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/2013/04/why-do-libraries-matter.html
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