Last month I had the pleasure of attending the official launch of the Libraries Alliance at The British Academy, a partnership ‘working to strengthen and champion libraries of all kinds’ spanning public, school, academic, independent and national libraries. The event included a rather inspiring video ‘Libraries Through Life’ and, although I was there with my school librarian hat on, it got me thinking about my personal library journey.
I grew up in London, my local public library was Sands End in Wandsworth Bridge Road, about 5 minutes’ walk away. It was above the public baths and I can remember going every week on my own, from around the age of 10 years, spending hours inside, browsing and reading. If I selected more books than I could borrow, I’d simply read the extra ones in the library. Sadly, the library is no longer there; the nearest one is Fulham Library, about 30 minutes away. I suspect if this had been my ‘local’ library, my reading would probably have been a bit curtailed as a child. Local libraries really do need to be LOCAL! A large library in the centre of town cannot take the place of numerous small libraries serving outlying communities.
I have no recollection of my primary school library (though I do remember being sent home with those dire Janet and John books) but can recall my secondary school library; tall shelves, wooden desks, everyone speaking in hushed voices. And it would get very hot and stuffy in the summer. I don’t think I used it much – we didn’t have library lessons or events. My reading needs (including books for homework) were still being fulfilled by the public library especially as, by this time, I was visiting my grandmother once a week after school and she, very conveniently, lived round the corner from Fulham Library. Also, my father, who was the reading influence in my life, was passing on the classic sci-fi and fantasy books he’d finished with. I, in turn, was bringing home graphic novels (including Tintin books) from the library and passing them to him to read.
My next library memory should be associated with university and my business degree but my mind’s a blank. When I took my distance-learning LIS degree (years later) I was thrilled by the library at Aberystwyth and made good use of the inter-library loan service but, sadly, this was not the case as a young adult. Sorry, University of Westminster, it wasn’t personal – there were just too many other exciting distractions in my life at the time. I also wonder, given the lack of interaction with my school library, did this make any difference? Would I have made more use of the university library if I’d had lessons in my school library, learned how to find resources I needed, how the school librarian could have helped me look for them? Perhaps we need some research on the correlation between school library use and university library use – there’s certainly enough evidence that indicates school library use improves attainment.
Moving into the world of work, I found myself employed as a project manager for a consultancy firm and being set various information-finding tasks; one I remember was regarding the numbers and types of engineers in the oil and gas industry. It was at this point I discovered special libraries – namely at the Institute of Petroleum Engineers. I had no idea such libraries existed! I’d also started doing family history research so spent several hours buried in archives. Today much of this is done online but in the late 1970s and early 1980s we didn’t even have the internet. Those hours spent looking at parish registers, trying to decipher handwriting, delighting in finding a link to another family branch and the smell of musty books - online searching is way more convenient but it’s not quite the same.
And then I found myself working in a school library …
I’m not sure why nobody suggested I become a librarian when I was at school, especially given my love of reading and obsession with books. Although, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I’d have been the same librarian if I’d gone into the profession when I was younger.
And my library journey continues: Public Þ School Þ Academic Þ Special Þ School Þ Public
Today I use my public library more than I ever did – I regularly visit about five ‘local’ libraries (so convenient being able to return books to any library in the county) – as I don’t tend to reread books it’s far less costly to borrow them. As part of the CILIP School Libraries Group I’m still very much involved in school libraries and, as a CILIP member, I take advantage, when I can, of visits to special libraries and talks by professionals in other sectors. And, when I’m travelling, the library gets added along with museums and galleries to my ‘want-to-see’ list; my fascination with books and libraries is still going strong.
What’s your library journey? Has it gone full circle or do you no longer visit public libraries? I’m surprised by the number of people I meet, who love books and are readers, yet they say they’ve not been to a library in years. If this is you … please go, our public libraries need you!
‘To ask why we need libraries at all, when there is so much information available elsewhere, is about as sensible as asking if roadmaps are necessary now that there are so very many roads.’
Jon Bing (1944-2014)
Norwegian writer and law professor at the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law
