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Public libraries are great. That was something I had completely forgotten until I was faced with the isolation of job-hunting alone in the kitchen and the realization that I couldn’t buy books when I’d only be here a few months. Public libraries are free because they make societies better – if not, they’d have been privatized a loooooong time ago. They are places where the seeds of an idea can be brought to flower (and when said flower starts making money, the government will tax it, which will keep public libraries going for another generation; honestly, it’s a win-win). Up the street from my house is a lovely wee library that’s always gently buzzing with community hum. It has learning toys for toddlers, stacks and stacks of books, corkboards crammed with local notices, desks for concentration and Wi-Fi for procrastination, and a row of computers specially for children coming in after school. That library is a treasure but if it is, the jewel in the Chicago Public Library’s crown is the Harold Washington Library Centre. The Harold Washington is not just a behemoth of learning and inquiry; it also models all that is good about public service provision.
The Harold Washington is a colossal building; ten floors housing an estimated twelve million holdings and an exterior that refuses to be ignored. On its roof five massive owl sculptures – symbolizing knowledge – loom over the streetscape. My favourite part of the library is the ninth floor Winter Garden, a large Romanesque (actually, I haven’t a clue, it has large pillars in it) space adorned with greenery and a glass roof. It reminds me of the kind of space Alice might have happened upon in Wonderland and writing there is often a little reward to myself for productivity. The Harold Washington is right beside the Loop so I use it twice or three times a week for writing, applying for jobs and playing piano because did I mention it has hundreds of books of printed sheet music?? Anyone can walk in off the street and avail of its holdings and resources, indulge in a bit of escapism. And, as with all reading, it doesn’t matter what’s being read; my hours spent reading of everything Jilly Cooper and Nicholas Sparks Tolstoy and Orwell have ever written have given me hours of enjoyment, extended my vocabulary, expanded my imagination. The building is named after Harold Washington, Chicago’s first African American mayor and champion of the library’s construction who died before the library’s opening in 1991. But like all great public buildings, really it’s what goes on inside that makes it special.
A public building open to all is not the same as a building that welcomes all. The Harold Washington is both open and welcoming of all. Not only is it a world class library with roughly seven miles of shelving, but it is also a safe space for many Chicagoans who find themselves in difficult circumstances or with nowhere to go during the day. Public libraries in Ireland are increasingly abandoning the expectation of silence in favour of vibrancy and inclusion but they’re a long way from the Harold Washington where the man who mumbles to himself aloud for hours and the neglected person who hasn’t washed or been washed in a while are welcomed equally. In many other libraries around the world, they might have been asked to leave or not admitted at all. Nor is any heed taken of the person still wearing hospital scrubs or the woman who carries in worn plastic bags of her belongings or the man with masking tape keeping his shoes together. In the Harold Washington security staff monitor the reading spaces with discretion and good humour and the librarians treat everyone the same so that regardless of condition, health or attire, escapism and education are available for all. Now, if a staff member reads this and wonders why I marvel at public buildings being open to the public, I would have to tell them that outside of Chicago, I have never seen a homeless person in a library… and I’ve used a lot of libraries. A welcome is not just letting someone in; it is enabling them to feel safe, comfortable and belonging-to once they’re in because this public library is as much theirs as it is the billionaire’s down the road.
Clockwise from top left; the lobby of the Harold Washington Library Centre with the Illinois state flag on the right; the more than 58,000 dog tags representing each person killed in the Vietnam War that hang from a ceiling on the third floor of the library; an aerial view of the library’s exterior.
It occurs to me that maybe the Harold Washington is not as exceptional as I think it is, because it is but one (albeit critical and huge) part of Chicago’s citywide effort to make libraries and learning spaces as accessible as possible. Some of the America’s finest museums and institutes are here in Chicago; the Field Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Shedd Aquarium, to name but a few. But averaging $25 for an adult’s ticket, entry is simply too expensive for many. But Chicago (or Illinois, I don’t know which) is not deterred. For Illinois residents the major institutions and museums each have a certain number of free days a year and the Art Institute of Chicago is free between five and eight every Thursday evening. Loyola University is near where I live and as an Illinois resident I am welcome to use their library space too (in contrast, Dublin’s university libraries are all-access for students and staff but almost everyone else pays a hefty fee to access libraries that, as taxpayers, we’re all paying for already). The local library branch up the street has computers set aside for children coming in after school, which gets the children in the habit of using visiting libraries from an early age and, for many, is a place to go after school The kids are noisy, the teenagers more so and the computers only get used for online gaming but who cares? Someday they’ll tire of gaming and pick up a book. And when they do, they too will hopefully be reminded of the words of Dr. Seuss,
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”
Dr. Seuss
At the end of the day, the teacher in me just wants everyone reading and learning all the time. The idea behind that wish is that if we all read more and understood the world around us more, then we’d be less likely to go blowing it – or each other – up. I overlooked or disregarded many services at home that became invaluable to me here and public libraries are a prime example of that. Anyone in any doubt about the value of public libraries would do well to take a look at the amazing work of the Chicago Public Library system and its staff. To me they represent all that is good and true about public services and civic engagement. But sure don’t be asking me, listen instead to Amy Neftzger (haven’t a clue) who said,
“A library is the only single place you can go to learn something new, be comforted, terrified, thrilled, saddened, overjoyed, or excited all in one day. And for free.”
Amy Neftzger
Now, back to the job hunting. I think I’ll do it in the Winter Garden today.
doireann.ie 