IT is the library. Libraries were places of terror. Guarded by the austere and severe. The creaky floorboard was feared. Now metamorphosed into metroland ‘places to be’. Libraries have broken up their straight lines. There are little snugs, hang-outs, back-alleys, mazes, cul-de-sacs, booth-ala-record-shop. Surreal levels. Stairs and lifts to hidden floors. Is Floor 2 up or down? Does it matter as getting lost is fun. Snatched conversations in the lift. Polite door holding. After you. Places of intrigue and espionage, where le Carré passes secrets. Love and liaison. Healthy punishment for errant returns. Leather and wood. Dust and slow fire. Elegant bureaucracy. Calm.

Ghost of Library Past: Dickensian and repressed no more