It was teacher Haileyes who declared at lunch time that
Sasit School opened a new library. I think I was in grade five then. One day our
class was invited to read by teacher Shibeshi. All of us went into the room
which had dirt floor. A corrugated iron roof, walls made of wood and mud and simple
wooden door and windows made the library. The room was furnished with furniture
made of locally available resources. I read a children’s story which was about people
who travelled from Addis to Dire Dawa by train. They were sharing their food
and showing hospitality for each other. I can’t tell if it was the “Shilingen”
story many people narrate to me. At other times I remember reading about Aba
Kostir, Belay Zeleke, an Ethiopian hero of the Gojjam region. (I travelled by
train just last year!) The teacher who organized that library at Sasit School should
be praised!
A small wicked boy! One of my memories of this library is
him! This small boy was older for that
grade level. He had to be in grade nine if he attended class well. He would
fail and every small boy and girl whose birth date he remembers becomes his
classmate. They would pass to the next grade and he would fail. This boy would
jump and catch the collars of his superiors, hit them with a header and run
away. Imagine a short and stout boy hitting you and running. If you read Mulugeta
Gudeta’s novel, Evil Days, you will understand me. That major character who catches
birds, breaks their legs and wings and lets them suffer – this one did just the
same thing with birds. When I remember how
he frightened us it shocks me! He would frighten everyone. He had stories of
beating or being beaten every day. One day he stole a storybook from the school
library and hid it in his bag. As every one of us, he had a bag sewn from
pieces of sack. “If anyone in this class tells about this book to anyone, I will
kill him!” he would frighten us. No one informed the teachers. For this reason,
that boy was not held and the story of the book was forgotten. I think he kept
that book for his daughter who is in grade one or two now.
Haile Mariam Mamo school library had wide tables. I read only
some reference books there. I was not a person who frequents libraries. Most of
the time I even found doing home works hard. This could be because of my
laziness or the chills of Debre Birhan. I think I was not matured enough to
receive the high school lesson. To tell you about the school, it was like a
university at least in the capacity of the teachers.
Addis Ababa University has many libraries. The biggest one
is the J. F. Kennedy Library, which has a ground floor and two other floors. I
read some books there. I also borrowed some. The English Department of the
University, which I joined, is where students are kept without reading as is the
case elsewhere in the country. There is my weakness too. We were not given
assignments and reading tasks. The current minister of government communication
affairs, Dr Negeri Lencho, who taught us two public relations courses, gave us
handouts that we did not go to the libraries. There are others who give
nothing. In my graduate class I frequented the graduate library and spent some
nights reading there. The library of the Institute of Ethiopian studies has a
rich collection for students of the humanities and social sciences. There is
also the library of the Institute of Language Studies (ILS). I heard that the floor
where the library was found is given to the Chinese for their Confucius Institute.
I can’t tell about the fate of the library. Memorable ILS! Others joked at as ‘I
Like Sleeping’, ‘Institute of Lazy Student’ etc.
There are rare books at the library of the United States Embassy.
Wemezekir is also good for people who can’t access school libraries.
The private school I worked in for a few months had a good
small library that consisted of used donated books and cassettes from the
British Council among others. My friend who worked at another school stole two
books when he left the school. You just don’t read such books, you know! I know
none who read stolen books. Just another book stealing I remember. Oh, another
guy also stole Afework Gebreyesus’ novel from a school he was working in Oromia
and he used to take it to khat houses. No one saw him read it though.
Debre birhan university libraries are expanding. They are
trying to modernize them. More technology should come and students should
access the lending service. The 24 hour service is admirable.
This idea of private libraries is what I am experimenting
nowadays. I have opened Ras Abebe Library and Bookstore last year. We expect to
learn from all the libraries we knew and new developments shall come in the
near future. Housing is one of our problems. Capital is also the key. To
enhance the people’s interest in reading, we should find a means. The Library
of Congress is where I want to read in the future. Nowadays, digital libraries
are new developments that made everyone access books everywhere. Anyhow, I
think everyone of us has memories of actual libraries. Do you?
ምንም አስተያየቶች የሉም:
አስተያየት ይለጥፉ