03/12/2025
Very true
Billy Connolly once remarked that while many believe sports such as football or boxing offer a route out of working-class life, for him that ticket was the humble library. He described the library as “the escape tunnel” — a gateway to all the knowledge in the world, where the great minds of history lie waiting for any curious soul.
Raised in a tough Glasgow tenement, Connolly’s early life was marked by hardship and hardship was compounded by a difficult home — yet he found refuge in books. Walking over tramlines to a local public library became his nightly escape from a grim reality. Within its walls he discovered stories and ideas far beyond his immediate surroundings: history, philosophy, literature and culture. What others saw as a gritty slog of factory and shipyard labour, Connolly transformed through reading into a world of possibility, imagination and self-discovery.
For Connolly, this access to literature didn’t just offer escapism — it offered transformation. Through reading he gained perspectives, confidence and a deeper understanding of life, which would shape his voice as a comedian, storyteller and observer of society. His belief was that books and libraries remain among the most democratic means of self-improvement and social mobility: the doors are open to whoever chooses to step inside. In that sense, the library wasn’t merely a refuge — it was a ladder, a tunnel, and a way out.
