I am pleased to announce that we are in the middle of the second compilation of
Books that Inspire! As the Director of Libraries, I believe that books and reading are fundamental, especially as part of the university experience. One description of university impact comes from a wonderful book written by Elizabeth W. Brewster entitled The Invention of Truth:
“I was the Dreamer, they the Dream,” Wordsworth wrote of himself and his surroundings in his college days at Cambridge, at least on his first arrival. Do university students now have this feeling of strangeness, of entering a new world where they hardly recognize themselves? Certainly I wondered at times if I were dreaming in those early days at the University of New Brunswick.
I am sure today’s university students share this sense of wonder at discovering new and challenging ideas that will last a lifetime. When I look back, it was during my own undergraduate years that I discovered so many authors, one book leading to the next, until I had read every book they had published. Wonderful memories! There are millions of books that are not on any course reading list, yet would provide amazing and transformative experiences if opened. That is the incredible power of sharing your experience of the important books that have gone through your hands and changed your lives.
So far this year, the submissions are wide-ranging and thought-provoking. I encourage all faculty and staff to recall the books that have had an impact on their thinking and share the titles and the reasons with our community.
Great reading–discover the Books that Inspire!
John Teskey
Director of Libraries (Fredericton)