Albion resident Francis Barrie is one of Sunshine Library’s longest serving members, and it seems his passion for books has not yet waned. 86077 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By NATALIE GALLENTI
FRANCIS Barrie has been an avid book reader for as long as he can remember and he has the credentials to prove it.
After an extensive search, Brimbank Library uncovered their longest serving library customers last week and Mr Barrie was one of them.
The 71-year-old from Albion first became a member of the library in 1955 when he was a student at the former Sunshine High School.
“I was sports mad when I was young. I would check out cricketing stories all the time,” he recalled.
Now he visits the Sunshine Library, which first opened in 1912, once a fortnight with his wife Patricia and spends countless hours reading his favourite classics.
Mr Barrie believes the electronic era may indeed see the end to people, especially youngsters, picking up a good novel.
“Books may be superseded as we know them. I loved reading as a child, but the young folk, they would never have read books like Treasure Island or Robinson Crusoe.”
Four other library lovers were uncovered in the search and celebrated at a morning tea last Thursday.
