This particular post will not be original content. After all, there have been so many thousands of words poured out in praise of libraries; lost libraries, favourite libraries and the importance of libraries in general, that it’s impossible to improve on what other people have already written. For instance, Jorges Luis Borges gives of us hope in writing ‘I have always imagined that paradise would be some kind of library, ‘ (I fervently hope he is right!) Albert Einstein said ‘the only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.’ The children’s laureate, Michael Morpurgo noted that ‘libraries are how people fall in love with books.’ Looking at my haul from the library this week, I can only agree with him, but I would add that I think libraries also give people the chance to fall back in love with books, which is what has happened to me recently.

I have just begun using my local library again, after living here in Harrogate for almost a year and it has quickly become a happy place of solace and surprises. Ours is a solid Victorian brick building which has served the residents and visiting population of Harrogate for decades (including, apparently, supplying one Mrs Agatha Christie with stacks of mystery novels during her infamous stay in the town). Every time I climb the steps to the front door, I like to think of the legions of people who have come this way over the decades and of the books and words they might have found within.

I feel as though my current library book stash illustrate why I value this place so much. I only went in for one book, Emma Carroll’s ‘When We Were Warriors,’ (since I’m currently writing a children’s book, I want to read as many as possible and Emma Carroll is an amazing writer!) I came out with a whole armful. The children’s library has a whole room to itself in the basement and feels a bit like a hideout – it’s full of squashy chairs and beanbags, comfy places to sprawl and read for a while. I found David Almond’s ‘Annie Lumsden’ down here, and took it out because I remembered how much I’d enjoyed reading his novel ‘Skellig,’ as a child. Libraries can remind you of everything you used to enjoy about reading; the excitement of finding a promising story, the joy of storytelling and being read to, and the comfort of books as physical objects.

I found Han Kang’s beautiful ‘The White Book,’ by accident. Lollygagging around the front desk, I perused the random section, where books (possibly recent returns), are all piled up together, with no semblance of alphabetical order. There’s a great feeling of serendipity here – I’d never heard of Han Kang or her writing, but I immediately wanted to read this book. I love the library for their innovation in helping people find new things, almost by accident – books are laid out around the library not only in alphabetical order of author names, but also in seasonal displays, shelves of library staff recommendations and this, the lucky dip, just by the exit, which is probably my favourite!

Libraries are also wonderfully democratic places. I’d been eyeing Godmersham Park for a while in Waterstones, but new books are expensive and I have a small budget and even less shelf-space. The library have a newly released fiction section and I love that there’s access to so much new writing. You can take home the books you’re excited about and for free too!

‘Metamorphosis’ reminds me that libraries are full of magic. When I saw the book, I thought ‘why not? I’ve never read it! And it won’t be here next week.’ This is the thing. When you see a book in the library, you have to take it out there and then. Whether it’s the literary appetites of other readers, the fact that the library shares its stock with a few other sites or the fact that the normal rules of physics just do not apply to libraries, I never see the same book on the shelves two weeks running. I now think that you have to take the book when you see it – that’s when its meant for you! Otherwise it just disappears…

Solace and surprises also appear in libraries in less literary form; there’s a feeling of peace in being with so many books and so many ideas, in the quiet. Books, and other readers, are good and non-judgmental companions. I like the way the library functions as a hub for events, too. Popping in to return some books one Saturday, I discovered that the local Muslim community were having an event, and spent almost an hour, eating samosas and enjoying a long conversation about belief and life (my book haul that day was enhanced by a free copy of the Qu’ran!)

I can only echo what other people have said about libraries – that they’re sites for connection and education, but also surprises, serendipitous delights and insights. I’m grateful for my local branch and for the service they provide, enabling people to fall in love, or rekindle (pun not intended!) their love of books and reading.