Vagabond Ph.D. : To all my libraries around the world...thank you

Libraries are cool places to visit. When I started biking around Toronto in 2013, I would stop into libraries often. They have heating in the winter, air condition in the summer and a quiet place to read, write, and study without having to buy a drink or having your notes blow away in the wind.

Until I started solo travelling, I never really thought about libraries as places to visit. My trip to Malta, changed this. I was in Valetta (the capital city) and I was desperately searching for wifi to check a confirmation for my AirBnB. I saw the National Library and I thought I would get wifi there. I got admitted to the library on a free day-pass as a researcher (I didn't even have to bend the truth). Not only was I able to use the wifi there and get my AirBnB information, but I spent almost the entire day there!! They had ancient collections of books made of cloth from the era of the knights! The library staff also gave me a tour of their collections and explained the history behind them, and Malta. I also met an emeritus researcher there (he was about 67 years old) who was translating some of the work into Spanish. He told me about places in Malta to visit and this started off one of the best solo trips I ever had.

The national library in Valetta (photo credit: the maltina)

Since then I have made it a mission to go to the libraries in any city that I visit. The low cost printing, the free wifi, the interesting displays, and the interactions with locals has made each library visit very interesting. Wherever you are, check out the local library.