Wyke Library, Bradford
“A room without books is like a body without a soul”
Librarians Carol Paley and Carole (with an ‘e’) Buck are based in Wyke Library attached to Appleton Academy. I’ve been in quite a few libraries now that are part of a complex be-it leisure centre, museum or gallery and it makes for a great model after all libraries are community hubs so it makes sense that they thrive when connected. The two Carol(e)s tell me how students pile in after school and how just the other day a teddy bears picnic event resulted in 70 children and 50 adults crammed into what is a relatively small (but beautifully formed library). We chat about the roles library play in the wider community and they share past memories of working in mobile libraries that along with home library services are ways that many libraries bring services to those who can’t access the library for a whole host of reasons. Carol shared a memory of a visit to a library in Norway which featured a climbing wall because that’s what the small community wanted for their library. The ability of books and extension libraries to bring us together, to help combat isolation to help us climb makes Carol’s late father’s saying all the more pertinent “A room without books is like a body without a
soul.” At Wyke Library I borrowed @mazauthor’s laugh out loud brilliant #WhoLetTheGodsOut
#LibraryMarathon #LoveYourlibrary#JoinYourLibrary
