The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter
What's both exciting and disappointing about this little collection of books?
The exciting and fun part is that I received them for free and they are now part of my family library, to sit on my shelves for my children to observe and wonder about and, someday, pick up and read.
The disappointing part is that the reason they were free is that my library was getting rid of them, which means that the people in charge were making room on the shelves by getting rid of old (to them: “outdated”) books that weren't circulating. No one was reading them, so they were deemed dead weight. The very purpose of the library – a place for great works to be treasured for the ages and accessed by the public – is undermined.
The way I see it, I owe it to the world to pick up where the public library left off, and perhaps someday donate these back to a library in the hopes that they'll be rediscovered — after my family has absorbed them. In addition, I'm considering making it a point of “intellectual charity” to borrow great books from the library, if for no other reason than just to simply keep them in circulation!
I'm inspired to give you a little {b&p} feature: a usual list of links is below, but for now I just want to give you a collection from our Archives, in case you need to catch up on the Library Project:
- The Like Mother, Like Daughter Library Project – an introduction to what we believe a library should be, and the concept of this non-list we're offering
- To Educate Children, you Need Books on the Shelves – permission to acquire and collect any and all books of quality!
- Just Say No to “Books that Build Character” – includes recommendations for great stories that will contribute in the long run to what you can't do with a shortcut
- Library Project: Should Parent or Child Choose?
Looking for more? See the item in the header menu, above! You can scroll through all the past Library Project posts for more thoughts on books in general and recommendations for specific ones that are worthy of adding to your collection.
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On to this week's links!
For deeper reading:
- Anthony Esolen alert! This week we recommend his article The Uses of Disgust. We need this interesting reminder to keep our moral reactions simple. From the article: “You do not say to someone who has brought himself to dine upon feces, so that it is to him an evil second nature, “You know, you should really check a dietician about that.” Nor do you say anything similar to your children. You rely upon their natural sense of disgust: you corroborate it and you direct it. Everything genuinely natural is your ally.”
- Prepare to be moved by this inspiring in memoriam piece about Lizz Lovett, a young woman who witnessed to life while dying of cancer. Written by a friend of Rosie's, this article also includes Lovett's funeral homily by our dear Fr. Scalia. It also includes this video, in which Lovett offers her story as part of the campaign against euthanasia (legal in her home state of OR):
- Some reading to help you prepare to take appropriate action by urging your representatives about the upcoming vote on the Conscience Protection Act!
And lighter & miscellaneous:
- You know how I love a good wedding celebration. And we LMLD girls are self-proclaimed wedding-photo addicts. But this shoot I liked in particular because of how it features a cross-generational party. Just some inspiration for how the whole family, young and old, can enjoy a wedding feast together. Laura & Mark's Rhode Island Wedding. (Discerning readers will recognize some crossover material from my posts about receptions.)
- Have you heard about Simone Biles? The young American gymnast phenom who's slated to, in Rosie's words, tear it UP at the Olympics this summer? Also: a short video showing and explaining how she's a head and shoulders above the rest (at less than 5′ :).
- A hilarious and endearing interview with the great P.G. Wodehouse, at age 91. On writing, humor, self-reflection… Let's just say that he doesn't seem to suffer from false modesty. (Don't miss the Library Project post on Wodehouse!)
- This writer has apparently made a study of the super rich, and diagnosed such wealthy folks with Perfection Anxiety. From Auntie Leila: “Read with your older children (teens) to appreciate a well written essay and to discuss what too much money would do to your life. Is it true that only the extremely rich have perfection anxiety? Is money the cause of this anxiety? Or is it something else?”
In the Liturgical Year:
Today is the memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, Chinese martyrs!
Laura Jeanne says
I know Dierdre, it’s so sad about the books that libraries get rid of. Or the donations that they reject. Everything is decided based on circulation. Of course, the individual librarians have no say over what is kept and what is discarded. So it must sometimes be painful for them, too. Last year the library system of the city nearest me had a massive book sale – they discarded every single book that had not been checked out in one year. Every single one! I went, and came home with 6 bags full of wonderful books, including some beautiful books on the saints, history books, books of science experiments, poetry…all kinds of books I can’t BELIEVE the library was discarding.
I never miss a library book sale anywhere in our entire country. I LOVE them, and by going to these sales I have acquired quite a large library of books on all topics. But I agree with you, they are also a little bit sad. Also sad is looking at what IS on the shelves at the library….for kids, lots of twaddle and pop-culture stuff and not so much of worth and substance. It’s upsetting to me, and I don’t actually let my kids choose their books from the library very often.
Laura Jeanne says
Haha…I meant to say I never miss a sale anywhere in my “county,” not “country.” Since I live in Canada, that would really be something!
Deirdre says
Haha — I was wondering…
Ruth Anne says
Our library too goes through their books and discards those that haven’t been checked out in a few years. So, so sad. I’ve “rescued” a number of books from the discard table.
