Andrea on the Awesomeness of American Libraries

andrea vagabonderman

A travel blog as I make my way around Southern and Eastern Africa and South America.

• for the love of libraries

  As many of you know, one of my goals on my trip is to visit at least one library in each country I go to. I went into the library field because I love it, and that doesn’t change when I’m in a different country. Before I start, though, a disclaimer: I am not ragging on any of the countries or their library systems. We all have different histories and different foundations and different missions. I’m just in the process of realizing how unique American (United States) libraries are, and I want to share that with you all, because this is my only forum to do so.

  Last week before leaving for Bariloche, I went to two public libraries in Buenos Aires. I had a list of the 20 or so neighborhood libraries, which the International Resource Officer at the American Embassy had printed off for me from the City of Buenos Aires website. She had also explained to me that some neighborhood libraries received funding from the city or national government, while other libraries were neighborhood initiatives funded by resident associations, a tradition going back to the mid-1800’s. Both libraries I visited were roughly in the Palermo neighborhood, which was for a long time a working class area where mechanics and such lived, but since the economic crash in 2001 has been the vanguard for new development and is now the place to find chic boutiques, tasty and innovative restaurants and parillas, and a Starbucks (you know you’ve gentrified when…)

  I wanted to first go to an Espacio Infantil - a children’s library. At the address indicated, however, was actually a small library in the former home of an early 20th century Argentine writer, a library dedicated to poetry. The librarian working there showed me around, and we had a nice conversation when I told him I was a librarian in the US. He asked me what software we used for our books, and I said the really big one that SPL uses, and he said that his library is much, much smaller. Deductions - they are still using a physical card catalog, and it is limited to the what that location has.

  The next library I went to was more of a traditional neighborhood library, as we would conceive it - some shelves, some tables. Every bookcase had a sign on it that said: “Do not touch the books. Ask for help.” There were 2 computers, clearly employee workstations. There was the physical card catalog, with the drawers. From what I can discern, you would look in the card catalog, then fill out a slip of paper for what you wanted and the librarian would go get it (same day? Next day? Unclear). I had hoped to have a conversation with this woman as well, but she yelled at me that they were closed, they closed at 5 pm, I couldn’t be there. Takeaways: an older and musty collection of books, a card catalog limited to what was available in that building, no browsing allowed really, short hours, scary librarian.

  I’ve highlighted the Argentina visits because Argentina has a robust literary tradition and so many vibrant bookstores, I think of them as a book culture - I expected this to extend to dynamic libraries.

  All of which leads me to this - can you fathom how cool American libraries are?! That even with budget cuts, they are open evenings, and weekends. Anyone can walk in and look at the books, take them off the shelves, browse and borrow them. You can look - from home - at a catalog of the entire system and see where things are, you can even look to see if other cities have what you want! There are databases, and digital audiobooks, and resume help, all available from home or from free computers at the library. And that’s just material! You can bring your child to storytime, you can be in a bookclub, your mom can go learn how to open an email account. And if you don’t know how to do any of this? You can get help with it.

  Folks, we have an amazing library tradition in the US, and it’s only diversifying further into awesomeness as we question our role in rapidly changing societies. Having seen libraries in France, England, Sweden,* Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Argentina, I feel relatively confident saying - we are unique. To get these services for free!** Honestly, if there’s one good that comes out of my travels, I think it may be the individual grassroots advocacy that is going on with the two dozen or so American travelers I’ve met. When they ask me what I do and I say Libraries, and they respond with “Really, do we still need libraries?” I go on this stump speech, and most have been really surprised by all that libraries do. And, I think, most have been impressed. Hopefully they remember it when they go home. Hopefully you guys do too. Free, accessible public libraries - a terrifically American tradition.

  * yeah, I’ve definitely done this on every trip I’ve taken in the past 8 years.

  ** which is to say for your taxes, which you have to pay anyway.