I am a huge fan of libraries of all sorts, and I am constantly in and out of my local one with sackloads of books. It’s very sad when libraries close, so in theory this photograph should induce a sense of deep melancholy. But for some reason – perhaps the way the light is falling – looking at it makes me feel very tranquil, clears my head and puts me in the mood for new projects. I took the photo a couple of years ago in the marvellous Tower Hamlets archive (reassuringly, the adjacent room is packed with wonderful old books) when doing some research for the built environment project I did in Whitechapel with Canon Barnett Primary School and English Heritage. Iwas reminded of the photo when looking at sculptor Frillip Moolog’s blog post on empty spaces, which is well worth a visit here.