Dreams Actualized: The Long Room

As a child, I spent the majority of my days tucked behind books. In fact, I loved books and words so much, that I would read books about books- uncomfortable. One of my favorite books-about-books was entitled The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World (for a book about literature, they sure didn't take any liberties with the title...). To be honest, this tome was intended to be a coffee table adornment, however, I studied it ceaselessly. The glossy pages were filled to the brim with pictures of the world's greatest literature meccas. Many of them were really more like book temples than libraries (google Abbey Library in Switzerland)! However, my favorite was always the dark and endless Trinity College Library, also known as the Long Room, located in Dublin.

Conveniently enough for me, I am currently staying at Trinity College in Dublin! So today, a mere two hours and forty seven minutes ago, I crossed the threshold of The Long Room. I don't want to be cliche, but I could literally smell the history (FYI- history smells like leather, wood, and just the slightest trace of mildew). I almost went a little weak in the knees! The room seemed to stretch forever, just like I had always imagined. We were so blessed because the library was celebrating it's 300th anniversary, so many of Trinity's most prized books and possessions were on display. Among the displays I saw the first ever english Boke of Common Prayer and the first edition of Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses. In fact, all the books in The Long Room are first editions! 

Best of all, the older man working in the library saw the gleam in my eyes- let's be honest, I don't hide excitement well. He opened the ropes and took a few of us to a restricted section of the room. There, we saw the original theses, photos, and Nobel Prize of Ernest Walton, the man that first split the atomic nucleus (this all reminded me of my faithful follower and friend, Rhodes Hambrick!)
I began to chat with Ken and he had so many amazing stories of his time in the library. He started out as a book-binder apprentice because he loved to read "more than anything else in the world." He then proceeded to describe what he called the craziest moment in his career- Queen Elizabeth II visiting the Library. He said, "We've been fighting with those English for over 700 years and then the Queen comes here!" He also said he felt like he was watching history occur right before his eyes and he was glad to even have a small part in that event. I then laughed as he described Prince Philip as "running off and wandering around the library."

As if things couldn't get better, Ken then unhooked another rope and pointed to a book on the shelves. He said it was the author's edition of The History of the World, written in 1614. Who was the author? Sir Walter Raleigh. Casual. Then, Ken let me TOUCH IT. It was almost too much for me to handle. Clearly entertained by my unabashed enthusiasm, Ken then took out the Nuremberg Chronicle. The Chronicle was written in 1493 and encompasses a known history of the world up until that year. It was also the biggest book I have ever seen.

I would have stayed with Ken all day, but unfortunately I had to be somewhere else within five minutes (oops...YOLO). This was probably good though because I may have passed out if I had seen anything else.