Why Maintain a Library: Guest Blog By Paul Graham, Librarian
Today students of the RCC Institute of Technology and Toronto Film School have access to a small but very useful Learning Commons and library learning environment, which is managed by Judy Theoret. A question we might ask ourselves is “Why maintain a library at all?” In today’s culture of online access, embracing ebooks, and accessing your own work at home or from a cafe, why should we value this space called a library? It’s because the library is not just another space. The library is an enduring idea that has transcended the ages, reflecting the absolute idealism of the human spirit.
It was the ancient Egyptian Library at Alexandria in the 3rd Century BCE that set as its mission to collect all of the world’s knowledge. Consider for a moment how amazing that idea is for us today. They wanted to collect all of the world’s knowledge thereby making history and scholarship of the written word possible. Throughout the long passages of time, much ancient wisdom was lost, but much was preserved in the libraries of Catholic Monks who dutifully copied books with ink, and feather quill. Furthermore, those Monks might not have had much to copy in their libraries, if not for the dedication of Muslim scholars who kept the great works of Ancient Rome and Greece preserved in the Middle East while Europe plunged into the Dark Ages.
Emerging from those Dark Ages came one of the most fantastic events in human history: the European Renaissance. Fueled by the new wealth of the Medici family in Florence, an unprecedented time would follow for the collection and creation of new knowledge and art. Renaissance Humanists (Funded by Cosimo De Medici) sought out the great works of philosophy, theology, science and literature. A competition of sorts then was borne out in this moment in history. A person’s social status was reflected in their personal library of books and manuscripts.
Looking ahead a few centuries at the apex of the Industrial revolution in Britain, it was recognized that a society must now have new training and educational opportunities to survive in a new fast-paced and mechanized work environment. ‘Libraries of Useful Knowledge’ were created to make sense of a world in which technical knowledge was fast becoming THE invaluable knowledge for application. The 19th Century witnessed the transformation of the library into what Nina Matheson called “… fundamental and pivotal to the continuation and development of civilization.” This idea of continuation can also be found in Canadian Aboriginal culture where the Library has been compared metaphorically to Fire. For it is by sitting by the fire that one shares stories and knowledge with one’s family and friends: the library sparks the fires of curiosity and generates innovation and continuance for civilization.
In the 20th and 21st Centuries, libraries have transcended (but not abandoned) print culture towards the storing of electronic information, and through research such as the Human Genome Project, specialized medical libraries (digital libraries) are collecting the very structure of life itself. The Virtual library is now a permanent foundation for academic and public libraries.
However, you should also know that libraries are not necessarily institutional… but political…and organically formed moments embodying the spirit of the times. You might not know this, but during the “Occupy Wall Street” movement that occurred in New York to protest against the unfairness of a small number of people controlling a majority of the world’s wealth, one of the first things the protesters did to create a spirited, enduring environment of change and learning, was to create a library right there in the centre of that protest. And likewise, the library was one of the first targets in the dismantling of that protest on Wall Street. So, whether we are talking about archival collections of ancient medieval scholarship, small prairie libraries on the frontiers of Canada’s borders …or digital libraries with technical information… the objective is clearly a generational one. The next generation must renew the vitality of the library.
This is where all of you enter the picture, whether student or staff member: all of you here today can claim a part of that deep and spirited heritage by simply walking through the doors of that space called the library, and working towards the fulfillment of your career goals, achieving success. The Library here can only be animated by a richly diverse set of subjects and interests that you bring into focus within your own intellectual horizons. Though our library is small, our goals are mighty… and our staff will do their best to help you make your career goals a reality.
