Libraries and the sense of place

Posted Posted in People & Politics, Place & Travel

With National Libraries Day and the Speak Up For Libraries parliamentary lobbying day upon us again, I’ve been thinking about a little-recognised aspect of public libraries and what they do for us, in housing resources that contribute to our sense of place. Google ‘library’ and ‘local studies’ or ‘local history’, and you’re likely to find […]

Remembering differently: the centenary of World War One

Posted Posted in People & Politics, Religion & Spirituality

2014 brings the centenary of the start of World War One, and the beginning of four years of national commemorations. It’s telling that, in writing that sentence, I nearly typed ‘celebrations’ instead of ‘commemorations’. For the official discourse about the war has a triumphalist tone, one which perfectly expresses a nationalist narrative about the greatness […]