Libraries #

11 August 1998

“Down the aisles along the titles where you run your eyes, read a few lines”

— Broadcast, The Booklovers (1996)

Isn’t it funny how you never appreciate things while you have them? This evening I was watching a movie - “The Young Poisoner’s Handbook”, which featured a scene in a library. Long aisles, full of dusty books containing vast amounts of knowledge. It occurred to me how nice it would be to have free and easy access to such a place, and the time to browse. Sure, the internet and Amazon.com in particular are truly wonderful, but there’s something aesthetically pleasing about being surrounded by physical books.

Then just as I was sitting feeling jealous of this character, I realised that only last year, at university, I had access to millions of books, but rarely utilised that resource. My time in the library was mostly spent painfully trying to figure out the solutions to depressingly tough problems, or browsing through the daily newspaper. That’s assuming I actually made it to the library, as more than often I’d be at home, watching Fifteen-to-One or Countdown, or furiously working on the same problems in my unkempt student room.

So, would I do things differently? I don’t think so. It’s a cliche to say that “you never realise what you’ve got until it’s gone”, so I’ll avoid making that point as such. My point would be that while at uni your lifestyle is not geared up to making the most of the terrific facilities available - you use them as a means to an end (i.e. getting a degree!) rather than as an end in themselves. Maybe now, having obtained that degree certificate and a career, I can take some time to read the books I should have read years ago.