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September 14, 2006
Singapore National Library
Sometimes, the only way to appreciate cultural difference is to step into a border area between the public and the private, where the government brushes directly up against its constituents.
I'd been to the National library before but I'd always gone up to the top floors to look for the books instead of heading toward the basement. Dozens of kids were down there, teenagers, packed 2-3 per conference table. All quietly studying. Not a sound. Around them, the library built metal shelf after metal shelf of books, each shelf approximately 3/4 full; each book standing up completely straight and (here's the kicker) perfectly lined up at the spines.
I walked through the aisles and counted exactly two books that were tilted to one side. Otherwise they were each completely perpendicular...and shiny too. No frayed covers anywhere. It was the uniform depth that really got me, though. Apparently, the library has hired someone to walk back and forth along the shelves with a ruler in order to make sure that the books line up in perfect lines.
The visual effect is shocking. It did not help that the fire alarm went off when I took a book off of the shelf. I put it back and for a moment I was sitting in a discarded Kafka novel. It was 2020 and an alarm had gone off because someone without library membership had moved a book out of its perfect whitecappedtooth row. I checked the book for a RFID tag and put it back. A friendly animatronic voice came over the loudspeaker. This is the library system, a fire alarm has been pulled. Please remain calm. We are investigating.
Aiee!
Jibber Jabberin | By jb | 05:55 AM