exactly.

i dont mean to appear a smart arse, but told you so.

the Night of the Libraries is a great initiative, yet the delivery – of the libraries themselves, in Bucharest, of what i visited – fell short.

i feel they clearly misunderstood the occasion:  this is not about you just opening your doors beyond normal working hours or organizing a bunch of unrelated concerts or exhibitions, this must have been about you showing how you are still relevant.   short of that, way too short.

now, i found plenty i liked. exactly what i expected, otherwise:   the interiors in some of the halls were unchanged and unattended for decades, and you could spot some peculiar pieces of furniture and decor;   and then there were some books on display that were true marvels like this late 19th-century wonder, and others i picked up from a random shelf that are a great visual stimuli, like a Chinese fairy tale book or a random WWII-time Romanian newspaper.   for a curious eye and mind, there’s always food for thought.

and yet the places were super dusty.  the staff numerous and often militia-type watching your every move.  books too few in free access.  a tiny percent of interesting titles among a bunch of outdated stuff.  and worse, there was a total lack of service:    no one approached us to warmly welcome and ask of our interest.  to help us find things, or make us long for more.  and most importantly, bravely ask us how and what can they change to become better for us.

so i am back to my point:

unless they reach out and start asking these tough questions and develop a patience to actually listen, however painful;  unless they change, for the visitor;  unless they put this top of their agenda and hire and build and curate and  run and communicate “for the learner and not the learned”, we’ll continue seeing the same scene that i sadly observed at one point last night:  there were teenagers sitting at a half a dozen or so computers in the catalog room of Biblioteca Nationala, and at every single screen ALL IN ONE they were checking and updating their facebook accounts.

and then i am afraid no Night or Week or Year can help.