Although I didn't make it through Platform 9 3/4 today (my face smacked up against the wall and the cart left without me. Apparently, I don't have enough wizard in me) - I did go somewhere that felt almost magical.
The British Library. Home to millions of individual items, this institution is absolutely amazing. I could go on for hours repeating interesting facts, figures, and tidbits that our enthusiastic tour guide Mark shared with us, but I'd probably lose half of my readership (of what little I do have). Instead, I'd like to reflect on my time spent in the gallery.
Before I go on, it is important to mention that items from the British Library cannot be checked out - it is not a lending library. People can only gain access to resources by requesting them and after a staff member retrieves it for them, they can only use it in designated reading rooms. This seems like a lengthy process, however; Mark informed us that on average about 5,000 to 6,000 books get delivered to the reading rooms daily. He explained that there are generally two types of people who come to the library - those who come to use the resources, and the "tourists" who come to view the gallery (displays of very precious works). He made sure to remind us that although the gallery may seem like a museum - the library, as a whole, is a working library for the public to use.
I saw so many (for lack of better words) awesome things in the gallery. Laid out in front of me were handwritten Beatles music lyrics, sketches by Leonardo da Vinci, original handwritten Mozart music scores, ancient Buddhist readings, and letters written by Charles Darwin. I remember reading about these historic figures in books, learning their histories, and getting tested on them - but they felt distant. Today, I felt a closeness with these people. I felt like I was peering into their thoughts, as if I were a part of their daily lives. I wonder if they knew back then that one day lyrics scrawled on the back of their son's birthday card would become a priceless artifact which people were trying to preserve forever?
Of all the wondrous items on display in the gallery, there was one thing that left me awestruck - and nearly took my breath away. The Gutenberg Bible. A year ago, it would have been just some old book in a case. However, now that I have some understanding of its significance, it has become representative of something near and dear to me - that is bringing reading to the public. In a nutshell, the Gutenberg Bible was one of the first books printed using the first portable printing press. Thus, making written word available for those who wanted it (of course it was a bit more complicated than that, but you get the gist).
Today was definitely a memorable, wondrous, and almost magical experience. Although it's not Hogwarts, it sure is close.
No comments:
Post a Comment