Where Will You Go?
While I was working on collection and development in the travel area, I became somewhat nostalgic about reading or rereading travel guidebooks that had helped me prepare for past vacations. Not that I read travel guidebooks verbatim, or all that often, especially considering I am not currently planning a trip, but sometimes I want to recall the charm of a place I have visited, or dream about a future trip. The library’s travel collection is the perfect vehicle for either.
Along with looking at photos from previous trips, I enjoy revisiting via travel guidebooks. I may want to find the name of the restaurant in Arizona where we ate that huge and delicious breakfast, then made the mistake of doing the uphill hike. Maybe it is being reminded of the charming Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais in Paris, with blue exterior doors and the lovely wallpaper decorating the quaint rooms. I don’t know that I will ever make it back to Cuba, but while looking at the street maps in the Lonely Planet’s book on Cuba, I began to relive my experience. How wonderful to be reminded of the food, climate, music, buildings, streets, and people.
Reading travel books can be the inspiration for planning future trips. While reading the Fodor’s guide to New York City and “Fodor’s 25 Best New York City” by Kate Sekules and Donna Dailey, you may decide that you must go to New York. When planning the details of your trip, you discover that you want to know even more about historical locations and read “Ellis Island: Gateway to the American Dream” by Pamela Reeves, adding it as a destination on your journey.
You can read travel guides to dream of adventure or live vicariously through others. Take, for instance, the Appalachian Trail; it is unlikely that I am going to endeavor that journey. What helped convince me of this was reading Bill Bryson’s “ A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.” I enjoyed Bryson’s book, but was humbled to know I would likely never even attempt the journey. I am content to visit the trail through Bryson’s book, as well as “The Appalachian Trail: Celebrating America’s Hiking Trail,” filled with beautiful photographs and history of the trail.
The library has a vast collection of books on travel; some are guidebooks, some are filled with photos, and others are of the travel writing genre such as Rebecca West’s “Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia.” While it is a thick book, coming in at more than 1,000 pages, its staying power speaks to its literary quality. Its earliest copyright is 1940, and it is described as a travel journal and cultural commentary with historical insight. Consider the significance of this book, especially in light of the recent history of Yugoslavia. West was a journalist, a critic, a novelist, and a feminist; she is regarded as an excellent writer. “Black Lamb and Grey Falcon” is travel writing and history; the call number is 914.9704 Wes, just in case you want to check it out.
Along with books, the library has travel magazines and videos.
By Gail Hedstrom, Library Director