Talking Books Four: Reading Allowed

Reading Allowed: True Stories & Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library by Chris Paling.

This book should be given to everyone who wants to work in a library, or thinks that we just get to sit around reading all day once we have the coveted job!

Paling's accounts of his life in a public library were like he'd just popped into our staff room and written down many of the conversations we have.  It was bittersweet to know that what we experience daily is the same as in other libraries!

People who like fly on the wall television, and blog-to-book style writing will probably enjoy this as well as anyone working in a library - but it will shatter a lot of people's ideas of what a modern library is.

The most important message I took from this book, and my day to day job, is that libraries are vital. They are still the heart of a community - just not in the way they once were. Please fight to keep your local library open - sign petitions, demonstrate etc. but most of all use it.  Where else can you get a dozen or more books for free as often as you like?