“In Senegal, the polite expression for saying someone died is to say his or her library has burned. When I first heard the phrase, I didn’t understand it, but over time I came to realize it was perfect. Our minds and souls contain volumes inscribed by our experiences and emotions; each individual’s consciousness is a collection of memories we’ve cataloged and stored inside us, a private library of a life lived.” (p. 93)
I am a lover of libraries, as I’ve expressed in a couple posts here. To read a book that so eloquently describes my feelings towards libraries is incredible. A love letter to libraries and to the city of Los Angeles, my current temporary home, The Library Book is a wonderful story, weaving together the history of libraries with the 1986 Los Angeles Central Library fire. Orlean takes us deep into the library’s shipping department to digitization to library budgets to the homeless epidemic to the fire department, all strung together cohesively.
Orlean begins with her introduction to libraries and the joy they bring her. Coincidentally, she is from the town next to mine in Cleveland! That childhood library she describes so fondly? I worked there! Being able to so fully picture exactly what she is writing about enhanced my experience reading. But if any of you have loved a library, it’s easy to picture that instead. To remember the joy of the children’s department, bright and colorful. To have a stack of books to bring home, starting one in the car because you’re too excited to wait. Orlean reignites the passion I have for libraries. Many times throughout this book I’ve laughed out loud, groaned, or sighed, reminiscing about working at a library.
Some of the chapters were less thrilling than others. I mean, one can only describe working in the shipping department for so long before the reader gets bored. I’ve worked in libraries so I didn’t find those chapters dull, but still quite a bit less interesting than the chapters on the fire or Harry Peak or Tessa Kelso, a city librarian big on modernizing the library in 1889. But even seemingly boring chapters, such as the first libraries in LA back in the 1870s, are rife with unique tidbits about the library system. Some of the first library directors were women and faced challenges women still face today, like their male counterparts having a higher salary. Mary Jones, for example, was forced out of her job to be replaced by a man with no library experience. Orlean notes the shift from predominantly male librarians to more female librarians, a trend that continues today. Additionally, I found it fascinating that certain concepts have existed for far longer than I knew. For example, OverDrive, the ebook loaning service, came into existence in 2003 but very first formed in 1986! Clearly I’d be living under a rock because I hadn’t heard of this incredibly successful and important company until 2014.
I enjoyed how Orlean switched between topics chapter to chapter. It was a good way to break up the potential monotony of library history and arson. I imagine readers pick up this book for many different reasons: the history of libraries, LA history, the 1986 fire, the trial, the societal issues that affect libraries, etc etc. But it’s clear that the rest of the topics will be interesting too, thanks to Orlean’s lovely writing style and well-researched insider view. Definitely, definitely recommend.
Music: Okay, no judgment. Moving had me sentimental so I threw it back to early 2000s with Avril Lavigne and Three Days Grace. So much Things I’d Never Say.
Linnea Books It 