Thursday, August 31, 2017

Thursday Thoughts...

"A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert".

Andrew Carnegie 

Andrew Carnegie founded many a great library; and I love his belief in them, and his commitment to them.

It is so interesting to see what great importance he places upon them as the number one thing a community can do.  I love libraries of all shapes and sizes. All over the world I visit libraries and soak up the wonder of them; the magic of them and the sense of community they create.

I think libraries offer people so much - a place to be,  to sit in the company of others, to research, to learn, to discover. So many great verbs are associated with libraries.

The idea of a never-failing spring speaks to me of renewal and I know that libraries are so clever at renewing themselves, their community offering, their availability and their services.

Sigh, I should just get badge that says I love libraries.


Cardiff Library - a great space and a great place.

8 comments:

  1. A wonderful quote that holds great personal meaning to me. As a child of immigrants who came to the US from Spain, books were scarce in my home. Getting my library card at age 7 opened the world to me in ways that I had never imagined. Words filled me with journeys of discovery, fantasy, art, science, humor, foreign lands, flora and fauna, all within the grasp of my finger tips. It is not unusual for children of immigrants to connect in this way as I found when I moved to New Mexico. One of our country's treasures, author Rudolfo Anaya,lives in New Mexico. Eager to read more of his works, I found his collection of essays at my local library. In one of his esays he wrote of finding the key to so many wonderful things in the pages of books in the library. I felt such a connection upon reading his words, so similar to my own experience as a child, that I wrote him a fan letter. To my everlasting joy, he wrote back and a year later, I got to meet him in person and speak with him at an event honoring him for his written works. Libraries give gifts, some tangible, some intangible; for me receiving a personal letter and later meeting one of my heroes, all from checking out a library book is an everlasting gift.

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    1. Oh Marti - what a wonderful story, so beautiful. Libraries can offer so much - and these moments that shape a life; how special they are. Amazing.

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  2. what a beautiful library, would love to visit Wales but will probably have to wait til the next lifetime!

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    1. It was fabulous Mo - right in the heart of the city and big and busy!

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  3. Back in my days as a working librarian I often said, "I can't believe they pay me to do this" ...

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