Last month I went to the RHS Lindley Library for the first
time and now I can’t wait to go back; the talk about the language of flowers by
Brent Elliott was wonderful, and the library itself is a beautiful space.
I’ve had a thing about libraries ever since I first went to
my local library in Welling in Kent. I even remember the name of the librarian
in the children’s section (which was a big room on the first floor) – she was
called Miss Frost and she was not frosty at all! She was tall and had a brown
perm and I think she wore glasses, I’m not sure, but she smiled most of the
time. If you’d been to the library a couple of times, she would remember your
name and chat to you when you came in, which was so sweet. I think perhaps it
was the first time that I remember someone going out of their way to be nice to
me, not because they were my family or a teacher or a school friend, but
because they were just that sort of person. It was a few years before Matilda
by Roald Dahl was published, but Miss Frost was a bit like a cross between the
librarian and Miss Honey.
There was a scheme to encourage children to read every
summer. You were given a little card that had different genres of books and a
space to write down the name of the book. Once you’d read a book, Miss Frost
would write it down in your card. Then you’d choose another from another genre.
I remember the genres included adventure, romance, non-fiction, poetry and
animal stories. Maybe horror, too. Once you’d read six different types of book,
you got a badge, and then you got a new card to go away and fill with new books
that you’d read. There was a small ceremony at the end of each summer, when you
got a certificate for reading so much. I’m trying to remember the books I read
as part of the scheme. I’m sure Treasure Island was ‘adventure’, The Voyage of
QV66 was an ‘animal story’, The Hypnotiser by Michael Rosen was ‘poetry’ and
either The Reluctant Vampire or the sequel, The Vampire’s Revenge, by Eric
Morecambe was ‘horror’. Yes, that’s right - Eric Morecambe of Morecambe and
Wise wrote a children’s book about vampires decades before Twilight.
I really hope they still have schemes like this for children. I
have a friend who is a librarian and I know that many local libraries are
either shutting or facing terrible cutbacks. Not only are good children’s
libraries great for children, I suspect they are also a blessing for parents
during school holidays. I used to spend my holidays playing with the kids on my
street on the road (something I imagine people don’t do much now because of
fears of safety), watching cartoons, or reading book after book, and I didn’t
complain about being bored when I was at home. Not to say I didn’t whine about
plenty of other kid problems!
I love this post. I lived in a VERY small town when I was a kid. In the summer there was nothing to do but go swimming and go to the library. I did both everyday! I was never bored, like you, the librarians were my friends. They even let me help them choose new books for the children's section. It breaks my heart to hear of a library closing. It would be a shame if children didn't have the same opportunity we had to learn to love books and librarians!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm glad you like it! It's lovely that you have such happy memories of your childhood library - it's quite influential, isn't it?
DeleteI hope libraries don't close - they are such a brilliant way to provide joy, understanding and education, and nurture curiosity and imagination. They save people money too!