This year marks the 100th anniversary of the British Columbia Library Association. The centenary was celebrated at the association’s annual conference in April. A well written, beautifully illustrated history of library service in the province called “The Library Book” by Dave Obee was featured at book launch event during the conference. This past weekend an interview Mr. Obee was aired on CBC radio’s popular weekend program, North by Northwest. Here’s the podcast from July 17, 2011.
If you think the history of libraries might be kind of boring, well think again. Obee captures some of the personal sacrifices and drama that occurred over the decades. In one example, police arrived at a library wanting all the copies of Henry Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer”. The librarian stood her ground and wouldn’t hand them over. Thank goodness. Who knew. . . until now.