“My elementary school was Lord Roberts in the west end of Vancouver. Its library was the place where I felt most like me.” —from the Foreword by Sarah Ellis in The Library Book: A History of Service to British Columbia 150 years of anything would probably make a good book—so long as the research and writing are up to snuff. In 2011, the British Columbia Library Association marked its centennial, fittingly, with a book dedicated to the development of libraries over the past one-and-a-half centuries. Journalist and author Dave Obee was awarded the task, and the result is a visually engaging history appealing to anyone with a love of libraries and history. Explorers as far back as Simon Fraser brought books with them on their journeys, to stock the lending libraries of the Northwest Trading Company. British Columbia’s early libraries were established in saloons, hotels, news agents, in private collections, company reading rooms and a shelf or two of shop space. ...
Book reviews by the author of "Mimi Power and the I-don't-know-what", "Magnifico" and more.