Typical North London Homes in the September Light
For this September, I've come overseas to enroll in a post-graduate course ("a graduate program" in American-speak) in Library and Information Science at City, University of London. Yesterday we had our commencement speech and presidential pep-talk by Sir Paul Curran. Looking around, I couldn't help but notice the wide diversity of our student body; we represent one hundred and sixty countries in all. The most popular degrees, not surprisingly, all revolve around technology. But disciplines like artificial intelligence and computer science wouldn't be possible without our small but intrepid band of library and information specialists.
Our Little Clock-Tower in Northampton Square
City, University just celebrated 125 years of higher learning.
Our LIS cohort is only fifty students deep and today we met for the first time as a group. Not surprisingly, we had quite a few women and most people ran a bit younger than me. I was expecting more tattoos but like librarians everywhere, we had our indie, bookish, vibe and loads of Buddy Holly and Lisa Loeb glasses.
Typical Row-House Near Angel Station
One of the first announcements is that we would take a field trip in November to the iconic British Library - an institution known for its grandeur, expertise, but also its sense of romance.
"London opens to you like a novel itself...It is divided into chapters, the chapters into scenes, the scenes into sentences; it opens to you like a series of rooms, door, passage, door. Mayfair to Piccadilly to Soho to the Strand." -Anna Quindlen, Imagined London: A Tour of the World's Greatest Fictional City
Flowers and Lamp Post Adorning Pub Wall Near Essex Road Station
I think what excites me about the UK, and England, and London in particular, is that it is a deeply literary society. And I'm not just talking about a glance at the Evening Standard going home on the Northern Line. London is peppered with various plaques, statues, and museums of its favorite literary sons and daughters (think Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, John Keats, and, most importantly, Paddington the Bear). Further up north, you'll find that Edinburgh has the most libraries per capita world-wide and is one of the UK's four UNESCO-designated cities of literature (the other three being Manchester, Norwich, and Nottingham). Not to be outdone, neighboring Dublin is opening its Museum of Literature in Ireland, tomorrow, in fact, Friday, September 20th to the public. Let's remember that "books" are an industry as well as personal treasures, for the UK publishes the most books per capita.
"Paddington Bear statue, Paddington station in March 2011"
Have you finished that paperback? Pass it on!
It's not just the global statistics or rankings (or what the British call a league table) that celebrate the primacy of language but you'll often catch its reverence in daily life. Just a block away from my flat is a deposit box for already-read books. And on the ten quid note, you'll see a likeness of Jane Austen with one of her quotes: "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading."
Alexander Hamilton is over-exposed anyway.
That's all the "Persuasion" you'll get on this topic, dear reader.
