For the last 15+ years, I have worked for Bookmark People. They service Public Libraries throughout the UK creating bespoke promotional bookmarks that reinforce libraries’ outreach and promotional campaigns.
#LoveLibraries is the watchword… see more here: Bookmark People
We are always highlingting the value of libraries to the community as well as indivuiduals. I recently came across a neat piece by the University of Virginia Library “What Happens After Opening A Book?“.
After the spate of “what happens after drinking a can of Coke”, “what happens after eating a Big Mac” type IGs, University of Virginia Library produced a clever infographic “detailing what happens to a person when you consume a book?”
And so …
“What happens in the hour* after
you visit your library? *and onwards…”
What happens PDF feel free to share (with credit).
What happens one hour after you visit a library? (and onwards … )
First 10 minutes…
Sights, sounds and yes smells; an abundance of knowledge, a wealth of information, stories, and dreams and plans, captured memories and visions. Colours, creaks, warmth, and space. A maze of questions, where, what, who might you find?
You are looking for something, but you are drawn by the choice. You find more than you expected. You don’t find what you are looking for, but what is this you have found?
You may feel anxiety, as the choice is yours and there are many roads less travelled. The potential for growth is palpable but choice may not seem easy.
After 30 minutes…
You’ve discovered or perhaps passed by catalogued doors to new worlds, you’ve discovered or passed by more information than you might be able to absorb in one sitting. You brain has warmed and your mind is recoloured by encounter and exploration. You grasp items that promise answers and introductions to new hopes and plans. You can’t find what you wanted but have passed or picked up unknown treasures that may hold keys to answers and indeed more questions.
After 60 minutes…
You have or perhaps are consumed, you can’t hope for anymore. Time to flee and consider what you’ve found. The treasures you’ve borrowed are warm and promising. It may be one book. It may be a pile of books, DVDs, music, journals … You have a few weeks to dive in, deliberate and discover. You hope to be informed, entertained, and in the process education may happen.
You take your borrowed wealth away.
After days and weeks…
You’ve found new worlds. You’ve found new ideas. You’ve found more questions.
You may have returned to the library. You may have shared ideas with friends. Inspiration, wonderment, enthusiasm, excitement. Puzzlement, memories, hopes, expectations. All created from borrowed wisdom and creativity from generations of ideas and intelligence.
This place, your library, and the people you’ve met there are alive. The people who served you and passed you as you browsed – a living community of lifelong learners. The characters and ideas you encountered in your discoveries are also alive, born through your visits to this trove of learning.
After years…
The sights, sounds and yes smells linger. Knowledge, stories, memories and projections linger.
Your journeys, the people you met on the way, the people you shared your discoveries with all linger. And some of these discoveries have shaped your life. Shaped your outlook, coloured your enjoyment, and informed decisions that have brought you to where you are; which is possibly not far from another new book, an old song, or another unopened treasure.
© @JulesPRichards tweets on behalf of @BookmarkPeople – #LoveLibraries
Jules P Richards 