The Library Book is a smallish anthology published in the UK
in 2012 to support and celebrate public libraries, which are threatened
all over the world by various governmental bean counters who (obviously)
have never used libraries or ever cared for them. The twenty four
contributions range from essays to fiction and memoirs. Of the fiction,
there is an except from Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, and a
short story by Kate Mosse. The best contributions in the book were, for
me, the historical essay "The Library of Babylon" by Tom Holland, and a
bookish memoir "A Corner of St. James" by Susan Hill. Many of the essays
contain nuggets of wisdom. I'll copy a handful below.
"Being
a reader turned me into a writer. It fed my imagination and revealed
worlds far beyond my own experience." Val McDermid "Going to the Dogs"
"When
you've bought a book, you feel obligated to finish it, just to get your
money's worth. But when I borrow the adult equivalent of that Curious George
trove, I'm free to start a disappointing novel and discard it. Paying
nothing for the book itself, I can place a higher premium on my time."
Lionel Shriver "I ❤ Libraries"
" 'If
someone suggested the idea of public libraries now, they'd be considered
insane,' says Peter Collins, Library Services Manager in
Worksop.'Because libraries are based on trust. I mean, if you said you
were going to take a little bit of money from every taxpayer, but a
whole lot of books and music and games, stick them on a shelf and tell
everyone, "These are yours to borrow and all you've got to do is bring
them back," they'd be laughed out of government.' " Bella Bathurst "The
Secret Life of Libraries"
" 'Reading is a much more
alien concept for a lot of kids,' says Collins, 'The pace of life is
different now, and people expect art to happen to them. Music and film
do that, a CD will do that, but you have to make a book happen to you."
Bella Bathurst "The Secret Life of Libraries"
"Reading is not just an escape. It is access ot a better way of life." Karin Slaughter "Fight for Libraries as You Do Freedom"