My question has always been, what happens when people actually are assigned one of these classics to read and the library no longer has them?
Love your idea about checking out the books from the library just so they stay “circulating” 🙂
Julie says
I can’t stand to see books discarded, and have brought home many as of late. An exact copy of Watership Down is sitting by my bedside right now and I just started it this week. Any tips on the best spacing/size for bookshelves? We desperately need more, but I want them to be “just right.”
Annalisa says
I have undertaken the same “intellectual charity”, as you call it, hoping that I may cause a good, old book to stay on the library shelf for the benefit of someone else in the future, especially one who may not have the benefit of the collective memory in his or her daily life. I wonder that some town library has not made it their mission to hold on to these treasures, offering a unique service. Since all libraries are now so connected, making the collections of each available to others in their consortium, and even beyond, through looser connections, why not specialize? A library committed to preserving the best from all of history can still aid their patrons in finding the newer books through their consortium, while putting their space and money toward something no one else is doing. Does a small town library really need so many copies of new bestsellers for the book club, only to turn around and sell them off for just a dollar in a few months or a year at the next library sale?
Deirdre says
Good point, Annalisa! I’m sure that any library attempting to do so would run up against two problems: 1) accusations/complaints about what determines which books belong in the canon and 2) the fact that so many people use their libraries purely for picking up the latest best sellers…
But I’m 100% in favor of the concept!
Annalisa says
True, you will always have complainers. However, the space in even the smallest libraries is sufficient for a huge selection of books, IF you don’t feel the need to buy the new books when they are published. leaving room for quite a broad assortment of books in the collection. Perhaps E-Books can satisfy the desire for the the new best seller.
There must be a way beyond our subversive circulation of good, old books!
Rebekah W. says
As a LMLD reader who works in public libraries, I must say take heart!
Frequently, those beautiful books (which I would have snapped up in a heartbeat, as well!) are rejected primarily because copies that old and (supposedly) fragile will not hold up well to the demands of a busy library environment. The paperback Voyage of the Dawn Treader, for example, would sadly be reduced to shreds quite quickly; additionally, sometimes “sneaky marketing” is employed. That is, newer covers give great or good books a shiny-fresh appearance and attract new readers who have never before known good literature. (The kids who have grown up on Warrior Cats and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, for example.)
Thankfully, most libraries do their best to keep those good books on the shelves; for instance, both libraries where I work do have at least one copy of each volume of the Chronicles of Narnia, and often multiple copies! The adult section is often a haven, as they sometimes have more wiggle room (eg, they don’t have to get rid of materials as quickly as we do in the children’s department.) Brideshead Revisited or a Thomas Hardy novel may very well be found right next to Stephen King and James Patterson. It’s all about where you look!
Of course, as others have said, it frequently depends on the individual librarian making collection development decisions and, sadly, the slick new stuff often gets top bill and valuable shelf space.
Nevertheless, please know that many of us do our best to put good and great literature into the hands of the people we serve!
P.S. One tip: the library board often has no idea how badly patrons want the great stuff! The popular stuff is what gets circulation statistics up, so that is all they see. If we ask for changes, we may get them. 🙂
Rosemary says
Trying to view it optimistically–I find it hard to believe any sizable library is without a copy of Brideshead Revisted, Othello or Jane Eyre! All those books look to be pretty old, so I’m willing to bet they have newer, sturdier, in-print editions on their shelves. 🙂
Caitlin says
That’s a good point! 🙂
Karen9800 says
I also check out classics to keep them in circulation! My daughters always sign up for the summer reading program at our local library. They read classic works and write reviews of them on the library’s web site as part of the program. Hopefully someone will be interested and pick one up! Maybe we should start a movement . . . 🙂
Pippi says
I suspect that many of these books have newer copies and the libraries were passing these ones on because they weren’t likely to stand up to being circulated much longer. Or, they were older editions and the library wanted to make room for newer editions. Have you seen this website by librarians about weeding out books in their collections? I might have gotten sucked in one evening and spent over an hour laughing until my abdominal muscles got an excellent workout: http://awfullibrarybooks.net
Caitlin says
Oh, that link looks funny! Going to check it out now… Library pun…? 🙂
Caitlin says
It pains me to notice Watership Down in the discard pile… My favorite book! I have that same edition. Good for you for your rescue work! And there I am at my public library, not finding anything that looks *worth* checking out. I’ve gone looking for many LMLD library project books and returned empty-handed. Oh well, it forces me to buy a used copy on Amazon, and then I have it to keep!
Leila says
Rebekah and Rosemary, I think you are right in some cases. And of course it does depend on the librarian. But I know for a fact that in all too many cases the books are taken out when they are old or when they haven’t been checked out after a certain period of time and they are discarded or sold.
