LIBRARIES STILL MATTER IN A NOISY WORLD

From dusty shelves to digital age, they remain sanctuaries of thought and imagination

- BY MICHAEL GUZDER | Special to Gulf News

Some say libraries are dying; I say they’re just getting quieter, while slyly plotting their comeback!

My earliest memory of a library goes back to St Joseph’s school and college, Allahabad — I was probably in Grade 6 or 7. There was a proper, central library, and two or three cupboards were allocated to each grade. A bespectacled, serious-looking librarian sat in one corner, keeping a vigilant eye. From those shelves, I devoured every Enid Blyton book I could find. There was also the thrilling Biggles series, which convinced me I might one day fly secret missions over enemy territory. And, of course, Secret Seven inspired several earnest, if slightly misguided, crime-fighting adventures in the school corridors. I often finished entire books in a single sitting, flushed with excitement, oblivious to the outside world.