My Dream Library - Anne Cassidy

My dream library should look like a beautiful department store (John Lewis). It should have space and style. It should be light and airy and have lots of people round who are waiting for my custom. May I help you? A smart woman would ask. I'm here for the latest Alexander McCall Smith book which was published a few days ago I would say. Let me show you the way, she would say and guide me to a shelf of a dozen or so copies of this book. We bought lots because we knew there would be a high demand! she would say. Have a nice day!



And I would have a nice day because in this beautiful library there would be a choice of book groups running that I could dip in and out of according to the book chosen. There would be a coffee bar where I would see fellow bibliophiles and chat while eating home made cakes. Big leather sofas on which I could sit and read books. There would be visual stuff too, a theatre group performing scenes from a book; wide screen TVs where I could watch biographies of writers and films of the books; Real Writers giving readings or surgeries on writing. Illustrators giving masterclasses on their work.



The librarians would choose a WRITER OF THE DAY to promote and it could never be the same one twice in a period of five years. That writer would have his/her books laid out flat on the table and there would be pics and info about them dotted round.



There might even be a small bookshop for people to buy the books. In short it would be an Eldorado of all things bookish. Anyway, sigh, I'm off to change my library books...