A Love Letter to Libraries
Have you got a library card? No but actually, like really? For the town you live in now not the one you grew up in? And do you use it? No, I didn’t think so. Ok, I’ll resign my school-ma’am attitude now because I can see it isn’t working. Let’s talk libraries.
In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a bit of a library evangelist. Having had a library card as a kid, I completely fell out of the habit at secondary school and university. ‘I have a uni library card, why would I need a local one?’ I foolishly, foolishly said. That was until a friend took me into our local library and forcibly signed me up. I say forcibly, the process was incredibly easy and took twenty minutes tops.
From that first day, I was hooked. There was a printer! If I ever needed to print anything, there was a printer! And desktop computers and wifi, and a photocopier! And audiobooks and playscripts and literally every novel I could ever think of to read! I now regularly go, like an outgrown Matilda Wormwood, with the massivest tote bag I can find, and come away with six or seven books.
You may be asking why this is so great. From this I can assume you either A) never read or b) have literally all the money in the world. If the answer is A, I would encourage you to consult the previous paragraph again vis a vis the printer and the wifi and remember the last time you had a paper jam the day before something important. That should answer that quite neatly. If the answer is B I would encourage you to try having some empathy (possibly a new concept for you) for people who cannot afford to spend £10 on a paper back, or even more on a hardback. We all deserve stories, don’t we? They are undoubtedly one of the things that make us human. And so we come to the greatest thing about the modern municipal library: at their core they are incredibly, incredibly human spaces.
This year I have read an increasing number of articles and think pieces about the death of the third space. You’re probably asking what a third space is, and that is likely because you don’t have one. Put simply, the third space is a space that is neither your home nor your workplace, where you go with the intention of socialising. That discounts the gym, where you go to exercise. Restaurants don’t count, you’re there to eat. Coffee shops maybe, but I don’t currently have the budget to buy an iced matcha every single time I want to leave the house (although this is obviously aspirational). Historically in Britain you would have church, or the pub, or a village hall, but I’m an agnostic who doesn’t always want to drink and lives in a city. Having graduated from uni there seemed to be no third spaces left, until I was dragged to the library.
Unlike in Ancient Alexandria, modern library membership is free. My local library has exceptionally good heating (which in British winter time is a boon in itself). It is open from seven till seven every day. I don’t need to buy a drink to sit there, and can stay for the entire twelve hours if I am so inclined. If I ever need help, every librarian is incredibly friendly. There is now an app which I can use to see if they have a book, and to renew any books I have borrowed. There is a separate app for ebooks and audiobooks, meaning I can take books with me when I travel. If I’m ever stuck in the city I know they have lovely clean toilets. My library even runs several free social groups, from Thursday afternoon knit and natter (yes please), to an American literature discussion club, to a mental health colouring book group. You don’t need to book, you don’t need to pay, you don’t need to know anyone: you can just turn up.
So I’m going to ask you again, do you have a library card? Libraries are funded based on how many users they have. Therefore, by getting a library card you’re not only accessing the best modern third space around, but helping to secure it for other members of the community who need this vital resource. Go and borrow a book, use a computer, or print something. Revel in the fact that these resources are available to us. I dare you!