The value of libraries
Last week I spent a delightful hour or so at Deer Park Library in Toronto talking about and reading from Edith’s War. I was extremely gratified when more than thirty people showed up on a particularly frigid and windy afternoon to hear me. I had not expected to see more than a handful of readers, two being pals. (Thanks to Joan and Andrea for being there, front and centre.) The numbers doubtless had more to do with how well the library publicized the event rather than my author-as-star status. Many thanks to librarian Anna Tharyan who arranged the event. An Italian guardian angel was obviously looking out for me when librarian Tiziano Vanola was chosen to introduce me. Tiziano had read the book and had liked it particularly because of the novel’s Italian content. He, like most people, had not been aware of the internment of Italian civilians during WWII.
On the way home it occurred to me how libraries tend to be taken for granted by some of us who have easy everyday access to them and to the services they provide. With internet ordering it takes only a matter of seconds for me to locate a book in the library system and have it delivered to my local branch for me to pick up. It’s like magic! One has only to look at the furore in United Kingdom, where libraries are under threat from slashed budgets, to appreciate how bereft a populace can become at the prospect of losing their easy access to books. At Friday night’s massive London event, World Book Night, in Trafalgar Square, author Alan Bennett denounced the cuts by declaring, “Closing libraries is child abuse,”recalling childhood memories of visiting them. Margaret Atwood was also on hand to read and to lend her support. See: http://bit.ly/hhPMiJ
When one hears of the way banned books swiftly became available in Tunisia after the departure of ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (and which will, presumably, soon be available in that country’s 379 public libraries) it’s easier to appreciate the thirst for uncensored information that libraries can satisfy in a free and democratic setting. See: http://bit.ly/eycPEI
So a big Thank You to Toronto Public Library, and Long Live Libraries Everywhere!
On the way home it occurred to me how libraries tend to be taken for granted by some of us who have easy everyday access to them and to the services they provide. With internet ordering it takes only a matter of seconds for me to locate a book in the library system and have it delivered to my local branch for me to pick up. It’s like magic! One has only to look at the furore in United Kingdom, where libraries are under threat from slashed budgets, to appreciate how bereft a populace can become at the prospect of losing their easy access to books. At Friday night’s massive London event, World Book Night, in Trafalgar Square, author Alan Bennett denounced the cuts by declaring, “Closing libraries is child abuse,”recalling childhood memories of visiting them. Margaret Atwood was also on hand to read and to lend her support. See: http://bit.ly/hhPMiJ
When one hears of the way banned books swiftly became available in Tunisia after the departure of ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (and which will, presumably, soon be available in that country’s 379 public libraries) it’s easier to appreciate the thirst for uncensored information that libraries can satisfy in a free and democratic setting. See: http://bit.ly/eycPEI
So a big Thank You to Toronto Public Library, and Long Live Libraries Everywhere!
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