"There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the Earth as the FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY...where neither rank, office, nor wealth receive the slightest consideration."
- Andrew Carnegie
Reading, as much as writing, has been a major part of my life. I am in honesty, very much in love with reading. I don't know when it started but for as long as I can remember, I've been hogging books at my nightstand. Assiduously exploring the different worlds offered by each books - every new word expanding the territories of my imaginative mind. However, in the twenty years of my life, I never knew of the bliss of visiting a public library. A free, totally updated, no padlocked encyclopedias, public library. Well, that is, until now.
I grew up in the Philippines, a third world country where more often than not books get washed away by yearly floods. Coming from a middle class family, I was one of those lucky kids whose books don't get washed away and even if they did, my family has the money to buy them back. The earliest books I remembered having were those Disney colored books - the ones with the golden spines. I had them at the age of 3 and re-read them a lot. Who doesn't fancy those happy ending stories eh? I'm proud to say that a decade later, they've been in good condition as both my little sisters were able to use them as well. At the start of pre-school, my mom provided me a lot of reading comprehension books and math worksheet books. Quite the "Kumon" training really, as my elementary days were full of those books. I enjoyed them so much that my mom decided that I was ready to read novels. Really mom? Buying "Moby Dick" and "The Swiss Family Robinson" for a seven year old? I tried reading it for a bit but I didn't last a page! Five years after, I would find out that Moby Dick was one of the hardest read novels in history. Fancy that!
I grew up in the Philippines, a third world country where more often than not books get washed away by yearly floods. Coming from a middle class family, I was one of those lucky kids whose books don't get washed away and even if they did, my family has the money to buy them back. The earliest books I remembered having were those Disney colored books - the ones with the golden spines. I had them at the age of 3 and re-read them a lot. Who doesn't fancy those happy ending stories eh? I'm proud to say that a decade later, they've been in good condition as both my little sisters were able to use them as well. At the start of pre-school, my mom provided me a lot of reading comprehension books and math worksheet books. Quite the "Kumon" training really, as my elementary days were full of those books. I enjoyed them so much that my mom decided that I was ready to read novels. Really mom? Buying "Moby Dick" and "The Swiss Family Robinson" for a seven year old? I tried reading it for a bit but I didn't last a page! Five years after, I would find out that Moby Dick was one of the hardest read novels in history. Fancy that!
What I was most fascinated with most though, among the ton of books mom bought for us was the Britannica Encyclopedia set. Ah...those golden edges and the crispy smell of that special paper they printed it on. It was just amazing beyond words! I woke up to the Nara bookshelf filled with large black books and with all three layers of the two-meter long furniture, occupied. Mind you, they seemed endless for a kid like me! You know how Belle reacted when Beast showed her his magnificent library? That's how it felt.
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| Wow! Much amaze! Such Books! Wow! |
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| Looks very much like the City Centre Library at Surrey Central (well, to me that is ^-^) |
Naturally, having grown in a house where I can open all the books I want, I was excited with our school's library. Since I was the lucky first born, I was enrolled in private schools. They have libraries! Public schools as I reckon, rarely have one or even if they did, the books aren't updated as much as private ones; even for some, they constantly rebuild their libraries everytime the books get soaked with mud after great floods. So, I was really lucky. The libraries at school not only had textbooks for gradeschool, they had encyclopedia sets as well. Much like the ones at home. It saddened me though, that the school keeps them out of reach. They have the encyclopedia sets and other "expensive" prints padlocked. The school staff have it displayed on lacquered furniture and they dust it off regularly but, they wouldn't let us touch it so freely. The only way to have them opened is to ask permission from the principal! In a formal letter with parent's signature. Seriously? Why would I do that? It was a really troublesome feat for a youngster like me back then (and maybe to some of my classmates but I never really asked.) I wouldn't want my mom to constantly tell me that it was too much of a hassle to borrow the books I like. It was already hard convincing them to buy me books that were unrelated to school.
