Categories: just-life
Date: 09 November 2007 22:57:44
One of my favourite places to be is in the library. I am a member of three county libraries, Surrey, Hampshire and Swansea..... I would join a few more, but apparently you have to live in the area to be allowed. Least that's what they told me when I tried to sign up for the library in Turo.
So I shan't be collecting the set then.
I got out a couple of books from the very small library of Grayshott, one of which is a grand book called, Penguins Stopped Play by Harry Thompson. I could bore you and tell you it's about cricket, but really it's about all the problems of trying to get a bunch of village-level, drunkards to play cricket all over the world. Apparently penguins are big fans.
The local, little-library (as opposed to the local bigger-library) has recently been refurbished, and has turned out quite nice. I have noticed a trend with all these refurbished libraries is that they are all airy with lots of space. Which has one, tiny, small effect with these local, little libraries.... the more space there is, the less book space there is.
In Swansea they are building a brand-spanking new main library. There are some lovely plans on the County Council website, or you can look here;
Ground Floor and First Floor
They both look lovely, airy, lots of space...... just seems to be less books.
My local big-library had a reorganisation a couple of years back, more space by having fewer shelves.... if you have fewer shelves surely there must be fewer books. Sure, I guess that there are lots of books that are never taken out and so you don't need to take up space. But I'm sure that there are fewer and fewer books there that I want to read. For some reason Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell just don't interest me. Jasper Fforde does, but they have only one copy of his latest book and that has been on loan since they got it.
Lordy, that finished on a downer.... ignore that last bit, libraries are are great places, and I reconmend you go to yours tomorrow and see what books they have. You might find something you'd like to read. Or perhaps a CD to listen to, or maybe a dvd/video to watch. There are lots of things there, go support your local library.
Paige Turner (sorry of the pun there, not mine) is a blog by a swansea based librarian. I quite like the Charlie's Angels recruiting poster from here.