Where the Books Are.....

A funny thing happened on the way to the library today...I had to drop off a book but had some time to kill before going home. A thought popped into my head...why not spend some time in the library? Take some photos and blip about books and the library today?..It would certainly represent my day - well, actually, it could represent most of my days! 

Books, bookstores and libraries...I love them all, and a good part of my day is spent reading. I have been going to my local library and its predecessor for 50 years...but in recent years, I have been just popping in to drop off or pick up a book on hold..not to browse..So today I thought I would take a little tour and remind myself of what a fabulous place our library is and take some photos.

So I did. I poked around areas and corners where I had seldom or never been - the children's section, the Archives, the carrells, the computers...I was truly impressed with how open, welcoming and comfortable it is. And I loved the artwork that kept showing up everywhere.( main) I vowed to spend more time there after we are more relaxed about this pandemic thing.  I took lots of photos of the space (extra) and left for home...

And then a funny thing happened on the way home!..My car radio is always on and tuned to the CBC and  the first thing I heard when I turned on the ignition, was "How do you feel when you walk into your library" Say what?  There was an interview underway with Alberto Manguel, the author of The Library at Night, "a beautifully illustrated and written meditation on libraries past and present, real and virtual  and of their continuing and always evolving place in our culture."  

Well, weird or what? What a coincidence! I was entranced...I intended to go online and listen to the entire interview later... and then, when I did go online, I also discovered that The Library At Night, "an immersive virtual-reality journey that takes you inside iconic and mythical libraries throughout history", is in Toronto at the moment!  It was created by Robert Le Page and inspired by Alberto Manguel's book! 

All of this was news to me...Alberto Manguel? Never heard of him..but now I am intrigued. I have put the book on hold at the library (!) and am about to listen to a podcast interview with Alberto back in 2010....which I assume was shortly after the book was published.... 

What a day! So in the end, a library blip really DID represent my day!