All I wanted to do was to read the encyclopedia. I'm tired of the kiddie books and textbooks similar to what I use in school. My mom already bought extra ones I read after school. All I wanted to do is to compare them - to find out if they had a picture of the Great Wall of China like the ones we have at home. If they have cool DIY experiments I could do as well. If the Hittites really were the first ones to temper iron. Or if they have a different story about Pocahontas's life - like the Disney one. (Yeah, I was kind of disappointed when I knew of the real story of Pocahontas) My school library treated the books like they were cursed jewels - never to be touched. If you don't read them, what use will those words be? Treasure was to be found there but they let the years pass as the information becomes stale.
Friends, let me tell you, a book unopened is as good as a blank paper.
Just last month, I remember my big brother posting in his Facebook status, a commentary made by Ambeth Ocampo - a historian and great writer. It went like this:
"FILIPINOS ARE NOT A READING PEOPLE, and despite the compulsory course on the life and works of Rizal today, from the elementary to the university levels, it is accepted that the 'Noli me Tangere' and 'El Filibusterismo' are highly regarded but seldom read (if not totally ignored). Therefore one asks, how can unread novels exert any influence?”
I agree wholeheartedly with him. It's true that Filipinos are not a reading race. The source of it can be traced out to a lot of political plays and simultaneously ingrained with historical roots. Although, I never considered myself a non-reader, I have to admit that I did not constantly read books. Partly because, I never really saw my elders do it, but mostly because I was not exposed to different types of books. You might find it weird but I only really read our Britannica set before I was exposed to other books in my teenage years. (exempting all of the school related books) Totally weird right? I never read Dr. Seuss's work until I got here in Canada. I never even touched a newspaper unless I needed it for a crafts project. I started reading mysteries and classics in highschool and Filipino literature in early college. The compulsory reading of "Ibong Adarna", "Florante at Laura", "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" during highschool were tad boring for me. Mainly because the teachers weren't as excited in the literature as they were supposed to. They were only excited to grade us in questions of identification of characters and their dialogues; to see if who memorized the book and characters. But they have failed to ask relevant questions on reflection and how those masterpieces relate to our present culture. How then can we appreciate reading them? And what more for those who didn't even touch the books?
If you think about it, I am only a part of a small percentage of the Filipinos who do read and keeps themselves informed. Do you know why? It's because I'm part of the middle class who can afford books. I had an early access to them at home that is why I have grown to be this way - grown up to be an informed reader. The poor don't have this kind of privilege. They must rely on public libraries, which are few and most probably are protecting the books from the people it must serve. A paradox of the inherited title - public but not really public.
Therefore, I am grateful of Canada's public libraries. Thank you for existing! I would never have known the joy of visiting the libraries if it weren't for you. Books are free from being encased in fragile glasses and people are not kept out by iron bars. You always display the books at the entrance to make me and the other readers feel welcomed. Thank you for trusting me. I could never bring home the maximum of 50 books at a time but I would like to try that sometime. Hope that I won't lose one of them though, if I bring them home. Thank you also for always keeping the bookshelves organized and up-to-date. New books come in everytime to fill the community with new ideas. Thank you for buying my suggested books! I was surprised when you called me up and told me that I had a "held" book; it was the "Pathological Altruism" book that I suggested 3 months before. Wow! I thought the suggested items were never really taken seriously. Thank you also for encouraging me to suggest more books. I am happy to know that my "wants" are important to the wonderful collection you keep. I felt honored - that I actually have the power to shape the community with the books I choose to suggest. Thank you for not banning books! The library is a haven for our aspired ideal of faultless democracy - all ideas are welcomed. And most importantly, all kinds of people are welcomed. Whether you're rich, poor, newly landed, unstable part-timer or overly worked employee, you are duly welcomed. Services are the same for everyone. They won't ask for your name or judge you for what books you decide to take. It might as well be paradise. So, what I suggest everyone do is to go to your public libraries today and thank your librarian!
LONG LIVE LIBRARIES!!!
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| The Centre City Library in Surrey. Look at that!!! I could stay in it and never go home |
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