tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post7705290509832604337..comments2024-03-18T10:29:46.055+00:00Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: A Borrower from A Lender BeKen Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-20968374885458518162018-08-06T15:05:58.933+01:002018-08-06T15:05:58.933+01:00on the topic of libraries Ken, I saw pictures on S...on the topic of libraries Ken, I saw pictures on St Johns School, FB page, I was looking for older pics of our time there, but was on the wrong page I guess.What I did see was rows of youngsters being walked to the library in Stephen St, as we were over 40 years ago, until under the supervision of Teacher Brendan Brogan, 5 or 6 of us took over 'library duties' and went down to library, drew out a couple of hundred books, and had our own classroom library, which as I'm sure you'll remember was a huge success, even if it did cost us missing the odd 10.30 play time & sometimes a lunch break. The man was a way head of his time in many ways <br /> George Hmarty47https://www.blogger.com/profile/15278638316387435227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-35732924531565768332018-08-06T04:59:29.539+01:002018-08-06T04:59:29.539+01:00I often wonder what the future will bring. Well, o...I often wonder what the future will bring. Well, occasionally. We seem to be heading towards a world where ownership isn’t such a big deal. And I suppose that’s a good thing. That being the case you’d think that libraries would be getting <i>more</i> popular and yet that does not seem to be the case. People pay to rent films and TV shows, they subscribe to music streaming services; but what about books? I did think the e-book revolution was going to take off in a big way but although it’s not fallen flat on its face it hasn’t been quite the rip roaring success they were predicting a few years back. That’s the general public for you, contrary buggers. I’m told physical stores are suffering and yet every time I go down the town it’s full of people. And it’s a healthy number of people. It doesn’t feel any less than back in the seventies before the Internet got a hold of us. Clearly people are still happy to spend time in physical places. And I’ve never been in Clydebank Library and wondered where all the readers were because there’re always plenty of people there. So I don’t know what’s going on. Who do you believe? I have to be honest though, it’s been years since I took a book out of a library. And I can’t blame the Internet for that although my fall off in attendance did coincide with its inception. And a part of me misses it I have to say. I love libraries and I love bookshops. I love being around literature. It doesn’t matter that I’m not going to read 1% of the books, probably not even 0.001% of the books. That’s not the point. A library to me is no different to a beach or a country walk. Being surrounded by books calms me. It’s why I love my office at home. Seeing all those books and CDs (because I’ve got hundreds of those and they look like little books on their shelves) makes me happy. I’ve always thought it was an order thing because I get a similar feeling wandering around a supermarket as long as the shelves are tidy and I used to enjoy Blockbuster for the same reason. Neatness = calmness.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.com