Obsolete Librarian

Reading about the insane numbers of books that ordinary working people used to read a hundred years ago feels like seeing pictures of the Pacific Ocean back when it teemed with whales. Hard to comprehend what we’ve lost.

Homewood. Hamilton Ave at Fifth Ave. Caller said that she left her dog in her running car. When she returned the dog was excited to see her and stepped on the lock doors button. Her keys are inside her car and she is locked out. Dog appears to be pleased.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

-- "The Colo[u]r of Magic" by Sir Terry Pratchett

Also: "Ships at a distance have every man's wish onboard."

“In a distant and second-hand set of dimensions, in an astral plane that was never meant to fly, the curling star-mists waver and part… Great A'Tuin the Turtle comes, swimming slowly through the interstellar gulf...."

"A Wrinkle in Time" was my gateway drug into sci-fi. (I was about eight.)

And finding those pockets of "L-Space," where the rows of books seem to go on way farther than they would if they obeyed the laws of physics.

Text is "spaghetti."

Um, ok. Not sure exactly how this is going to guide my life in the year ahead, but thank you.

I'm reading "The Memory Police" by Yoko Ogawa and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction.

Books are arranged in the shape of a Christmas tree. Above are the words "Happy Jólabókaflóð," a reference to the Icelandic "book flood" tradition of giving and reading books on Christmas Eve.

Jólabókaflóð season is upon us! What are you reading right now, and would you recommend it as a gift?

I see what you did there....

5/4 (Because I mis-estimated the length of my other posts): If you're able to, attend municipal gov't meetings to vouch for the worth and value (per dollar) of your local library. Seniors, children, job-seekers, and many others benefit from readily available (and free) information and entertainment.

4/4 (Full disclosure: I read about a book a week and check out maybe 200 over the course of a year, so I give $30 -- the general cost of a hardcover book -- to each of the two libraries I regularly visit.)

3/4 If you have the financial means to, and are a voracious reader/listener/movie-watcher, donate the cost of at least one item you would have had to have bought to the library instead.

2/4 Library boards and directors keep track of these figures. An obviously well loved local library attracts grants from foundations, corporations, and other donors -- as well as potentially some tax dollars (e.g. a local referendum might be introduced to designate $X per resident to the library).

How can you help? 1/4
#1: *Use* your library. Check out physical and ebooks/audiobooks and other materials, attend programs, use genealogy and other reference materials, etc.

Most public libraries are funded by a combination of personal donations from people in the community, grants from foundations (and sometimes local or national businesses), and local/county/state taxes. The exact formula changes from library to library.

Picture is a full-page newspaper advertisement that looks like a department-store ad but is actually for public libraries (the New York PL in particular). The ad copy enthusiastically exclaims, "ALL BOOKS ARE FREE -- for an unlimited time -- Plus FREE returns -- at Your Local Public Library" with what resembles a coupon for "100% off" and encourages readers to learn more about their library. The ad itself is wrapped with a red bow like a precious gift.

Just a reminder during this hectic holiday season...

The Tenth Doctor Who stands cross-armed with an intense expression in front of his TARDIS, with a purple time vortex swirling in the background. In the foreground are the words "HAPPY DOCTOR WHO DAY."

To those who celebrate: Happy TARDIS Day!

In a black-and-white still from a 1959 TV show, a man wearing very thick glasses is ecstatically reading a book amid the bombed-out ruins of what had been the town library.

Happy (?) 65th anniversary to "Time Enough at Last" ("Twilight Zone" s1, e8), which has given book-lovers -- and just about everyone else -- nightmares for generations.

Background is a shelf full of books. In the foreground are the following words: "Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew each other. Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic. -- Carl Sagan"

Introducing myself here with one of my favorite quotes. Of course, it's about books.