Public Library and Other Stories is a short story collection by Scottish author Ali Smith, published in 2015. The fourth story in the collection, "The beholder" was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Short Story Award.
It contains 12 stories punctuated by reflections on libraries, "about their history, their importance and the recent spate of closures"
"Last" - The narrator spots a wheelchair-user trapped in a railway carriage after it has been parked in the sidings for the day and with various etymological asides, comes to her rescue.that beautiful new build - Ali Smith's partner Sarah Wood tells of her childhood experiences of the local library."Good voice" (online text) A woman in Inverness talks to her dead father about the World Wars, with reference to a 1917 photograph of executions, recordings made of British accents by a German linguist in a World War I POW camp, and a book of World War I poetry.opened by mark twain - Kensal Rise Library and librarian Pat Hunter tells of her life."The beholder" - A woman has difficulty breathing and is diagnosed with depression but then discovers a woody lump on her chest which grows into a rosebush, specifically 'Young Lycidas' a David Austin cultivar named after John Milton's poem Lycidas on the 400th anniversary of his birth.a clean, well-lighted place - a discussion on libraries with Kate Atkinson and her daughter Helen Clyne."The poet" - the life of Olive Fraser, recipient of the Chancellor's Gold Medal in 1935.the ideal model of society as explained by Sophie Mayer"The human claim" (online text) - The author reflects on the whereabouts of D. H. Lawrence's ashes as documented in John Worthen's biography, and discovers a fraudulent purchase of a Lufthansa ticket on her Barclaycard.soon to be sold - on the closure of libraries, and Lesley Bryce's recollections of Corstorphine Library"The ex-wife" - the narrator talks of their girlfriend's obsession with Katherine Mansfield which leads to their break-up, then the narrator is spoken to by Mansfield's ghost.put a price on that - poetry by Jackie Kay, Anna Ridley tells of borrowing Sade's Justine at age 13, with further experiences from Clare Jennings, Emma Wilson and Natalie Williams."The art of elsewhere" (online text podcast) - A woman yearns to be 'elsewhere'on bleak house road - Kamila Shamsie remembers the British Council library in Karachi."After life" The local paper mistakenly reports on the death of the narrator, then ten years later repeats the mistake, but this time is not so quick in acknowledging its mistake.curve tracing - Eve Lacey shows the author round Newnham College, Cambridge Library"The definite article - A walk through Regents Park with historical and literary asidesthe library sunlight - Miriam Toews spies her mother asleep in Toronto Library"Grass" Inspired by a book of Robert Herrick poetry, the author remembers working in her father's Inverness shop when a young girl attempts to buy a toaster using wild flowers as paymentthe making of me - Helen Oyeyemi talks of the link between Deptford, Lewisham and Catford libraries"Say I won't be there" (online text) - the narrators recurring dream in which their father tells his family he has seen Dusty Springfieldthe infinite possibilities - Anna Wood on a rural Northumberland library, Richard Popple on library closures and Sarah Wood on her inability to throw away her mother's library card."And so on" - Reflections on death