Letter in a Library Book

Esquire Magazine, one of my favorite publications is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year and every issue has a list of 75 things a man should do, try, experience, etc. They are mostly entertaining tidbits, but some of them are really quite interesting. This month's edition is "75 things every man should do at least once in his life".

Number 12 is as follows:

"Leave yourself a letter in a library book. Look for it twenty years later. Pick an obscure biography in a college (in our case public library), since no one there wants to insult obscurity by de-cataloguing a book, and the library will most likely always be there. One page. Be discreet. Type it on erasable bond, tuck it in the back, and hope no one ever notices. As for the content, skip the hopes & dreams. Mention the weather, tell yourself what you ate that morning, make a list of friends, note how much you weigh and whether you feel fat, remind yourself of a secret you want to keep.''

This is pretty neat advice on several levels; it acknowledges that libraries are notoriously bad a weeding their collections (but sometimes you wonder, is it a bad thing?). It also makes the assumption that libraries will always be there....that cheers me considerably; at last there is someone other than librarians who sees the permanence of libraries and their contents. Finally, it alludes to the value and the mystery of a book....you never know what gem of information might be contained therein, what kernel of memory is preserved for the generations, or better still who might pick it up and influenced by it. I hope you will all take the magazine's advice, slip a note to yourself in a library book....it might not change your world today, but it definitely couldn't hurt.

Teen/YA Summer Reading

One of the requirements of the District's Summer Reading Grant ($500/library) was that each library do at least one Summer Reading Program for Teen or Young Adults. Has your library done this yet? Was it successful? What would you do differantly? What would make your Teen Summer Reading better in the future and what can the District do to assist you?

Please respond with your tales of Teen Summer Reading.

Adult Summer Reading

I just got my edition of "Behind the Bookcase" the Franklin Public Library newsletter and was cheered to see that they continuing their Summer Reading Program for Grownups. The program allows adults to write a short book review on any library book they've read and submit it for a weekly prize drawing. What a nifty way to stimulate summer time reading in the adult population! Way to go Franklin!!

Remember, incorporating family activies and opportunities for reading across generations into standard Children's Programing is a great way for libraries to illustrate that they are Community Centers & family friendly places.