Polly 6/15/16 Polly 6/15/16

Day 15: Chipping Barnet Library - Without libraries what have we? #30days30libraries

Chipping Barnet Library was closed today.I almost walked into the doors, still hoping that they would sweep open but they do not move.They remained stubbornly closed.The librarians of Barnet are taking industrial action this week (on Monday at Mill Hill Library, on Tuesday at North Finchley and today at Chipping Barnet) against the proposed cuts to their service. This youtube they've made explains why. I met Stephanie who thought the library was open today, at the entrance.I asked her if she came to this library often."All the time. Avidly. Voraciously," she replied. "I'm a great reader. I come here about two or three times a week."We sat together on the bench outside the entrance to 'sun our brain cells,' as Stephanie put it."This is a purpose-built building," Stephanie told me. "There's space for reading, computers ..." She gestured to the space beyond the doors."I can't understand why reading is seen as elitism these days. Surely it should be something we are encouraging everyone to do. Don't they want to do that anymore?And another thing, I like to read and enjoy a book but I don't necessarily want to keep it forever. Even if I lived in Buckingham Palace, I wouldn't have enough room for all the books that I have read. In a library, someone else can enjoy it too.""I'm very much in favour of this strike. I went on a strike a few years ago and we marched up Barnet Hill. That was how much we meant it," Stephanie told me, with a smile.While we sat there, a man came with a bagful of books to return and a boy, still in school uniform, tried the doors."I came to use the computers. I'm in Year 10 and I'm doing my mocks next week," he told me.He stopped for a moment after we spoke, unsure of which way to go, before he walked away.

Polly 5/31/16 Polly 5/31/16

#30days30libraries

I've done a fair amount of ranting, a huge portion of sighing but now is the time to do something. I'm not really sure if it will help at all ... (that feels like something that I should admit to straightaway)But starting tomorrow, and for the whole month of June, I will be visiting a different library every day.I will be writing about what I see, who I meet and what I learn.30 days. 30 libraries. 1 author.As soon as I thought of doing this which came as most ideas do, at the 4am witching hour, I haven't been able to shake it. Though I'm slightly worried whether I might be able to do it practically, (I am genuinely in awe of people who are as sorted in life to do a weekly pilates class) I am doing it nonetheless.30 days. 30 libraries. 1 scratched, faded Oyster card.30 days. 30 libraries. 1 slightly frazzled human.30 days. 30 libraries. 1 to do list that will be ignored.Like my colleagues in the book world, I am enraged and shocked by the library closures and cuts. I love libraries. I love using them. I love what they stand for. And I can't bear the thought of future generations being denied access to them. So I thought rather than continue to feel enraged, I would celebrate them. I would find out what they are really about, how they are truly being used.30 days. 30 libraries. 1 curious person.I grew up in libraries. My parents worked next door to one and rather than chase fluffy paper clips down under filing cabinets, my sister and I spent most of our school holidays in the library next door. I now live on a boat which means libraries are complete sanctuaries to my family and many of my neighbours. They are a source of not only books and wifi, but power and toilets(!), which are very precious commodities to any boat dweller. As a result of living in a perpetually moving home, I visit a fair few libraries and am owner to a number of well-used library cards. I feel that I have a good feel for who uses libraries and what they get out of them but I've realised that there is still a lack of understanding about what is actually going on in there for a lot of people. This, I want to address.30 days. 30 libraries. 1 shouter-about-it.And as with everything I do, I hope that I will find some good books along the way too.30 days. 30 libraries. 1 reader.I'll be posting here and tweeting when I have battery, and certainly thinking about this a lot over the whole month of June.I would love to visit people's local libraries if anyone would like to share their spaces and stories, and would also be keen to see what's happening in schools. Do get in touch if you would like to make a visit happen and I will do my best to arrange it.30 days. 30 libraries. Countless ways libraries have helped a countless number of people.