I wanted to post a love message for Romanian libraries on this special occasion. To be Librarian in Romania was, for a long time, a thing not to be proud of. It would have been absurd to ask anybody to love their librarians because well, let’s face it, they were (and are) payed to stay all day long and read in the library…while other people work… There were Romanians in love with the library but it was their private library. For library as an institution many people had no feelings. No good feelings that is.
I wanted to translate Love your library! in Romanian and post it as a Valentine’s wish. I found nice pictures to help me and it turn out nice… I think.
However, “Iubeste-ti biblioteca” sounds so strange, unfamiliar…I can immediately think of stupid jokes that can be derived from this but I cannot feel it as I do with the English form. I do believe that only through the love of librarians and patrons library can live and make a difference. Then, why does it sound so artificial when I say it in Romanian?
Just for my curiosity, if you are a Romanian and you end up reading this, can you give me some verbs in Romanian that sound right with library?
For example: Inchidem biblioteca. That is “We close the library” and in my ear sounds more familiar then “We love the library”.
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February 14, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Bogdan S.
Know Your Library is good. Respect Your Library is even better.
February 20, 2008 at 10:41 pm
daniel
iubesteti biblioteca —— fall in love whit you`re library
February 21, 2008 at 4:45 am
Claudia S.
@Bogdan,
I like Know your library. However it refers mostly to library users. It implies that there are things in the library just waiting to be discovered…Whereas Love your library implies that you (librarian or not) would take care of it…
Respect your library is not what I was looking for. It might be something from my own experience but I never got anything back from the library for respecting it. Books couldn’t care less if I was respecting the library or not. And librarians…well, they kind of felt that they were entitled to be respected but did not rightfully earn their respected status.
@Daniel
Fall in love with your library sounds very good. I am sorry I did not think about if for this Valentine’s day. I will keep it for next year. Thanks.