Myths vs Reality: A Library Story
I flip through the crisp pages of Walcott’s “White Egrets” as I sit in a library and I’m forced to ponder my childhood. I was raised with the very scent of books and I remember fondly the hardcovers, which I believe could have withstood the test of time and age like fine wine. I must also consider my contemporaries and their distaste for libraries. As much has been contended for the abolition, and irrelevance of libraries in contemporary society, I write as a product of libraries, to argue firmly for their case. I cannot ignore, then, that developing countries like ours need to do away with the fears of reading and embrace literacy as we chart our way to a more prosperous future. Our fears are so appropriately named “myths” as they do not hold water in the face of fact; the “reality” is that libraries are at the centre of civilised society.
It is undeniable that within the shelves of libraries themselves, one can find proof that libraries are important. I scour the internet because, yes, the internet is now part of the library and I come across an article. Rajat Ari captures perfectly the essence of libraries when he echoes that libraries are a “social institution”. This description rings true as libraries exist for, and respond to, the social needs of a society at any point in its history. Indeed, history is perhaps the greatest factor in the development of our dear St. Lucia, and the many other countries whose sovereignty was controlled by European powers. While libraries aid in the unbiased dissemination of knowledge, such would not have been possible for us two centuries ago; as opposed to other global counterparts. The education of our society was impeded by the social atrocity of slavery that left many of our ancestors in abject ignorance. However, in this day and age, the library stands tall and firmly as a beacon of education, and the knowledge therein, is essential for the growth of our St. Lucian identity. The Fountain Lion that stands before the University of Nsukka, Nigeria has inscribed beneath it, “To Restore The Dignity of Man”. This objective of education itself is universal to the human condition. Libraries are not endemic to St. Lucia, neither is education. Rather, the very fact that we may be educated and informed, and empowered with knowledge, speaks greatly to the “Dignity of Man”. Being now both able to read and access works of literature, we must gird ourselves with national pride and embrace our human dignity. Libraries have thus great importance for us, as Saint Lucians, and as humans.
“Libraries have outdated books”, I remember being told once, by a boy who was more mouth than brain and I can’t help but disagree with that statement. Even now, as I remember him, he was more nose than face; and in that I see the signature mark of any West Indian. I also see that in our libraries today. I search the shelves and I uncover “Aunt Jen”, by Paulette Ramsay, a female writer who is quintessential to the understanding of Caribbean literature. Originally published in 2002, set in the 1960’s, somewhere in Jamaica where only the angels dare tread. The book is old, older than I, but remains more relevant yet. Ramsay, through her book, speaks to larger regional issues of migration and family dynamics. Libraries house perhaps the most relevant books. These books transcend the simple page, and their either hard or softcovers, and engage with us on a more intimate level. Libraries house our culture as a people. I find myself, as a black West Indian writer, preoccupied with our black, West Indian libraries. It would be easier talking about the Library of Congress in the States, but I remember Shakespeare in these times. “The eye sees all but itself”, he had written in his daring political commentary of “Julius Caesar”. And so, I must examine our libraries. I remember even now, the Hunter J Francois Library, that is the centre of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. It has on an etagere but a fraction of the indigenous works of our black, West Indian people. I will further say that libraries elevate us to a new consciousness, where we are intimately informed of the deficiencies of our societies. Perhaps it is the restless activist within me that must always be fighting a cause in society, but libraries - and so reading - are for the revolutionaries.
Another favourite of mine goes something like this, “librarians are old”. I can’t remember who said this one. I will say that librarians are essential workers in the entire education system. If one dares argue that they are old, I dare say that they are the Stewards of Wisdom. Librarians bring, to me at least, the secular to the divine. They enable the education of the masses and help restore the Dignity of Man, and there are few professions that live up to such standards. I do not consider librarians to be know-it-alls like me, but it is poetic how they sacrifice for the patrons. Being in a position where you may have to be in a library all day, and not read - just so you could help a frustrated university student find relevant articles, is a sacrifice for me. I am not man enough to forgo burying myself in the pages just for a student. To be in a position where you can read, but choose not to for others, is a sacrifice. It may not measure up to the crucifixion, but few do.
I am led to yet another belief that perpetuates among the masses, that going to the library is only for children. With that, I agree. We must humble ourselves whenever we enter the halls of a library. When we enter, we must all be like children, eager to learn, curious and relentless. We must wrestle with our adult urges to think that we know it all, or know even some of it, and come to the library with questions galore. There is power in knowledge and wisdom in humility. So yes, only children come to the library. We are all children, seeking knowledge that will quell our longing. It is funny, one sees his childlikeness when he is desperate for an article to finish his research paper. It is only when we acknowledge our desperation for the omniscience of a book, that we see our childlikeness. It is in such moments of desperation that we truly appreciate our “old” librarians, that we truly see their worth. It is said that librarians are always quiet. I think they are at most times silent because they, too, wrestle with many stresses that lurk behind-the-scenes of the library, to ensure that we pass our exams, or elevate to a new consciousness when we read our latest novel.
There is so much that I wish to say about libraries, librarians and the transcendent nature of books that should I continue I may never finish. I peer at Walcott’s “White Egrets” and notice that as I argued, I did not read. “A fine mist carries me to other places”, the page reads. This is perhaps the best way to describe the impacts of libraries. Going to a library is like taking a sojourn to either Paris or Jamaica or to the innards of maths, engineering, or whatever, being guided by the hands of a sweet, young librarian.
References:
Ari, R. (2017). Importance and role of libraries in our society.
https://tamraliptamahavidyalaya.org/tmrr/vol2/5RAri_F1.pdf
Cruz, R. (2014, December 5). The legend behind the library myths.
http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2014/12/the-legend-behind-the-library-myths/
Ford, S. (1988). Myths and realities: The library in the university. Grand Valley Review,4(1), 5-9.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1720&context=gvr
JORDAN, A. (1972). LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN. Caribbean Quarterly, 18(3), 43–50. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40653273
Kagan, O. (2017, Oct 19). 7 insidious myths about libraries and reading (the first two kill me).
https://medium.com/everylibrary/7-insidious-myths-about-libraries-and-reading-the-first-Two-kill-me-ec2865358184
Ramchand, K. (1988). West Indian Literary History: Literariness, Orality and Periodization. Callaloo, 34, 95–110. https://doi.org/10.2307/2931112
Shakespeare, W. (2001). Julius Caesar (R. Gill, Ed.; 4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Sherman, W. (2007). Are librarians totally obsolete? 33 reasons why libraries and librarians are still extremely important. Teacher Librarian, 35(1), 21–27.
Soria, K. (2013). Factors Predicting the Importance of Libraries and Research Activities for Undergraduates,464-70. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0099133313001110
White, B. (2012). Granting Access to Knowledge: The Role of Libraries. WIPO MAGAZINE. https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2012/04/article_0004.html