There was a programme on recently where JK Rowling was exploring the history of magic by venturing behind the scenes of the British Library, to reveal the real-life counterparts to her imaginary world. At one point she shared a Hermione Granger quote ‘When in doubt go the library” and I thought that is so true, although maybe it needs a little updating for the 21st century world.
When I was a little girl, the library was one of my favourite places to go. Once a week my gran would take me to the library so I could pick three new (well, new to me) books. I would get giddy with excitement on the walk there, imaging what sort of treasures I would discover and take home with me.
I would spend hours browsing the shelves to carefully choose the three adventures I was going to embark on. I liked big fat books with small writing because they took longer to read. I also liked books where I could lose myself and emerge days later blinking into the harshness of real life. I could go anywhere in this world, in time and in other worlds, in the library. I wasn’t so much into the classics, I just liked authors who told a good story, and I didn’t want to think too hard, I wanted to be entertained. Enid Blyton was my favourite author as a child and as an adult? Stephen King is my favourite story teller.
I never go anywhere without a book and one of my biggest fears used to be finding myself without a book, because I had finished one and did not have another to start. That’s why I love my kindle, although I have a new fear now that the battery will run out so I make sure it is always fully charged.
The Hermione quote for me worked on two levels – one, a library felt safe, reassuring, a haven and two, it was packed to the rafters with knowledge and information. Answers would be found in a library. Of course, nowadays when in doubt I go to Google. Apparently Google’s mission statement is ‘“to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful’ and I think it is doing a pretty good job. If ever I have a question my go-to place is Google and after a bit of judicious searching I usually find what I’m looking for. And generally other handy stuff as well. (Is googling the modern equivalent of pottering? You go looking for one thing and come up for air hours later having gathered all sorts of gewgaws).
Google also reassures me and gives me perhaps false reassurance that no matter what the question is, the answer is out there. It also means that I don’t have to hold all that stuff in my tiny brain, freeing up space for important things like how am I going to use the information. However, on the odd occasion Siri can be more helpful though, for example google is Santa Claus real and you get a history lesson, ask Siri and you get ‘well, those mince pies don’t eat themselves”. I know which answer I prefer.
Where do you go to if you are in doubt? Where do you go for answers?
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