As a librarian, I enjoy getting to know the locals and meeting people from all walks of life. I love hearing their stories, and being able to discuss books, movies and music with them. One of my colleagues and one of our borrowers fell in love. They ended up getting married and are still together today.
My favourite spot in this library would be between any two bookshelves. I can guarantee you that whatever those two shelves are, there would be something fascinating to read or look at. I think we have a great collection here.
I am reading now Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. As the subtitle suggests, it is a history of humankind. I’m fascinated by human evolution, the incremental changes that, for better or worse, led to society as we know it.
I would like to explore Richard Dawkins’ bookcase because I love science and am especially interested in zoology and genetics. As dogmatic and humourless as he can often be, he is still a brilliant biologist. I would love to see what books and specimens lie in his collection.
I have seen a change in the way people use the library. Although we still get lots of people coming in for books, we also get lots of people coming in just to use the space we provide: the technology, the talks, the classes, the exhibitions, or simply just the space itself to meet and discuss ideas. Libraries are one of those third places – after the home and the workplace – that are so important for communities. They provide a vital source of human interaction, especially in these days of computers and smartphones.
Everyone is welcome at a public library.