Love in the Library

Recently, I became quite enthralled with a radio interview containing excerpts from a book about finding love and romance in the library. No, it wasn't a lurid tale of erotica from the library stacks. While many of us have heard stories of young hormonal students frollicking among the library books, rather than being a lurid tale of such encounters, the book is described as "a collection of true accounts of emotional attachments formed in and with libraries and the library field" in which "both young and old share their tales of love". Maybe so but the interview still left me with an intent to get away from my computer more often and visit the library stacks. And the reference to the song "Love in the Library" by the bard of rum and romance, Jimmy Buffet, didn't hurt either.

The CBC interview was with Madeleine Lefebvre, the University Librarian at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia about her newly released book, The Romance of Libraries. Being both single and a professionally trained librarian (well, at least I hold a Master's degree in the discipline), the interview peaked my interest as it brought back fond memories for me of the library school program at the University of Western Ontairo. While I may not have found love in the library (or any "action" for that matter among the microfiche, monographs, serials, or special collections) let's just say when I was in the MLIS program, the ratio of women to men was very much in my gender's favour. And I certainly enjoyed the attention.

The book's stories come from a variety of global contributors, mostly gathered through Lefebvre's website, www.libraryromance.com.

Among its 180 stories, some are about romances that developed in a library while others are about romances with libraries themselves. I haven't yet picked up a copy but I think I may head down to the local public library to check it out...