A Marie Celeste Library

                                 
It is eerie to walk into a library that seems devoid of life. It’s like finding the Marie Celeste whole and entire and completely deserted. The sign on the door said, ‘Open’, some lights were on, the computers were plugged in – and there was not a soul in sight.

I settled myself with my computer and began work on some emails.  A couple of people wandered in, returned books, used the self-checkout desk and disappeared.  After a while, I felt like an intruder and decided that I had to find someone official.  The library shared the same entrance with the Town Council office so I went in there.  A receptionist assured me that I was free to use the library which was apparently open each day but not always staffed.  I did a couple more hours work, quite uninterrupted, reflecting on the comfort of small-town trust.

This week I have spent quite some time in local libraries, working on the Solos website updates which is a long process, reliant on a webmaster who seems to have a real life somewhere and signs on at about 5am for a while. As I have often just fallen into a deep sleep at that time of the night/morning, I don’t see his work until after about 10am, work on it during the day and know he will see it next morning. Our contact is, at best, peripheral, not the optimum working conditions. I do feel any occasional moment of sympathy for the poor webmaster who probably goes through this same process every two years with a new committee.

It is an interesting process working on documents that have been written by someone else, in this case several someones. There is such a variety of styles. I don’t know much about the site but I am trying to rework the pages bit by bit to reflect both the changing approach of the new committee and my own style of expression. I have learnt over time how to write for different audiences. The website is, I hope, clear and crisp and simple.

Today I am miles from a library, free camping at Wallace Lake. It is a lovely spot with quite a lot of campervans, tents and caravans right around the lake. Last night it pelted down most of the night and quite a few packed up and left. Today, there was no rain but a 30kmh wind across the lake dropped the temperature dramatically. An overnight low of 12 degrees is forecast. And the wind hasn’t stopped.  It is blowing a gale.  I’m glad I don’t have to step outside.