Biblioteca Pilar Faus
Until now, I have worked on this blog mostly from whichever room I happen to be staying in, with an occasional foray to a coffee shop (the very-much-missed SantaGloria in Barcelona comes to mind) or the dining room at the Balcón al Mar. All my accommodations have come with a desk and chair but I’ve found, almost universally, to really dislike sitting at these tiny desks and on their tiny, uncomfortable chairs. The current set-up is probably the best I’ve had, mostly because it’s right in front of a window (so the light is great), but it is still far from ideal. In order to try something new, and, at the same time, force myself to work on the blog for a solid few hours, I decided to check out the main municipal library, la Biblioteca Pilar Faus, located about 15 minutes away (walking, of course).
I have to confess that I feel bad that I’ve taken this long to check out a library at all, but times are weird right now and one never knows if institutions one used to take for granted will be open, and if they are open, how will their use have changed. I was about to find out. Loaded up with my daypack (laptop, mouse, power cable, electrical outlet converter, headphones, notepad), I started my walk to and through a totally new area of Ciutat Vella, the western edge of San Francesc. (I love how neighbourhoods have neighbourhoods … ). As I crossed the Mercat Central and came out on the end opposite to where I usually go in and out, the neighbourhood already looked different. The buildings on this side seem to have lost some of their charm, many more are from mid- to late-XX century, architecturally boring and definitely a testament of city planning gone awry, at least in my opinion. I’m told that in the 1960s, many older buildings, instead of being renovated, were simply torn down and these “new” atrocities were built in their place. I do think that was a shame but, alas, not much can be done about it now. I am happy to report that the bad habit of tearing stuff down seems to have been cured, at least for now. In any case, the streets are also a bit wider at this end of Ciutat Vella, though that doesn’t make them easier to remember: I kept getting thrown off-course and had to recalibrate my path a few times. This also meant I came across interesting window displays, as the beginning of the Gallery associated with this post attests. My friend, Martha, is very much into costumes and costume making, albeit mostly the Victorian kind, so seeing this particular store made me think of her and her beautiful handiwork. I suspect she would love this place as it was full of stunning fabrics, accessories, and mannequins modelling already-made outfits. Dressing in traditional clothing like this is quite common in Spain, mostly as part of the various parades and processions, and I can’t wait until I can attend one of them to see for myself. Until then, I will savour the pretty dresses in the store windows.
A block away from the fabric store, I found myself near MuVIM, or Museo Valenciano de la Ilustración y la Modernidad, which I knew was right next door to the library. It is a building in striking contrast to the library: one is a very modern, brutalist block of concrete vis a vis the classically gentle façade of the other. The building that is now the library used to be a hospital, Hospital de los Pobres Inocentes. Both MuVIM and the library have the old hospital gardens as their neighbours, as well as what looks like an outdoor collection of Roman columns, or pieces thereof. It was a little disconcerting to walk among them, to be honest; normally ancient structures like these tend to be behind fences, or at least in roped-off areas, but here they jut out of the ground, in nice straight rows, just daring you to imagine you’re walking down an old Roman street. Which, in fact, you probably are …
What surprised me even more than the Roman columns was the line of people lined up in front of the library itself. Now, the hours the library is open are a little weird by Canadian standards (9am-2pm, 4pm-8:30pm), and I got there around 4:30, thinking that was a good time. I had given myself 3-4 hours of work … what I had not counted on, however, was the fact that so many other people had the same idea I did, and that the Covid-induced measures placed a limit on the number of people allowed into the library at one time. Looking back now I see the error in my thinking, but c’mon, who knew all these people were writing blogs too? There were about ten people ahead of me in the line so I thought to myself “how long could this possibly take?” Well, the answer is: very long. So long, in fact, that some people in front of me and behind me simply gave up. I thought about giving up a couple of times too, but, as stubborn as I am, I was determined to see the inside of this building even if it killed me … or, rather, my poor knees. Before long I realized that the reason this line existed in the first place and moved so interminably slowly was that many people must have come earlier (duh) and now that they had a seat, they were simply not giving it up until they were good and ready. And by “good and ready” seemed to mean “never”, or until they got kicked out. I saw a number of such folks come outside, have a smoke, grab some food, and then go right back inside to continue their work, while we all stood outside eyeing them with as much hatred as we could muster. Not that they cared.
As the evening sun kept slowly disappearing, so did the line in front of me; the closer I got, the clearer the process became, too. When someone from inside did leave (I guess they got caught up with all their blog entries), the guard inside would receive a piece of paper from one of the employees, give that slip to the next person in line, and usher them in. The person would then go in and disappear down one wing of the cross-shaped building, to what I assumed were the stairs to the second floor where the main collection and study tables were (eavesdropping on my fellow standees helped figure this out). At least I was somewhat sure I would know what to do once inside. You can’t imagine the thrill of being first in line, after more than an hour and a half of standing there, the laptop getting heavier and heavier and my tummy wishing I had brought a snack. It seemed to take forever to be the next one in, but in I went, at last. I was given a slip of paper with HUM-21 written on it and marched confidently in. And immediately turned around because I really didn’t know where I was going. So much for eavesdropping, eh? Fortunately there were plenty of very helpful people pointing the way and I did, indeed, go up to the second level to the Humanities section where I quickly found table #21 and made myself at home.
It was easy to get into the spirit of work, I have to admit, surrounded as I was by all these books. The only thing that made it a little weird was the tape over every single bookcase. I felt a bit like I was in the middle of a murder scene or some radioactive storage area where everything was marked off-limit. I tried to put it out of my mind, however, and concentrated on the writing. And spying on my fellow “bloggers,” of course. After churning out a post or two, and feeling quite accomplished, it was time to head home. Because I had spent so much time waiting to get in, my actual work time was cut in half, but I did enjoy the experience and vowed to come back, giving myself much more time by showing up before the library opened for the afternoon session. As you can see, I never even considered coming in the morning … haha … morning …
Because many people have, by this point, left the library, I was able to take a few pictures of the inside. It really is a lovely building and I am so glad they turned a place few people could enjoy (after all, nobody “enjoys” a hospital) into something so wonderful, even if its use is currently being limited to only a few souls at a time, all due to the damned pandemic. I will definitely come back.
