Head Tale

Went to a great presentation by Edmonton Public Library CEO, Pilar Martinez and City of Edmonton Architect, Carol Belanger (Edmonton being the only city in Canada to have this position apparently) about their experiences building various branches around Edmonton, new and renovated, including the massively renovated Central library.

They also talked about value of public libraries to cities, some of the things they did right (and wrong – tank, anyone?) in the process of redoing their Central library and answering a variety of fascinating questions from the audience.

Because I heard a couple of these during the presentation, I thought I would try to list some of the most mawkish yet true sentiments you hear people say about libraries…

• They’re the embodiment of democracy in society (okay, that’s one I say all the time!)
• They’re the heart of their community
• Libraries change lives
• Libraries save lives
• Libraries are the living room of the community
• Readers Are Leaders (You hear this in a few places such as schools and bookstores but I’m claiming it for libraries.)
• Libraries are the third place.
• Libraries are triage for hurt society like hospitals are triage for hurt people.