Saturday, July 26, 2008

That's One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap in Libraryland

Giant steps are what you take
Walking on the moon
I hope my legs don't break
Walking on the moon
We could walk forever
Walking on the moon

from Regatta de Blanc by The Police, 1979

Forty years ago today, (well 39 to be precise, give or take a week) on 21 July 1969, watched by a global television audience of millions, Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the lunar landing module, Eagle and bounced into the pages of world history. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", he said. Clear as anything I remember the black and white photograph of the surface of the moon imprinted with an astronaut's boot mark on the cover of National Geographic magazine which I read, unsupervised in the "Adult Area" at the Porirua Public Library. Fascinating. Walking on the moon. Imagine that. Having the ability to negotiate and then explore an unknown world.

The adventure in libraryland begins.