The library is considered by many just a room or shelf that holds books. But to a reader, it is so much more. Libraries keep our entry passes to different magical worlds, our ability to imagine without anything holding us back. It allows us to escape our monotonous and boring lives. Libraries as keepers of our books hold a special place in the hearts of bookworms, a love that cannot be expressed at times, unfortunately.
I am an avid reader. I read books from different genres, and like most bookworms, I have a personal library in my room, which you could say is my favorite part of my room. It holds my books that I cherish a lot. But I also love to visit bookstores and libraries and look at hordes of books that are not mine because I can go through them and read them. It also makes me happy to become a part of these even for a while, no matter how short. I usually end up at Baatighar in Jamal Khan, Chittagong, a hybrid bookstore x library whose calm environment makes it a great place to visit and spend some time.
Libraries, the pretty large ones, hold thousands of books, and each book contains entry to a different world. A world that an author has created with their imaginations and their skills. In a reader’s mind, the world starts to take shape, and each reader has their inclinations and ideas about the world inside the book. The ups and downs that the characters in the book go through are felt by the reader as if they are going through that. We start to feel for the characters that are not alive in any material sense but continue to live in our minds. The magical thing about libraries is that they hold thousands of these worlds, each waiting to be read and cherished by readers. It doesn’t care who comes to it. It does not discriminate in terms of religion, caste, or social hierarchy but is willing to share its contents with all that come to it.
Libraries tend to offer us much more than just books. They give us the chance to meet fellow-minded individuals and the opportunity to interact with them. Libraries provide a safe place for those without within their boundaries to hide and be protected among the hordes of books. It is also one of the few remaining peaceful places in our chaotic world.
Libraries hold the history of human civilizations. It keeps the many stories of its authors and readers. It contains the knowledge of how different cultures worldwide live and how society has taken form in different parts of the world, each other from the rest.
As a bibliophile, I believe that all should have a library. The library will reflect our tastes and views and understanding of the world and maybe understand a bit of the people who live in it. When talking about the psychological benefits of having a personal library, the only benefit that usually comes to mind is it helps our mental health and general well-being.
Libraries are often one of the few places in the world that offers those that are worse off the opportunity to be better. You can study a multitude of subjects in a library. It is a place to enrich our minds. A library can be a safe place for people with mental illness to keep themselves busy. A library’s importance should never be forgotten, and the impact it can have on our lives is also immense.
