Saturday, February 05, 2011

Save Our Libraries Day

Today is 'Save Our Libraries Day' here in the UK.  A worthwhile cause I think, don't you?  Here in Stoke we are to lose two libraries at Fenton and Burslem and also the mobile library.  Unfortunately non of the events listed are to be held near here which is a shame because despite the wind and rain I would have gone along to listen to the read-ins and add my voice to the protest.  I have supported my local library this week by taking out two books to read and reserving one on line.


I've always had a great love of books and of libraries. When I was a child a visit to our nearest town to take books out of the library was a huge treat. I remember the large, heavy doors, the brown tiled floor, the whitewashed walls, the tall sash windows letting in light and the dark wooden shelves groaning under the weight of many books; each one unique, each one a ticket to adventure and learning;  a trip to another world.  I loved being able to chose my own books and take them to the desk.  I was fascinated by the boxes of  reader's tickets and the date stamp and ink pads, so much so that I would often play libraries on the table at home with my Mum and Dad's books, torn up slips of newspaper in an old shoe box as the tickets and a hot water bottle top as the date stamp.  As a teenager I read avidly and I think got my love of history from writers like Jean Plaidy, Anya Seaton, Margaret Irwin, Juliet Dymoke, Norah Lofts and Georgette Heyer.  I read anything and everything set in the Regency period and in the time of the English Civil War - this stemmed, I think,  from reading 'Children of the New Forest', 'For the King' and 'Gambol for a Throne' as well as the usual Secret Seven, Little Women, What Katy Did, Wind in the Willows and the 'Wells' series by Lorna Hill.


My tastes in reading have changed over the years as discovering Dorothy L Sayers, Josephine Tey, Margery Allingham and Agatha Christie in my early twenties lead me towards my present love of mystery and crime novels with many genres including biography, classics, modern classics and contemporary literature  in between.

I could go on forever listing books I have read and loved not to mention those I have read without any abiding impressions, those I had to read at school and for 'O' levels, 'A' levels and degree and those I'm ashamed to say that I abandoned after a few pages.


The book I'm reading at the moment  is 'The House at Seas End' by Elly Griffiths an author recommended to me by a friend last year.  I enjoyed her first book  'The Crossing Places' which introduced the characters of Dr Ruth Galloway, cat loving forensic archaeologist and DCI Harry Nelson of the North Norfolk Police Force.  Her second book 'The Janus Stone' was just as fascinating and the characters and story lines introduced in the first book carry through into the second and third novels which are set around Kings Lynn and the North Norfolk coast.

I'd be pretty lost without books;  my life would be poorer if I didn't have them and libraries to borrow them from.  I do buy books too, of course.  I expect we all want to own our favourite books by our favourite authors but I couldn't possibly afford to buy every book I wanted to read.  Libraries are of course, so much more than just books.  Our local library is always busy with people using the computers, school parties listening to books being read to them, book reading groups and other community activities.  Libraries enrich the lives of so many people in many different ways - we need to keep them and help them flourish because once they have gone we will surely never see their like again.

16 comments:

  1. Have to admit I haven't been into a library for years (save for the one at work), maybe because the nearest one to here (a drive away) is so unlike the one I was never out of as a youngster. (And why didn't I think of using a hot water bottle top as a date stamp???) I seem to have mirrored your reading journey (I remember we were also into Juliette Benzoni's historical romance novels at school). I really enjoyed Elly Griffiths' first two books so will be adding the third to my to be read list.

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  2. It's sad to think of the government closing down libraries, I don't use mine often, but I'm glad to know it's there. Here they're closing down post offices and talking about doing away with Saturday delivery.

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  3. I had know idea it was 'save our libraries day' even though I went to two local libraries this morning. For years the local council have threatened to close our libraries but we luckliy got a lottery grant to refurbish one of them. The old building was tastfully modernised and has a soundproofed music room, community rooms and internet access. They only trouble is they have hardly any books!!!

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  4. Brings back memories. My sister and I often played libraries too with out books. We made tickets for them but I also purchased a date stamp to date stamp them just like the real library!!!! Those were the days!

