A Little Wisdom

A small feature of this blog will be occasional little Pearls of Wisdom that we might run across in our daily work and life. The source or the content of this wisdom need not be related to librarianship or libraries. Some of the "best" librarians I know are also the most eclectic of people, they engage in a multitude of experiences, they read a variety of materials, and find inspiration in a even the most mundane places. Case in point is Janice Trapp who is perhaps the model of public library administration in Pennsylvania, one morning she was in Williamsport at a McDonalds getting a cup of coffee and noticed all the old men just hanging out there, having coffee and shooting the breeze, she also noticed business people and office workers buzzing in and out on their way to work and the idea struck her, why not have library card sign ups at McDonalds? By doing this, she was able to tap into an existing audience of people who may not normally come to the library or encounter a librarian. See, inspiration in a mundane place. Anyhow, apart from that anecdote I have only the following quote to give you as this week's pearl of wisdom.

"You hear all this whining going on, “Where are our great writers?” The thing I might feel doleful about is: Where are the readers?" -Gore Vidal

This was taken from Gore Vidal's interview in Esquire Magazine the June 2008 edition. Please see the full article for more.