Image from Curious Expeditions - Strahov Theological Hall
I love libraries. Always have. It’s a combination of sensual delights, peace and organization that appeals to my nature. The comforting smell of paper and bindings, whimsical shafts of late afternoon sun laying geometric patterns on the floor, the idea that the whole world is available to me and the price of admission is a library card.
I think I’ve mentioned that I substitute teach in my local school district. Last week I had the opportunity to sub for the Librarian at a nearby elementary school. I was so excited. I got to read aloud to Kinder-folk and I dutifully spent time shelving books. Needless to say, I hardly considered any of this to be “work”.
As I shelved books into their rightful places, I had two trains of thought running through my head at the same time (thank goodness they were on opposite tracks). With the hundreds of authors and story lines staring me in the face I was thinking, “My God. It’s all been said. It’s all been done. There is no room for me, what am I doing?”
At the same time, I felt excited and inspired in a way I had not even imagined. If all of these people can do it, then so could I! It dawned on me that there is always room for one more. As well, I was inspired to keep the ball in my own court and move forward with my ambitions.
So my question for you, faithful Tumblemoose Clan, is:
When you go to a library are you intimidated by the stacks of authors who have “made it”? Do you see them as being the stars you cannot reach?
George,
I don’t feel intimidated. But that may be due to the fact that when I go to a library I go there as a reader. Every time I visit a library I feel like diving in an other world, forgetting the “outside” world, grabbing a book, reading, taking another one, not knowing which to take home (I don’t want to carry tons of them, so I have to select).
And when reading I enjoy the beauty of language, the power to take me into foreign worlds (I love history books).
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I don’t feel intimidated in the library. Certainly not by the books, sometimes by the staff…some of them seem to think they are superior beings.
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Hi Ulla!
I’m glad you came by.
It’s hard for me to separate the reader/writer thing but I am in agreement with you.
I am in awe of the power of books.
George
Hi Val,
I have been to some libraries where it seemed like just by walking in the door, I ruined a staff member’s day. Some folks are just that way, I guess. Too bad. What a yukky way to go through life.
Cheers!
George
My local library is very sleek and bright, and more like a museum of modern art than a library. It’s not very intimidating. (I also do most of my browsing on line, and just pop in to pick up my “holds,” so maybe that has something to do with it.)
But old libraries in giant stone buildings that look like castles (or churches)? Very intimidating. The public library in Manhattan is simultaneously fascinating and very, very scary.
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I’m not sure intimidated is the right word for how I feel. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that at times I can feel despondent over my chances of being heard over so many voices?
Then I see some of the crap that has found a publisher and depending on my mood I feel wildly optimistic or very, very bitter. Snicker.
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Hi Cindy,
I’ve never had the chance to go to something like that but I will some day. I love libraries. Alaska is not necessarily filled with historical libraries
George
Tracy,
Hehe. Yeah, me too. “What? How on earth did THIS ever get published? Hmmm. Maybe I’ve got a chance!”
George
First of all I have to say I love the smell of a library, or used book store, it’s invigorating.
I definitely get inspired by these places, maybe more so than even inspired, I feel giddy! The idea of being surrounded by all that knowledge, and stories, always leaves me with a sense of wanting to spend days pouring over anything and everything that is of interest to me. It just feels like limitless possibility.
You can do a lot of the same research on the internet (and I do), but the experience in a library opens my brain to learning in a way Google cannot, not to mention Google just smells like a computer screen. =)
Matt
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Matt,
“smells like a computer screen” LOL. You have managed to capture how I feel when I am in the Library.
I am always in awe at what those walls contain.
George
I have always loved libraries, especially if they looked anything like the one in the photo you posted. Funny thing though, in college the library looked like that but I hardly ever went there . . . I guess because I had to! LOL
When I was a kid I volunteered in the school and the public libraries, usually shelving books. I hardly ever made it through that exercise without finding something I wanted to check out.
I feel the same way in a bookstore. I’d look through all the books, but I’m usually too aware of the cost and that I can’t have all the books I wanted.
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Hi Terry.
I hear ya. Even when shelving at the elementary school library, I’m always getting distracted by books that I’ll remember from when I was a kid.
Your point about bookstores is well taken. I don’t have the same passion because I know they are for sale and the whole thing seems… well, it seems too commercial. Just not the same feel.
George
I love the library! I’m lucky to live in London which has some GREAT libraries, particularly the British Library! Whoa! It’s not intimidating at all. It actually gives me hope, especially when I see some of the ridiculous titles that get published (“Cheese Problems Solved”, “Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Intelligent Design”, “Old Tractors and the Men Who Love them”). There’s a market for everything!
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I volunteer at my local library every Saturday afternoon for 3 hours — and I find it incredibly inspiring! Being surrounded by books – both bestsellers and “rarely reads” – makes me feel like I can write a book. Or a few!
Plus, I like talking to people about books — what they liked, what they didn’t, why, etc. That inspires me too.
If I wasn’t a writer, I’d be a librarian! A substitute librarian would be a cool job (which I guess I sort of am, every Saturday
).
Laurie
Laurie,
I feel the same way. If not writing, I would surely be a librarian.
And it is so cool that you volly at the Library. Good on ya!
George
Monica,
I would love to have access to that kind of library. I mean, when I think about the history alone…
Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to your guest post here tomorrow.
George
I LOVE libraries and they definitely inspire me. I feel they are akin to a place of worship. I have always wanted to have a huge library in my house, with those sliding ladders and everything. When doing my dissertation, I was able to spend time researching at the Library of Congress–a very humbling, yet exalting experience!
George — Ben Franklin has always been one of my heroes, not because he dared to take on lightning, but because he started the first public library. You described exactly what I feel when I enter a library. I love the smell of books and the vast amounts of possibilities waiting for me on library shelves! As I’ve never really attempted to write a book, I’m not intimidated, but I do believe “there is always room for one more.” I hope I will go to my library one day and your book will be there waiting for me to read.
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Tricksie
I am so jealous! What a mind blowing experience that must have been.
yes! Yes! A big library with sliding ladders!
George
Sara,
That is so cool. Thank you!
I believe there is always room as well. The glass is half full for sure!
George
Kerry,
Thanks for the kind words and subscribing. I’m glad you’ve found things of interest here and I hope I can continue to inspire and entertain.
Thanks again.
George
I love the library! Since I go as a reader rather than a writer I feel intimidated by the fact that I will never be able to read all the books that I want to.
And having gone to library school I can freely admit that most librarians are lacking in basic social skills. They aren’t annoyed – they just don’t know how to interact with actual people.
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Kim, I had considered library school at one point. It might be an interesting blog post for you, I’d be curious about the experience.
George