DUKES FANS:
“Without libraries, what have we?
We have no past and no future.”
Ray Bradbury,
writer
A society
- any society - is defined as a set of mutual benefits and duties embodied most
visibly in public institutions: public schools, public libraries, public
transportation, public hospitals, public parks, public museums, public
recreation, public universities, and so on
Robert Reich-historian, sociologist, former US
Secretary of Labor
I am a library guy. People who know me and/or read this newsletter know
that books, libraries, museums and such are things that have been big part of
my life since my childhood and that they have helped me become the person I am
today. I got my first Philadelphia Free Library card when I was in 2nd
grade, and over sixty years later I still own, have, and use one. When my wife
and I retired in 2015 she re-opened a public-school library at the Kelly School
in Germantown, and I still volunteer there. So libraries matter to me, and especially
public ones. Public libraries, to me are one of the best expressions of a
civilization and a culture, for in theory, they open up the world to all of its
citizens and offer the opportunity for each of them to become something and
someone they probably could not be otherwise.
Public libraries were where I first discovered many authors and
musicians that I have come to love and think of as life-long friends. I would
read the names of writers, musicians and songwriters in newspapers, magazines,
on book jackets, or on LP’s. I would then go to the library to read them or
hear them, and a new love affair would start. That continues today. And maps,
art history, poetry, history-whatever I became interested in the library was
there with materials and librarians who helped me. They have been quiet mainstays
of my life.
I mention this now because one of my favorite institutions, the New York
Public Library, turns 125 years old this year. Since I first visited Manhattan
some 50 years ago I have regularly visited branches of that library, especially
the flagship branch on 5th Avenue next to Bryant Park. Built at a
time when New York was striving to become a world class city, it is a massive,
beautifully designed building that celebrates learning, ideas, and possibility
through its layout and design. The rooms are huge and feature powerfully ornate
high ceilings, wonderful painting and architectural design, and lots of space; space
that invites hundreds of people to sit, learn, study, dream, and more.
The 125th anniversary
is being commemorated with lots of special programs and events that are
documented on the library’s website: https://www.nypl.org
I will visit the space a number of times this year to observe some of
the special activities. I travel to New York four or five times a year, and I love
spending time at that magnificent building. Its design dramatically emphasizes
the power of the public library and stands as an ode to learning and to
dreaming. It is an example of our civilization at its best, and I am so glad to
have access to it, both in NYC and in public libraries everywhere in this
country. The possibilities abound.
(Here is a link to one of my
favorite NY Public Library web features: https://www.nypl.org/voices/blogs/blog-channels/library-stories )
TTT
And just
in case you were wondering: https://www.good.is/most-checked-out-book-snowy-day
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