More about Public Libraries

Thanks, patb, for your comment on your public libraries in Toronto. I loved the image of writing tools spread out on the large table, surrounded by inspiration and knowledge.


Two years ago, when I was in Charlotte, North Carolina, taking a course, I used the public library, in particular the Internet access in V2, the Virtual Village. It was down in the basement, but there were snazzy neon lights and a great purple and green decor. I got a visitor's card and could check my e-mail and send home the good report about what all I was doing.


One thing I really liked was actually outside the library. Along the walkway, posted on cement pillars were black and white square signs with quotes by famous people, some of them writers, about writing. (Charlotte is a city that is really into public art.)

Here's a sampling of the quotes:

Irving Stone: It's not macho to read a book? Nonsense. Reading is a stouthearted activity, disporting courage, keenness, stick-to-it-ness.

A.A. Milne: "I just like to know," said Pooh, humbly.

Groucho Marx: I find television very educational. Every time someone switiches it on, I go into another room and read a good book.

Emily Dickinson: A word is dead,
when it is said,
Some say.
I say
It just begins
To live that day.


Ernest Hemingway: We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

Post us a comment telling about your favourite library or a favourite feature of your library, past or present.

Alternatively, post your favourite quote about writing.

Or do both!

My Public Library

I love my public library. I love the helpful librarians and library clerks. Despite the fact that they have reorganized the stacks and I'm still not sure where everything is now, I love to go and wander among the rows, scanning the shelves for something interesting or useful.

This week, I took out 17 books about dogs. Why this sudden interest in canine companions? It was a reading project for one of my ESL classes. The books were from the juvenile non-fiction section, and they had lots of coloured photos, quirky facts, and helpful hints. All the books belonged to a series, so they all looked the same and had the same layout, but each one dealt with a specific breed. This similarity was beneficial: students would find out the same categories of information for the breed that they chose. In class, they chose a book and just read. I noticed some of them copying down new vocabulary, which assured me that the reading time was well-spent.

While I was at the circulation desk checking out my books, I picked up the April edition of the Library newsletter, an 8 1/2 x 11 double-sided colour photocopied sheet with lots of tidbits about what's going on at the library: new books, services, hours, board members, and reading recommendations.

The Library to Go information was particularly interesting to me as an ESL teacher. Free audiobook and eBook downloads are available from the library web site. Wide selection for youth, children, and adults! No late fees!! Many of these selections are iPod compatible: The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel, Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy, Year of the Tiger by Jack Higgins, and Breach of Trust by David Ellis are just four of these new choices. My students, most of whom have iPods, can listen to audiobooks and improve their listening skills and pronunciation.

Big cities have big libraries, with branches throughout the city in various neighbourhoods. Small towns have smaller libraries but can probably access any book a patron wants through the interlibrary loan system.

Whether you're walking, jogging, driving, or relaxing in an armchair at home (soon out on the deck in the sunshine . . . as soon as it stops snowing, that is), grab a book and read.

It's what writers do when they're not writing.