Our own library here had a whole set of Trollope books. They were old, but they were certainly fine and not troubling anyone! One day they were gone… and not replaced. That’s only one little example. This is the case with so many.
My hope is that librarians will rediscover their importance to the community. Until then, we’ll just have to keep the books alive at home!
Lisa G. says
Yes – I work in a small town library, and since everybody and his brother wants to be a writer these days, books must be bought, and room has to be made for them! If something hasn’t gone out – if no one has wanted it in two or more years, how can we keep it? We actually do keep some in the basement, but it’s getting crowded down there. Most of our society doesn’t see much value in these old classics; in fact, “classics” probably doesn’t have meaning anymore – not like it did.
A few weeks ago I suddenly started wondering about the children’s chapter books at our place, and decided to look for some that seemed like good, solid stories of the kind Leila talks about. I read a couple and enjoyed them. Meanwhile our children’s librarian, who’s a bit old-fashioned, had to do some weeding. I ended up picking a few from her potential discard pile without even realizing it. And so, I inadvertently saved three or four from oblivion by checking them out. That was good, but it doesn’t mean someone will touch them again in the next year or two. It’s a matter of the way our children are presently being educated. I like Deirdre’s “intellectual charity” – that’s the only way these books will stay on the shelves. You homeschoolers may love these books, but if you don’t check them out, they will disappear. We are funded by the taxpayers, and if they want dumb books, then that’s what they should have – I suppose.
The devil has done his work well.
Annalisa’s point about libraries buying extra copies for book clubs – at least we don’t do that where I work. Our book club patrons – and we get books for quite a few clubs – let us know ahead of time, and we just inter-library loan them. They know enough not to ask for someone new, because the owning libraries don’t want to send those. It works well for us.
I’m sure in a community with many home schooled families, the librarian would accommodate them – all taxpayers have a right to be represented in the library.
Claire says
For what it’s worth, I used to work in my local library, doing discards, and it’s not actually as bad as it sounds. I can’t speak for every system, of course, but in mine, the discard list I worked from was keyed to the specific bar code of each book–so it’s not that Othello in general wasn’t circulating, it’s that *that exact copy* of Othello wasn’t circulating. (I think we discarded books that hadn’t been checked out in 2-3 years–a pretty long time!–with the exception of local interest/history books, which stayed pretty much indefinitely.) I guarantee you, there are still copies of Othello, Watership Down, Emma, and more on your library’s shelves. (They’re all assigned far too often as school/summer reading to ever go out of circulation!) And for non-fiction, a lot of we ended up discarding was just plain out of date–no one wants a 10-year-old New York City travel guide, or “Windows 95 for Dummies.” Getting rid of those gave the library space to replace them with current information. Also, doing periodic discards actually increases circulation in the library, because it enables people to find what they’re looking for. It also gives the library room to acquire new books–whether it’s the latest best seller or a brand-new copy of Pride & Prejudice to replace the one that was too battered to continue circulating.
So, while I understand your frustration, from a library’s perspective, it’s really not as dire, or as Orwellian, as it might seem on its face. Obviously not every library system is the same, but in my experience (as the child of a librarian and sometime library employee myself), it’s actually beneficial in the long run.
(…which is not to say that I didn’t “rescue” some of the books I took off the shelves when I worked there, of course!)
Lisa G. says
This is all true, Claire, but I think these ladies are mostly talking about children’s books of a certain era, which are definitely disappearing from libraries. As for the Shakespeare, Austen and Dickens – no, they could never be withdrawn, but many of the “lesser” classics are being deleted. 🙂
Deirdre says
Good to hear your insight, Claire!
Stephanie says
Deirdre I think the best find in your stack there was the Harvard Dictionary of Music…looks like a gem! This “The Book Thief” 21st century America style is all so dramatic to me! I feel like each classic book that can be saved either in the home or being kept in circulation is a tiny mustard seed of hope for our culture.
AND…I rely on Like Mother Like Daughter for Anthony Esolen articles. Great great article…thank you for sharing!
God Bless!
Dianna says
What a find! I have the same feeling when I see a book I like removed from the library too: happy that I can buy it for pennies, and sad that others won’t get to read it anymore. I wish our little library could keep all the books but I know they don’t have room. However, they do have very nice collections of D.E. Stevenson and Grace Livingston Hill, so I won’t complain too much.
Karen in SC says
I happen to be re-reading that exact copy of Watership Down, and yesterday I read a passage that really jumped out at me. It’s Fiver, talking about Cowslip’s warren: “And since they could not bear the truth, these singers, who might in some other place have been wise, were squeezed under the terrible weight of the warrens’s secret until they gulped out fine folly–about dignity and acquiescence, and anything else that could make believe that the rabbit loved the shining wire.”
How well that goes along with the beautiful video of Lizz Lovett.