Decades ago I sat at a bar next to a older man who – with great pride – pulled a stack of library cards out of his wallet.
“I’ve moved a lot in my life, and the first thing I did in any new town was get a library card,” he said.
Writing this post triggered this memory I hadn’t thought of in years but it speaks towards the variety of people who use libraries. This man was a character although an intelligent one. And at that point in my life (early 20s) I wasn’t necessarily using my library although I had grown up visiting the library. These days, however, I am there at least once a week if not more. So when I heard great things about a book that is about libraries I had to check it out! And add it to my winter reading list.
It took me awhile to get through The Library Book by Susan Orlean, but it was a beautiful read, and anyone who truly appreciates the essence and value of public libraries will enjoy it.
The “plot” of this work of non-fiction focuses on a devastating fire at the central Los Angeles public library in 1986 and a colorful character, Harry Peak, who may or may not have set the fire.
But the book covers so much more than this mystery and how it affected the community (which is heartbreaking and fascinating); the book is a celebration of books and the space they can share with all members of a community.
“Books are a sort of cultural DNA, the code for who, as a society, we are, and what we know. All the wonders and failures, all the champions and villains, all the legends and ideas and revelations of a culture last forever in its books.”
And at its core, a library belongs to all people. There is no library for any of us without having to share it with everybody else. And until the very last sentence of the book Orlean celebrates this.
But in the digital age, are libraries dying? Olean says no!
“Libraries are old fashioned, but they are growing more popular with people under thirty. This younger generation uses libraries in greater numbers than older Americans do, and even though they grew up in a streaming, digital world, almost two thirds of them believe that there is important material in libraries that is not available to them on the Internet. Unlike older generations, people under thirty are also less likely to have the office jobs. Consequently, they are always looking for pleasant places to work outside their homes…Some of them are also discovering that libraries are society’s original coworking spaces and have the distinct advantage of being free.”
Most people who love and use their libraries (including myself) don’t buy a lot of books, “Why would I buy it if I can get it at my library?” they ask, but this is a book I would recommend as a gift for someone who doesn’t buy many books. First of all, it is not a quick read, but mostly it’s such a compilation of all that libraries and books provide us that it worthy of owning.
Even though this book is about so much more than the Los Angeles Public Library I can’t believe I was only blocks from this library this summer. When I return to LA I will stay in this same hotel so I can visit this library myself!
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