Books for the People /Farewell to 7X

You probably don’t get turned on by libraries. “Aren’t they just musty old places inhabited by bookish people who wear glasses?” I can imagine you saying. “People like our history teacher?”

Let me emphasise to you all, my cynical, wonderful little year sevens, with all the bookish wit at my disposal, that libraries are revolutionary. Free public libraries mean you don’t have to be rich to gain knowledge. Education is for everyone, not just the wealthy. That view is crucial to the development and maintenance of a democaratic society like ours, and in Victoria that view was expressed by the building of the State Library in the 1850s. That is one reason why I take my year sevens to the State Library. The other reason is, they make good coffee in Melbourne Central.

Every time I go to that library I learn something new. Here are a few of my favourite snippets:

• Melbourne might have been called Batmania, after John Batman. Oh, if only. Let’s change it now by deed poll. It’s not that I particularly admire John Batman, but just imagine what fun it would be to tell people you lived in Batmania. If you went crazy, people could say you were batmanic…Don’t let me go on.

• The La Trobe Reading Room, that magical green circular place that lures you in, once had major structural problems, meaning that people brought umbrellas for leaking water to drip on and were sometimes hit by pieces of falling plaster. Fancy having to take your life and your comfort in your hands in order to read a book. In those days, going to the library must have been a risky activity, like sky-diving today.

• Joe Byrne, one of the men in the Kelly Gang, evidently told Ned: “I always said this bloody armour would bring us to grief.” That armour is an icon of Australian history, but Joe saw it for what it was – and then he died.

• Ludwig Becker, the artist on the Burke and Wills expedition, painted and drew many beautiful pictures of nature and wildlife. My favourite was his picture of the Gullomalla pigeon, which he named, as best he could, to reflect Aboriginal pronunciation of the word. He even tried to represent the bird’s song by writing a musical stave on a leaf. Becker died from scurvy, partially because Burke had left the limes behind – just one of many shockingly foolish mistakes that he made on the expedition that took his life.

Finally, here’s my favourite sign from the Library, seen on a yellow bin and photographed by several students who appreciated its amusement value:

Disaster bin

For emergency use only

What do they hope it will be used for? Year seven students who prove to be particularly bad at medieval calligraphy? Perhaps you can make a suggestion yourselves.

Taking you on an excursion is a truly happy and utterly painless experience, as teaching you for a semester has been. You have amused me, educated me, written wonderful stories and made comments showing quick insight and flashing wit.

And you’re actually very good at medieval calligraphy.

Thank you!

Kind regards,

Ms Green

Mosaic owl