In Praise of Libraries

I don't remember a time when I didn't go to one library or another at least every three weeks—and frequently more often.

It all started at the Cornish Library in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a small but beautiful old building with a separate room for children's books, a fireplace, and a faint smell of old books. I was little, so my mother checked out picture books, and soon children's novels, for us to read together.

I moved to Vancouver when I was six, and went to the Britannia Library on a regular basis. I remember learning to use microfiche and card catalogs to find the books I was looking for.

Two years later, it was back to Winnipeg. I still went to the Cornish Library, but branched out to the bigger Centennial (now Millennium) Library downtown. I remember being excited when computer catalogs were introduced, making it easier to put books in other libraries on hold.

Sometimes on our way home from violin lessons, my uncle would take my cousin and me to another small library along the route. It was often a highlight of my week to visit an unfamiliar library, with new and exciting books.

Since my childhood in Winnipeg, I've lived in other places with other libraries—public and university. I've loved them all in their own way. They're all full of books with the power to take me places and teach me things I might not otherwise have imagined.

The orangutan known only as the Librarian at Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels is one of the best fictional librarians ever. His flexible toes help him climb shelves while carrying books, and it's easier to deal with students who are late returning their books when you're an intimidating primate. (He was originally a human wizard, but chose to remain an orangutan after he was accidentally transformed.)

The Librarian also has the incredible ability to travel through L-space, which connects all libraries in space and time through the bookwormholes that are created in any large collection of books.

Photo courtesy macinate through a Creative Commons License