'The library saved my life'
He’s blunt, all right. Douglas Zak will tell you that himself, and make no bones about it.
Zak, 69, has struggled with mental illness and has lived in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on and off for 30 years. He earns his living with a job he calls “niche recycler” and has kind words for the library, where he spends several hours a day immersed in newspapers and magazines.
“The library and staff literally saved my life, as I probably would have perished without the culture it afforded,” he told VPL’s Carnegie branch in a hand-written letter, where his story tumbles onto multiple, heart-felt pages. The words “saved my life” are underlined for emphasis.
The library and staff literally saved my life, as I probably would have perished without the culture it afforded.
Ask him what he loves most about his almost-daily visits, and he’s quick to share his favourite memories of library staff.
“I have never met a bad librarian,” he notes. “To me, they are the equivalent to ambulance responders, firefighters, police, social workers, nurses, doctors... the height of the best professions.”
Oh… and they’re always open to the needs of patrons, to the small things that make a difference, he noted in an appreciative P.S. to his letter. “I have noticed that the variety and number of magazines has dramatically increased [in] the past month. Thank you.”
It’s the community of the library space that draws him, and sustains him. Twenty years after first setting foot in the place, he comes to the library, he says, for pleasure and out of necessity.
“The library is incredible,” he says. “It’s where everything about us is stored. The library is my home for culture. I love it.”