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August 13, 2009
Nothing to read
The local library was open yesterday .. but goodness it really is a struggle to find anything to read for holidays.. In the end I had to take a copy of Barnaby Rudge.
Having been resolved to use the library and not the book shop as a source of material in the end I had to resort to the local independent. It is about one fifth of the size of the library, is open until 8pm every night, cheery students at the counter and has a sparkling and enticing selection of titles in their window which proved irresistible.
Posted by Perkins at August 13, 2009 11:12 AM
Comments
You must be very picky then, I always find tons of stuff at my library, it's just finding the time to read it.
Posted by: Rachel at August 13, 2009 12:58 PM
In Hove, an independent bookshop - City Books - fits a great deal into a small space, and creates a far more congenial and enticing atmsophere, the promise of discovery, than in the barren space of the new Brighton library.
Posted by: Christopher Hawtree at August 14, 2009 6:19 PM
Oh dear! I had a similar experience. Went in the library, walked round and round unable to find anything which really interested me, ended up with a little known Salinger title. Popped into an Oxfam bookshop a couple of doors down and BLISS, Mozart playing softly in the background and rows of 2nd hand books in excellent condition. I quickly found a book which appealed BUT I had to pay for it when I'm already paying for the library service through my council tax.
Posted by: Ex Librarian at August 18, 2009 6:46 AM
Rachel,
I am a librarian, County Librarian in Galway in Ireland, and I understand your comment. Nevertheless, there is so much in the The Good Library Blog that resonates with me. Some of the best ideas about libraries these days are coming from outside our professional associations, and I include the Library Association of Ireland in that.
Having a "sparkling and enticing selection of titles in [our] window which proved irresistible" is one of the most important things a public library can do. As is "Mozart playing softly in the background and rows of...books in excellent condition."
Every library should have the "the promise of discovery."
But the kind of language used in the three posts above is rarely heard in library seminars or meetings.
Thanks,
Pat McMahon,
County Librarian,
Galway.
Posted by: Pat McMahon at September 9, 2009 1:04 PM