As a keen reader and a writer, you can imagine how passionate I am about libraries. This week (9-14 October) marks national Libraries Week, and I thought I’d talk a bit about what they mean to me.
I practically grew up in the library in my home town, spending hours choosing books every Saturday morning. I worked my way through virtually all the children’s books they had, mostly heading for the Famous Five and Roald Dahl in the earlier years and Sweet Valley High and Point Horror when I was a teenager, before venturing into the grown-ups section.
Given the speed that I read at, my parents would never have been able to keep up with me if they had to buy every book I wanted. Nor was my bedroom, or our house, big enough to store them all. Instead I relied on the library as my main source of entertainment.
It was probably while raking through the books at the library that I decided I wanted to become a writer myself, to one day see my name on those shelves. Whether I’ll ever see my book on a library shelf is another matter but, hey, you’ve got to have a dream, haven’t you?
Even now, as an adult, although my visits to the library are less frequent, I still believe they’re a valuable resource. Nowadays they’re not just about books. They provide free internet access for people who don’t have it at home, a places for people to meet and a periodicals section where you can go old-school and check out the newspapers and magazines.
What really frightens me is that, with the number of libraries closing, they might be lost forever. Once a library is closed, what incentive is there for the local council to put money into reopening it? They’d have to update their whole book collection and I dread to think how much that would cost.
But it’s vital that they stay open. Where are people who can’t afford books going to get reading material? The library in my home town at first stopped opening on a Saturday – when are school-age children supposed to get books, I hear you ask – and has now closed down altogether. The nearest library is in the next town, about 10 minutes away by car and goodness knows how long if you have to get the bus. If you can’t afford or get access to a bus then it’s completely inaccessible.
I’m so disappointed that this has happened, but again not surprised. It must be expensive to keep the collection up-to-date without even considering the cost of the building and other overheads.
So, during Libraries Week I’d like to set a challenge for all of us to visit our local library at least once this week. In a bizarre quirk of fate, I’ll be self-publishing my debut crime novel on Saturday, but I’ll make sure I take time out to visit the library and do my bit to keep it going.
We absolutely cannot let these valuable resources die out. As they say, use it or lose it, so let’s make sure we keep it for future generations.
To find out more about Libraries Week, visit their website.