The Habit of Libraries Matters • Natascha Biebow

I have been thinking about libraries.

Libraries are of course buildings that house stacks of books, periodicals, newspapers, computers – they are places that house INFORMATION in all its modern guises. If you’re lucky, they also have kind and knowledgeable librarians, who will give you advice and order books for you. They might also be really, good listeners!

 

From A Library Book For Bear by Bonnie Becker - such a friendly librarian!

My relationship with libraries was habit-forming from the outset. I can still remember the books I chose and read from our lower school library. In its reading corner, it had a huge, spectacular colourful papier-mâché elephant that gazed down kindly over our small selves. You could sit underneath it and chat or read. It was a friendly welcoming presence and a really good listener. 

The Elephant in the EARJ library

This was the place you could go and browse the open stacks to find the next treasure to read, do research for your school work, and where you could meet your friends at break or lunchtime. It felt like home because it had books and I loved books like friends.

In those pre-computer, pre-barcode days, remember how your library books each had a card that got stamped in and out with an inkpad? It seems incredibly old-fashioned now compared to the cool automated systems available now!

In high school, I often hung out at the library during lunch break and the librarian frequently had to tell me off for sneaking bites of my sandwich (“No eating in the library!") or laughing too loudly with my friends.

At university and in my early days working as a children’s book editor, the library was essential for inspiration, research and fact-checking. I was lucky enough to visit the British Library in its old reading room in the British Museum and pore over the stacks at the London Library. 

The magnificent old British Library Reading Room in Bloomsbury

Now, you can do a lot of this research from your desktop, but still, archives have to be housed somewhere, in a building, in a library. Recently for my book THE CRAYON MAN, I found it priceless to be able to research remotely using sources such as the online Library of Congress.

When I became a parent, our local library became the weekly destination for the sing and rhyme session. I re-learned all those nursery rhymes I’d forgotten, key for developing early literacy, and a looked forward to the respite of seeing other parents and toddlers.

 

 Rhyme time at the library

Now my son is older, going to the library has become a habit we can share – a regular trip to explore its shelves yields a pile of books to explore. We have a golden ticket!

We have nothing to lose. It’s free (well, paid for by our council tax), and if the book is not the right fit, we can exchange it for another. In my life, libraries are first and foremost a place that has a truly priceless treasure – books I didn’t know I even needed to read!

Libraries are one of the oldest institutions of our society, but in many places in Britain, they are in trouble. 

Placards protesting against library closure

As funding is cut, many councils are either closing libraries or local volunteers are being drafted in to run them. In the case of the council where I live, the library is now run by a charitable social enterprise. The library is actually quite good still and we're incredibly lucky to have it within walking distance.

I went on a hunt to see if I could find some statistics about library usage among children. According to the data compiled by the DCMS Taking Part 2014/15 Annual Child Report in 2015, and reported by The Reading Agency:

• 68% of 5-10 year olds and 74% 11-15 year olds visited the library in the last year.

• 14% of 5-10 year olds and 29% of 11-15 year olds visited the library in the last week

• 35% of adults visited a public library in the last 12 months

It was also found that “libraries play a key role in providing books for children”.

 

From Luna Loves Library Day by Joseph Coelho

Interestingly, research by the Arts Council also showed evidence of “library users having higher life satisfaction, happiness and sense of purpose in life”. Library usage therefore goes beyond books and reading, but also impacts on mental health, social inclusion, community and increased well-being.

 

Reading books holds the key to our future, to creating imaginative solution-driven children, developing all-important empathy, and creating a happier, more equitable, diverse and peaceful world. And libraries, after all contain books – and books are friends!

 

Charlie and Lola in the library by Lauren Child

Want to know more?

The Reading Agency Library Facts Impact report here

You can read a very good argument for libraries and why reading matters by Chris Riddell and Neil Gaiman here and in pictures

How have libraries shaped you?

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Natascha Biebow, MBE, Author, Editor and Mentor

 

Natascha is the author of The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons, illustrated by Steven Salerno, Elephants Never Forget and Is This My Nose?, editor of numerous award-winning children’s books, and Co-Regional Advisor (Co-Chair) of SCBWI British Isles. She received an MBE for her services to children's book writers and illustrators. She runs Blue Elephant Storyshaping, an editing, coaching and mentoring service aimed at empowering writers and illustrators to fine-tune their work pre-submission. Find her at www.nataschabiebow.com