Libraries Are the Heart of Our Communities
Albert Einstein once said that the only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library. Libraries are our memory and our hubs. Here are some inspiring stories of people coming together, finding communities and at times even finding themselves.
The Reading List
Sara Nisha Adams
How many lives can a list of titles scribbled on a note inside a library book change? Two very different characters find a transformative common thread between the shelves of a public library.
Ink and Bone
Rachel Caine
Ink and Bone imagines what would have happened had the Great Library of Alexandria survived the test of time. A heroine, riots, spells and the wonder of a mythical library are the backbone of the first installment of this epic YA series.
Luna loves Library Day
Joseph Coelho
Luna’s parents are separating, and that can be quite a lot to go through. The day she spends with her dad becomes Library Day, a place full of magic and adventure. A lovely book on how not all families look the same.
Escape from Mr Lemoncello’s Library
Chris Grabenstein
The world’s most famous game maker just designed the new library. Kyle and his friends have been invited to the opening, but now they are locked in! The only way out is through a labyrinth of puzzles.
Our Missing Hearts
Celeste Ng
Twelve year old Bird has been taken away from his mother, a poet and a dissident. Because of censorship, he has never read her poetry. A mysterious note and an underground network of librarians will set him on a journey to reclaim his own heritage.
The Library Book
Susan Orlean
The journalist Susan Orleans reopens the unsolved mystery of the L.A. Central Library fire and walks us through how libraries provide much more than just books, but are an essential part of the heart, mind and soul of a country.
The Underground Library
Jennifer Ryan
Have you heard of the Underground Library of Bethnal Green? Ryan’s novel explores the themes of resilience, community and hope in WW2 London, with the famous library at its centre.
The Last Library
Freya Sampson
Meet the locals at Chalcot Library: Stanley needs a computer, Chantal wants to study and Mrs B would go lengths to find a good book. June is new at the library. When she opens up to her community, a world of change follows.
Public Library & Other Stories
Ali Smith
What do we do with books? And what do they do with us? With this collection of short stories, Ali Smith raises her voice in defence of libraries as a place of joy, community, freedom and discovery.
Mike Thomson
Syria’s Secret Library
The extraordinary tale of how many people risked their lives to save rows and rows of books from the devastation of war, and created a secret library on the outskirt of Damascus, so that they could preserve and one day rebuild the foundations of their society.