Diary of a Gen Z Student: Here's a novel thought — there's so much to love about libraries

My appreciation of the calm atmosphere and excellent value for money of libraries is long overdue

National Library of Ireland. Photo: NLI.ie

I want to preface this by saying that I am aware of how uncool I’m about to make myself sound. Not that having my more embarrassing character traits printed in a newspaper has ever stopped me before. This most certainly isn’t going to be the first time I admit that I am, in fact, an OAP living in a 21-year-old’s body... 

I am writing this column from a public library. The National Library of Ireland, if you want to know. I know, I know, they let anyone into these places.

This library is the greatest source of joy in my life at the moment. I’ll put that into perspective by admitting that I am approaching exam season in college right now. So, spending 10 hours a day researching and reading will be my life for the next six or so weeks. Put simply, it doesn’t take a whole lot to bring me excitement in college during November.

Usually, this would be the time that I set up camp in a library in Trinity. The problem is that studying in a Trinity library, in my experience, is not always pleasant. The first issue at this time of year, is that everyone enters into pre-exam panic simultaneously. That means that finding an empty seat often requires a deal with the devil. If you’re lucky and manage to find a spot to rest your weary self, you will soon realise that you’ve propped yourself among the chatterboxes of college (business students) with very little work to be getting on with.

The National Library of Ireland's beautiful Reading Room, during a Director's Tour with Dr Audrey Whitty. Picture: NLI.ie

Worse again, it’ll inevitably be like the Arctic Circle in there. So, as if essay writing isn’t painful enough, your hands will start to seize up as you attempt to type up that essay. Suddenly, submitting your work in time is no longer your biggest issue.

I was furiously stomping around the library recently, unable to find a seat to freeze myself into for the day, when I decided to be proactive about this problem. I walked out of campus and sought refuge in the National Library on Kildare Street. And by God, did I find what I was looking for...

...Firstly, they took my picture for my reader’s card. They even gave me a few extra copies of my photo to take home. Free (stunning!) souvenir — what’s not to love? Then I locked my bag into a locker and walked up to the reader’s room. First impressions: there were plenty of empty seats; it was bright; it was warm; no one was talking about Pav Friday. I settled in for eight hours of reading that probably won’t make it into my essay. And I had a bloody good time doing it.

Admittedly, the clientele is a little more mature than a Trinity library. There’s plenty of Aran cardigans and Nokia-blockias on display. But that’s why I love it — I’ve found my people. Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of library goers here with a little less…hmmm… life experience. I’m not the only Trinity student that has migrated to these greener pastures. But it’s a different kind of community over here on Kildare Street. Everyone here respects the rules of library dwelling. It’s a wink and nod to the librarian as you walk in. It’s the turning off the lamp before you leave your desk. There’s a reverence about it that I love. Mass for nerds: the best kind.

My greatest victory since embracing the public library? I needed a novel for a class I’m taking. It was already out on loan to someone from Trinity’s library. But a quick scoot around the website of the National Library and I was reading that novel the very next day. Someone in my class mentioned struggling to get hold of the book, while I smugly bragged about my new library card.

It’s probably silly that I’m 21 and only now appreciating the gift of the public library. But I’m like a reformed smoker, I can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t get a library card. It’s like turning down free money. If the concept of a public library was first proposed today, people would call it radical communism. You want something to read? The Library Gods will make it happen. You don’t even have to earn your reading material.

You may think I’m getting a little too excited about this not so revolutionary discovery. But get yourself down to your local library and read a book that a high-street bookshop would charge you €20 for. You’ll know exactly what I’m so pleased about.