Upon request, I continue a library theme. Aye, last month we journeyed (took a short flight) from Amsterdam and landed on the Emerald Isle. And it is. Bright green, dark green, every crayon shade of green on every hill and dale. Friendly people, fresh air, Guinness, and rain. Of course it was Ireland.
Why bother seeing another library?
It is art. It is famous. It educated the most educated. Twas a breathtaking adventure, it was, for the Edge clan of two visiting another treasure-house of books: Trinity College Library in Dublin. Had to go, me dearie. I’m half Irish, dontcha know (and cannot write dialect so I’ll quit that). Besides, many years ago, a friend gave me a poster of the Long Room where all the books are at Trinity, and it fed my writing life with inspiration.
My friend had known that at the time I was considering enrolling in a Masters of Library Science program, but, as most of you know, I directed my pen and paper elsewhere.
But that poster stuck with me. Some famous Irish writers had stalked the aisles, I’m sure, like one of my favorites, Jonathan Swift.
Inside The Long Room
The renowned Trinity College was near enough to our Dublin lodging for us to walk to it. At the door, you get in line, pay a fee, and boom! A cathedral of books.
You step inside the arch where really old books shelved sky high enclose you on either side, looming like shade trees over a one-lane Irish country road.
Display cases and reading benches form a divider down the middle. Visitors can sit and admire the spectacular work of art which is the room itself.
White marble busts of famous intellectuals, beginning with Socrates, if I remember correctly, guard the openings to aisles of bookshelves, high and low, brimming with a gazillion ideas, vast wisdom, eons of knowledge, and most likely not a few math problems. You name it, I’ll bet it was there.
This library also houses the precious Book of Kells (a decorated version of the four gospels) which deserves its own blog post and will get one soon. The library is not only a museum for tourists to admire, but maybe some rare instances pop up when the modern library on campus lacks something requested and a dutiful librarian whisks it out of the Long Room. Who knows?
Oh yeah, downstairs is a fabulous shop. Guess what we got. T-shirts with (predictably if you know us) the official college seal, stamped with the college’s founding date: 1792. Yes, we are nerds, thank you very much.
Thanks for reading. May the wind be always at your back and a book or a Kindle always in your hand!
See you next time!
“…if we fail to use our libraries, we risk losing them.”
~ Jonny Diamond, Editor in Chief of Literary Hub.
Rob Ruff
A thoroughly enjoyable read! Thanks, Charlene…
Charlene
Hi Rob. Glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for your blog post subscription.
Bob
Another nice read, Charlene. And I was pleased to see that The Nation had a cover story about librarians last month: “Not Your Grandmother’s Librarian: Fighting Big Brother in the Digital Age.”
Charlene
Thanks, Bob, I’ll have to find that story.