How many of us experienced public libraries in our childhood or adolescence? Following an interview, a year ago last spring on CBC radio, with the author Susan Orlean, I knew it was a must read book. It was so new that it was not yet readily available at the local public library, so I purchased a copy and have not been sorry. After reading this beautifully written book that is packed with information, humour and history. I immediately decided that The Library Book would be put forward for book club. It proved to be a good choice and not just about the books content. As soon as one area was mentioned ~ the Los Angeles Public Library fire of 1986 taking seven days and all Los Angeles Fire Departments to extinguish, the suspected arsonist with fanciful alibis ~ conversation moved to personal experiences with libraries. Growing up in a small prairie town without a public library, I was fascinated by the authors description of the experiences she had shared with her mother. Susan Orlean's vivd descriptions of the library fire itself, the devastation wrought to the building, books and the librarians was brilliant. Then there was the history of not just the Los Angeles library, but about librarians, the architecture, and the wide ranging benefit all libraries provide to the public. Despite the great benefits to global communities at large, libraries have been targeted by invaders to a country to stamp out and remove ‘the danger’ of the written word ~ a sad chapter that has gone on for centuries. Another side discussion flared up about today’s threat to democracy and whether book burning could ever occur in our democracies. There is history of the Carnegie libraries that were and are free libraries which cracked open ‘membership’ only and allowed access to everyone. The electronic age and how to build and maintain a presence using technology rather that being pushed aside by technology has been key to not only the Los Angeles library, but globally. Meetings were held with the community about possible alternative uses of the library in Los Angeles, some dismissed as inappropriate, how to develop an effective interface with the homeless population that utilized the library, and in general, numerous program development ideas. From a time when libraries were only for men and run by men to the present when libraries are for all people, Susan Orlean, with her talent for exquisite and often fun writing, opens the door for us all to walk into our own library spaces. Our afternoon’s library space became our time for Christmas crackers, coffee, tea and goodies. We laughed, wore crowns, and read our silly jokes almost acting like children.
“There are so many things in a library, so many books and so much stuff,
that I sometimes wondered if any one single person could possibly know
what all of it is. I preferred thinking that one does ~ I liked the idea that
the library is more expansive and grand than one single mind, and
that it requires many people to form a complete index of its bounty.”
~ Susan Orlean, The Library Book
Title: The Library Book
Author: Susan Orlean
Copyright: 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Type: Hard Copy Edition
Format: Creative Non-Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-4767-4018-8 (hard cover)
ISBN: 978-1-4767-4019-5 (trade paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-4767-4020-8 (ebook)
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