Word on the street: the joys of the local library

While gazillions can be found to spend on a railway line it insists on calling a tram, facilities that are already being used face closure.

It’s not surprising that when a group of people don’t know the difference between a train and a tram, words may not be important to them. So it’s the libraries that have a big axe hovering above them.

Now, I have to be honest, in the dozen years I have lived in the capital I had never been into a library. It wasn’t until Ellen was told by her teachers that researching for a project should not be restricted to copying and pasting from the internet that we saw fit to visit the one in Stockbridge.

On arrival I realised I had forgotten to bring any proof of my address, but the lovely lady who registered us said this wasn’t a problem – it only meant we couldn’t have access to the computers. “Perfect,” I replied, “too much access to computers is the reason we are here.”

The library was smaller than I had imagined, although to be fair it’s probably the same size as the one I went to as a child. Ellen found quite a few books on Ancient Greece, her project subject, in the children’s section and set about looking through them. Rather than hover over her I wandered around the rest of the room. It may not be a large space, but there really is something here for everyone, whether you are looking for travel books, philosophy or even Katie Price’s autobiography.

I bumped into my friend Lesley who was there with her pre-school granddaughter. “This is her favourite place,” she told me before heading off to perch beside her on a tiny stool, surrounded by other toddlers being read to by their mothers. With toys, jigsaws and DVDs also available, it’s a great place to let little ones play with new things without having your house filled with multicoloured plastic that will clog up the recycling box in a couple of years.

As Ellen logged her two chosen books on to a computer, she turned to me and said: “You know, this really is a very handy place.” Pity there wasn’t anyone from the finance committee listening.

• Today is National Libraries Day, to get involved see www.nationallibrariesday.org Stockbridge Library, 11 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh, tel: 0131-529 5665, email [email protected] for opening hours. Find your local library at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ac940/scotland.html