One of my literary travel ‘pilgrimages’ involves visiting the Newberry Library in Chicago at some point in my life (obviously, the desire is for sooner, rather than later). The list is long, but incredibly exciting, and keeps my travel schedules jam-packed! So far, the libraries that I have visited and that stand out are the State Library of Victoria, The British Library, and my old faithful, the Parnell Library in Auckland (this occupies a beautiful couple of rooms in the old Jubilee Building, originally the Foundation of the Blind building).
As a lover of libraries, I seek them out wherever I am visiting, explore the stacks, go to any fine press or book exhibitions being held there and generally spend the day in booky bliss, resurfacing simply to grab a bite to eat. The Newberry is iconic & for a wee insight into the day-to-day goings on of this prestigious library, Kartemquin Films have created a short film ‘The Newberry Story’. It also features the ins and outs of the legendary Newberry Library Book Fair, which would be amazing to attend to try and dig up some treasures. It made me think that this sort of promotion (through short films, Youtube, etc.) would go a long way to open up libraries, the work of librarians and some of our amazing libraries around the world.
