library and me

A modern public library is really a more spacious and comfortable space than a coffee shop. Air-conditioning, internet, and free. Even better, there are books to look up for whatever comes to mind.

I often cross fields. When I’m curious about a certain field, I’ll go into the library and find that category, see what books are on the shelves, and pick a few. After a whole day, this first step across fields was also very stable.

Or go to the library when I need inspiration. Just walk in front of each bookcase and look at the categories and titles. That will also call up a lot of thoughts that may already be in the mind but can’t be found no matter how hard you think about it. I enjoy and know how to use this kind of random inspiration.

I only returned to the public library after the Kaohsiung Tuxin Main Library was completed and opened nine years ago. After that, I often visited libraries around the world. I am very impressed with the modernization of the library.

Many people will praise the beauty of the new public library when they see it. But it’s more than that.

Libraries have changed from book-centered to people-centered, from a temple dedicated to paper books to a field that enriches life experience, and facilitates the interaction between people and people and between people and content through books, spaces and services. Art galleries and museums are also transforming on this road.

There are also some people who think that the library should still be like a temple. But public libraries are inherently secular, especially in many places where there is a large gap between urban and rural areas. You want everyone to enter the library, so the design of the venue must be more inclusive and accepting.

Libraries change from generation to generation, and of course individuals will inevitably have regrets. The old main building of Gaoshi Map was demolished last year. A place I frequented when I was a kid. What passed away with the building was my youthful spirit and the sparse index of long-term memories.

But it is more about continuation and growth. In the second semester of the fourth grade of elementary school, I moved from Tainan to Kaohsiung, and transferred to Jin Elementary School. I often come to the children’s library diagonally opposite. The original site has been demolished and rebuilt as the Li Keyong Memorial Library of the Municipal Library Branch. This place is still the earliest memory of Kaohsiung. The library becomes a better library, and I hope I become a better version of myself.

A modern public library experience is better than a university library. In comparison, Eslite, which was once great, is like an old bookstore in a small town that sells both stationery and books.

Many people may not enter the library when they grow up because of the stereotype of the library when they were students. I also encourage everyone to return to the library, and let the library return to your life.

further reading