights of my own personal library.  I can read what I want, when I want.  I can explore non-fiction, poetry, novels, stories – everything my heart desires.  If only such a thing had existed when I was studying.  I could have conducted all my research without even leaving the house!  

Related posts:

http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/on-books-and-reading-and-pony-books.html

http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/why-do-libraries-matter.html

http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/on-ways-to-read-book.html

On books and reading. And pony books.

Over the past year I have rediscovered the joy of reading.  When I was child and teenager, I avidly devoured novels, getting 6 books at a time from the local library and the following week taking out another 6 until I had quickly exhausted their stocks.  On a Saturday I would walk the 3 miles into town and use my 50p pocket money to buy 2 paperbacks from Boots (who in those days sold books).  My subject of choice was horses and ponies.  I was a pony mad girl.  The 1970s – a golden age of pony books for a child.  The Pullein-Thompson sisters, Monicas Edwards and Dickens, the Jill books, the Jackie books.  Anything that had a picture of a horse on the cover, I bought. By the way, if you are a pony book fan, young or old, go to the fabulous website http://www.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/

I would read under the bedclothes with a torch when I should have been sleeping.  I took a book everywhere with me, so I could snatch any free moments to read.  I remember my parents taking me to a football match with my brother and while they enjoyed the match I read a book.  As well as a source of pleasure and education, books were a wonderful escape.  I was a loner to some extent and they became a  cocoon.  I would have been lost without them.

Fast forward 15 years.  When I commuted regularly on the train to London, I would read a book.  Or write 1000 words.  Each way. 

Fast forward another 15 years, during which reading had been sporadic, mostly work related or for research purposes.  Very few novels had been encountered.  But I read some children’s books, which made me feel good.  I love the way that books for children are usually so positive.

Another 5 years.  Where does the time go?  Then I was handed a copy of Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce, not a book I would have bought.  It was the chosen title for Folkestone Reads, the idea being that everyone in the town read the same book, which is made freely available in the library and local cafes and schools.  Then people can discuss the book with each other and the whole experience encourages intergenerational reading.   What a wonderful idea.  I loved that book.  Positive, warm, funny, clever, engaging, for adults and children alike.  And when the author came to Folkestone to do a Q and A session I was there.  How did I lose the habit of reading?  Something that had once meant so much to me?  I’m so glad I found my long lost friend again.  I don’t read anywhere near as much as I did when I was a child.  But losing yourself in a book is the most wonderful feeling.  Everyone needs to escape.  And every book you read teaches you something.  Learning new things gives you such a buzz. 

Related post: http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/on-ways-to-read-book.html