The Library Cat and the Bookworm

Most avid readers (except perhaps those who got stuck with e-books) visited a library at some point in their lives. I remember my mom taking me and my siblings to the library in our hometown and what a joy it was to be surrounded by so many books. There was however, after a while, one thing that bothered me – who were the people who sat behind the counter taking in and giving out our books and was that the only thing they did the whole day? Now that I am working in a library myself, it is a bit of an eye-rolling situation when someone casually remarks how little work we have. It is not completely untrue – our work is light for the most part, but there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes and receiving and checking out books to the public is only one small aspect. So, without giving too much detail, I will give you a glimpse of what librarians and library assistants do when they are not sitting at the counter. First of all, taking in and giving out books are not the only things w...

In a world filled with many new and fast evolving technologies, many parents are worried that their children spend too much time on iPads, smartphones, and the latest computers, while it seems that they never read except when told to do so by a teacher. Some of these parents, which includes those who love reading and those who do not read much themselves, ask “How do I get my child to read?” This question is often asked of other readers, or parents of a reader, or to those of us working in a library. It is amusing and interesting to see what kind of people visit the library. It might be surprising that many do not visit the library to read at all. In this sense it is important to remember that the library is not exclusively a place of books, not anymore. For libraries to survive in the 21 st century it is as important for them to move with the technological times as it is for anyone else. Thus, it is better to think of the library as a place of information. In other words, libra...

I love reading. Everyone who knows me well will probably have that as one of the first things to say about me. Growing up I would read anywhere and at any opportunity - I read while walking in the mall, I read in the kitchen while making coffee for my mom, I read in company and I read when my parents were driving us somewhere. Even today I am never without a book no matter where I am going. A few years ago, I worked in a bookshop and was surprised to find out that some of my colleagues back then did not even like reading. Then I had the privilege to start working in a library, where I am still happily working today (my wife will tell you that she does not know anyone else who is so happy to go to work each morning); and here I met with a curious phenomenon. There are readers who cannot or will not read. Now do not get me wrong, I am not talking about the illiterate and semi-literate who cannot or struggle to read because they did not have the means to go to school. Those we need ...

If you've read my profile you will know that my two big loves in life is books and religion. I've been reading books ever since I can remember (and even from before I could remember). I have to thank my mom for this love I have for books and reading. She enjoy telling the story that, when I was just 3 years old, she could take a nap in the afternoons placing me next to her on the bed with a story book and find me just there an hour later looking at the pictures and making up stories for myself. Personally I can't even remember how I came to be almost obsessive about books. My two grandmothers also reads a lot. From my grandmother on my mother's side I learned an appreciation for my Afrikaans language and also for reading stories for the shake of reading. As I was growing up I used to refuse reading anything in English. I remember reading book after book by Ena Murray, Konsalik, Daleen Matthee, CF Beyers-Boshoff and many others. From my grandmother on my father's lea...