“The library is inhabited by spirits that come out of the pages at night.” - Isabel Allende
It was a cold winter’s night, I remember. The wind wrapped driving snow around me, stinging my frozen face. I shivered outside the large glass door and knew, on the other side, was a warm, well-lit room. I was a teenager, and this was the Sarnia Public Library on the corner of Christina and Wellington. Inside, it looked much different than it does now: more rows of shelves in a somewhat congested grid, a less shiny floor, dimmer lighting, and more books. Obviously, this was years before COVID and the omnipotent Internet.
I had always been drawn to books, but this place, this room, was almost magical in its overabundance of them. You could feel their warmth, smell their age.
Shaking off the snow, I went directly to the rows of books at the back: history, literature, geography – if my memory serves me correctly (that’s up for debate). Back then, books that seemed old as time were kept on the shelves. Their spines and pages made a delicious cracking sound when you opened them. I slipped a couple of them off a shelf, sat down at an old wooden table next to a window, while outside the winter storm raged.
Holding the books in my hands, feeling their roughness, their smoothness, sniffing their familiar but indescribable smell, was a sensory experience I have never grown tired of. Science says that actually holding a book, reading from it, can be a stress relief.
As libraries evolved and adapted to new technology, books have become less prevalent, less needed. They fill libraries less. For me, the rooms are less inviting. Because they have adapted, libraries play a stronger role in our lives. They have become inexhaustible resources and sources of information.
The Lambton County Library system, with its twenty-five locations, offers free Internet access, digital resources like e-books, audiobooks, and online databases. There is a digital lending program called Libby.
Undoubtedly, libraries are fundamentally important to communities. As of 2021, 33% of Canada’s population use libraries. Canadians visit libraries more than 100 million times a year. There are 265 libraries in Ontario.
Books haven’t disappeared. They are just less vital. I take their side. Studies show:
- Reading/holding an actual book produces a more tangible, sensory experience.
- Reading a book, as opposed to a screen, promotes better immersion, and so there is better comprehension and retention.
- Books help children become better readers.
- Books aid in better sleep (screens disrupt our circadian cycles).
- You are less likely to be distracted when reading a book.
- Home libraries are linked to higher academic achievement.
- Books promote the joy of reading.
I was bitten by the book bug. I admit it. I also admit the necessity of today’s libraries and their on-going evolution. I worry about the demise of books. I hope generations to come will experience the joy and sensory pleasure of holding a book. I hope they will listen to them and whatever they have to say.