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  5. I could never have read so much as a child without the local library .... we simply couldn't afford books at the rate I wanted to read.
    I enjoyed taking my own children along to the library too .... but to my shame I haven't been inside one for years.
    xxx

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  6. They want to move Longton library to Longton town hall. Of course it suits me where it is but I'm not sure that would be better. I notice the check in/out machine has also taken over, good or bad? Well if it saves money on the wages....

    I use the library loads now, also the online service. I could go off on one the money Stoke council wastes, its such a shame when they target libraries and the community gym.

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  7. We are fortunate that our library is a very good one, and also is within walking distance. It's a sad thing indeed when a society begins to lose the libraries. Oh, they are so important!

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  8. You're absolutely right about never getting it back once it's gone! These things only ever work one way. I too loved my local library as a child and have continued with a love of books. I'd not heard of Elly Griffiths, but will be making a note of her name! I think I would enjoy her books.

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  9. good for you Rosie, we need our libraries. Ours is closed at the moment for refurbishment but I have heard that when it opens again it will be self service.

    I had to take my dad's library books back recently, he was 97 when he took out his last book, (on the French Resistance). He was a life long learner but for him and many like him, the library was a warm, safe place to visit. He could read the paper, have a chat, a place of learning and enjoyment.

    Thanks for your kind words, I have missed you too.

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  10. What a coincidence - Dave and I had also planned to see the snowdrops at Rode Hall on Saturday, but after watching the forecast on Thursday night we decided it would be waste of petrol to return home this weekend so have stayed indoors in Wolves!

    I was also a bit disappointed that there were not any library events nearby. I haven't had much reason to use a library since finishing my degree a few years ago, but up to then I had used my local library since I was a child. I don't want to see any closing.

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  11. Like you I joined our local library as soon as I was old enough and spent half my time there during school holidays. The sad thing is that these days libraries(at least my local one) contain fewer and fewer books. The library in the city centre is excellent though. These days I buy most of my books though I do use the library, it would certainly be the last area where I would make cuts.
    Elly Griffiths is a new name to me but the books by her that you mention sound the kind of thing I would enjoy. Shall look for them on my next visit to Waterstones.

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  12. All my old books are stamped with dates (from my John Bull stamping kit) too Rosie - Libraries are a treasure trove of discovery. xxx

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  13. Oh what memories you stirred of my visits to the library as a child. I too was fascinated by the little tickets and the date stamp! In our new, ultra-modern library check-out and returns are all automated....you put the book on a conveyor and it is whisked back into the library, even when it is closed!

    I will look out for the Elly Griffiths books, as I have not read any of them yet.

    Marie x

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  14. I love libraries... becaue that's my job. If you ask me the main problem is we try to do too much... we end up chucking books out to make room for other stuff. I'm all for progress but we've lost our focus on books and reading....if I'd wanted to be a community worker.... then that's what I would have done. Sorry, moan over! Use your comments cards in libraries to let them know you want books as the focus...they might listen to you!

    Tracey

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  15. Playing catch up again Rosie! mainly because I am preparing for the launch of a new 'Angel Row Local History Forum'. in Nottingham Central Library on Tuesday 15 Feb. Here, there are cuts of course, but the way it's being done is to reduce all the branch library hours by 10%, but open the Central Library six days a week (at present it is closed on Sundays and Fridays). Only one library has closed (Wilford), mainly because many of its users did not live in the city. In other words, like so much around here, the poorer, city folk have been subsidising those in the better-off suburbs who feed off the city.
    What is being done to libraries is wrong. They have always been a soft target for cuts. I have every sympathy with the large urban councils who have had their funding cut by the Coalition Government so that rural, Tory, councils do not have to suffer cuts. The fact that they are still making them tells you everything you need to know about what they think about libraries and public service. I can hear them now. 'Bring back the 1d Boots Library' and private, subscription, libraries.
    Sorry to get political, but the only way to correct the wrong being done to libraries is to protest loudly and vote those responsible out of office the next time they stand for election — then we will see how much our fellow voters really care. Until then, keep up to the good fight and demonstrate when you get the chance!

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  16. Hi Rosie,

    I had to come back to tell you how much I enjoyed your recommendation of Elly Griffiths' The Crossing Places. I finished reading it and requested The Janus Stone from the library, which I have just started. Her third book isn't in our library yet, but I've got my name on the list for when it arrives. Thanks for introducing me to a new author.

    Enjoy your weekend.

    Marie x

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