It’s no secret that I think Danish libraries are fab. I mean, really, what’s not to love about our local library where children are allowed – nay, encouraged – to crawl along on top of the book shelves? (‘Where are we?’ Wednesday? – Climbing the Walls) 
Or perhaps you’d prefer a free cuppa, in a setting that looks like your granny’s front parlour? (Tea with your Tolstoy?)
Danish libraries are overflowing with things you can borrow. For free, selvfølgelig. DVDs, Blu-Ray, CDs, Wii games, wooden jigsaws, kids’ boardgames, books on tape, international magazines. And even books (and e-books). And not just Danish books! German, Arabic, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Norwegian, French, Turkish. Even in the children’s section.
But if, dear reader, you’re looking for a novel in English, prepare yourself for an extra hunt. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you’re looking for Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”. You’d walk past 82.7 (Spanish Literature), 82.8 (Portuguese Literature) and expect to find it here in section 83 (English Literature). Right?
Wrong! You need to pass ten to fifteen bookshelves, filled with authors from A to Z. And go round the corner… To section 83.8. “American Literature”.
Yep, those crazy Danish librarians split English books into British English and American English. So you need to know in advance if the book you’re interested in is written in American or British English. Isn’t that overcomplicating things? Can’t they just put them all together?
“Aha!”, I said, to the librarian, sensing a tiny chink in the armour of the Danish cataloging system. “What if the author is Canadian. Is that classed as British or American English? Surely that’s a grey (or should that be gray…) area? Books by Indian authors? South Africa? New Zealand? Or books translated from Japanese into English?”
“Well,” said the librarian – playing the proverbial trumph card – “if you can’t find what you’re looking for on the shelves, we can always look it up on the computer.”
Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!
4 Comments
They put some of the fiction in the main section at mine. As in with the Danish books. WHUHH?
I also love my library very much. <3 <3 <3
I must admit that I don’t use my library much EXCEPT the films. I get them on-line – 6 films a month for free
And at the last election (sept. 2011) I was able to give my vote at the library. My library also make cultural arrangements.
Tee hee, Kelly, I’ve seen that too! Think it was English crime novels. Need to go check next time I’m there…
Thanks for the tip about the films, Lene. Will go check it out!