Category Archives: library

Sep16

joy doesn’t have to wait.

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this is what this library did on sunday

brilliant

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Out of School Book Fair

for Adults

Are you still chasing the feeling of your school’s annual book fair? Nostalgic for bendy pencils, scented markers, and novelty erasers? Come feel like a kid again at our Out of School Adult Book Fair!

We’ll offer free trinkets and books that bring meld nostalgia with adult interests! We’ll have games and crafts set up for a fun time together!

For adults, 18 and over

Bob Lucas Memorial Library & Literacy Center

Our library serves an ethnically-diverse community of disaster survivors, most of whom lost everything. They are well worth supporting.   –  www.altadenalibrary.org
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‘joy doesn’t have to wait until the hard stuff is over. 
it can exist in simple, ordinary moments alongside the mess.
joy isn’t a reward for overcoming pain;
it is the practice that helps us get through it.’
-lori deschene
Sep3

tiny spaces in big places.

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on a visit to the university of michigan’s law library

walking through the arch to the quad

inside waits

the reading room

silent and beautiful 

downstairs

in the underground library

among all the many, many books

near the rare book room

happened upon

something i had never seen there 

tiny little rooms, each one unique, tucked away in the great big books

 a welcome quote and greeting

when taking a picture

  one of the librarians

came over

she had created

this delightful space

  took a very long time

to make each one

to bring a bit of joy

to all who found them

this tiny jewel

was such a treasure 

to discover

in these hallowed halls .

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’embracing tiny living is embracing a life of adventure and meaning.’

-author unknown

 

 

 

 

 

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image credit for first two big photos: university of michigan

image credit for the tiny places: me

ann arbor, mi, usa, 2026

Aug9

nature library.

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All libraries are good libraries – but there’s one that just opened near Denver that’s as much of a destination for nature lovers as it is for book lovers. Called the Anythink Nature Library, the 15-acre campus is home to a calming darkroom, a nature lab, an indoor-outdoor cafe, gardens, a mud pit, and a mile-long loop trail (as well as plenty of books, of course).

According to the website, it’s the nation’s first public nature library, with a mission to “help people of all ages discover their connection to the natural world.” The building itself is a testament to that vision, as it features hundreds of solar panels, bird-safe glass, and geothermal heating and cooling.

Patrons are invited to check out hammocks, telescopes, tents, and other experience kits dubbed “TryIts” so people can explore the outdoors without having to spend on pricey gear. “Public libraries have always evolved alongside the needs of their communities,” Mark Fink, executive director of Anythink Libraries, said in a statement. “The Nature Library represents the next evolution: a place where books, nature, science, and community come together to inspire curiosity and connection.” Take a look around the grounds.

‘there is no greater beauty or charm than what we find in nature.’

-todd romano

 

 

 

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source credits: Anythink Nature Library, nicenews

Aug21

collectives.

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Chesterfield Library, Chesterfield, Massachusetts

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COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR LIBRARIANS
A group of librarians is called a cardigan.

A collection of empty chairs is called an author reading.

A collection of Eric Carle books covered in spit-up is called a storytime.

A group of exhausted mothers covered in spit-up is also called a storytime.

A cluster of teens reading quietly is called a mystery.

A pile of books gathering dust is called a hold shelf.

A handful of change is called a budget.

A stack of books on a nightstand is called a magical thinking.

A group of people who only remember “the cover was blue” is called a patron.

A plastic prize tub of stickers is called a summer reading program.

A collection of missing pieces is called a community jigsaw.

A group of retirees is called a Scrabble night.

A shelf of books in alphabetical order is called a miracle.

A group of shushing librarians is called a cliché.

A group of underfunded libraries is called a tragedy.

by Sally Miller

 

 

 

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Source: McSWEENEY’S

 

Apr10

beach library.

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Situated in Albena, a sprawling Bulgarian resort on the Black Sea coast, Beach Library is the first of its kind in the European Union, and boasts over 6,000 books in more than 15 languages.

A project by German architect Herman Kompernas, the open-air library lies in front of Hotel Kaliakra and houses everything from Bulgarian literature to memoirs and works of fiction. Its 140 white shelves are made from a special material which is resistant to sun and wind, and when it rains, the bookcases are protected by a vinyl cover.

