Library Out Loud

Some years ago a senior Massey academic explained to me why students were reading less than they had in his day. The blame, it seemed, lay squarely with libraries. He had fond memories of long tables, squeaky linoleum floors and librarians who could silence you with a single stare if you so much as sniffed – in this environment you had no choice but to read (or to avoid the library entirely and play cards in the Students Centre). Since this golden age libraries had become infected with modern liberal ideas in the form of carpet, individual study tables, armchairs and video players, had become in fact little more than social centres, and as a result students were not reading nearly as many books as he had done. Somehow, I sensed, I was...Read more

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