In order to make it easy for people to browse, volumes are arranged by countries, and can be borrowed for free. The only suggestion is to return the material to the library once finished.

Designed to foster reading among tourists during their summer holiday, Albena’s Beach Library is constantly expanding, as guests are encouraged to donate their own books for others to enjoy. Its goal is to provide customers with an enriching cultural exchange experience.

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‘i have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.’

― Jorge Luis Borges

 

In honor of National Library Week (I’ve extended it to International Library Week)

 

 

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Source Credits: Meeroona, Travel Away, Bulgarian Travel News

Jan22

go to a library.

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whenever and wherever you need a library

look closely

you may find one in the most unlikely of places

whether deep in the woods, alongside a curb,

or myriad other places

they are all around you just waiting to be discovered. 

 

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‘when all else fails, give up and go to a library’

-stephen king

Jul9

the souls they never knew they saved.

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i love the library
i’m there at least a couple of times a week
an unending source
of knowledge, humor, wisdom, drama, community, films, music, and life
the librarians are the lifeblood of the place and somehow keep it all going
in elementary school
i volunteered to help our school librarian, miss hoopengarner
where i had the incredible joy of seeing new books come in before anyone else
proudly getting them ready for the shelves for others to enjoy
i’ll never forget
i unpacked, wrapped, made up a card, glued on a pocket, checked out to myself, and stamped a return date
on the very first copy i had ever seen of ‘charlie and the chocolate factory’
 i was the first one in my entire school to read this book
how very lucky was i?
it was a level of magic i’ll never forget.
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and now, i have a little game for you to try:
your librarian name is the first name of the oldest person you know
followed by a last name composed of the adjective that best describes how you move through a room
combined with the main ingredient from the last sandwich you ate.
mine is: eleanor stumblecheese
(i rather like it)
let me know how yours turns out
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‘i’m of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path,
on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.’
-barbara kingsolver
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image credit: pinterest vintage, santa fe library, the laughing librarian (game)

May9

india, take the wheel!

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Wake County Bookmobile driver and librarian India White, July 1966.

White drove the Bookmobile all over the county for over 20 years. Her route changed daily but rotated monthly, visiting mostly rural locations in the county and homes of the elderly or disabled. She had dozens of assistants over the years, many either not able to learn the routes or drive a manual transmission (one of the crucial prerequisites for the job). A life-long resident of Raleigh, she devoted her entire career to the Wake County Library. White died in 2000 at the age of 92.

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“literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. it is a tool for daily life in modern society.

it is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development.

for everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right..

literacy is finally, the road to human progress

and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”

-kofi annan

 

 

 

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credits: vintage america uncovered, state archives of north carolina, news and observer

Nov17

one for the books.

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There are now Little Free Libraries on all seven continents. The first Little Free Library in Antarctica was established a few years ago at the South Pole by Russell Schnell. Schnell—an atmospheric scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the International Panel on Climate Change—built the Little Free Library at his home in Boulder, Colorado, in November then shipped it to the South Pole, where he had previously traveled for work.

what book would you want to add to this little library?

 

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“without reading, we are all without light in the dark, without fire in the cold.”

-tamora pierce, american fantasy fiction author

 

 

 

 

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source credits: littlefree ibrary.org

Nov12

open book.

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this is what happened when a swedish library accidentally left a door open

 

The Gothenburg City Library in Sweden was supposed to be closed last Saturday, but staffers accidentally left a door unlocked. One might imagine that could lead to thievery or destruction, but what actually happened was quite the opposite: Residents simply used the library as usual.

The city said nearly 450 people visited the library that day and 246 books were borrowed. “Nothing was destroyed. It’s absolutely fantastic that you as a Gothenburger come into an empty library and treat it so lovingly,” operations manager Anna Carin Elf told radio station P4 Gothenburg, per the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Arvid Jadenius was among the visitors, alongside his wife and 2-year-old son, and didn’t know anything was amiss until he saw the news on social media.

“It felt good that everyone behaved exactly as usual, they borrowed books, read the newspaper, and so on,” he said in an interview with Göteborgs-Posten, adding, “The citizens of Gothenburg take care of their library. There is obviously a desire to be there.”

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“the only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
-albert einstein

 

 

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source credits: P4 Gothenberg radio, Dagens Nyheter