[Publib] Jobs and People - Favorite Book?

Mon Aug 10 10:20:32 EDT 2009

One of my favorite historical figures is Thomas
Jefferson<http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jefflib.html>.
His intellectual contribution to the
creation of the US is immeasurable.  His love of books may have been, too.

The library Congress purchased from him totaled 6,487 books. More than twice
the holdings
they had before the fire.  With his love of books, and even by the standards
of 6,487 being
an immense collection at that time, I doubt he would have been able to offer
a 'favorite'.

When I was a Manager at the Brown University Libraries, I was responsible
for book stack
management of the Sciences <http://dl.lib.brown.edu/libweb/about/scili/> and
Rockefeller <http://dl.lib.brown.edu/libweb/about/rock/> Libraries.  There
were about 54 miles of
shelves.  Seasonal returns and use meant shelving/ reshelving / moving about
750,000
volumes a year.  Space had effectively run out, so I had to devise methods
of accommodating
growth without compromising the intellectual provenance.  That meant
understanding the
size of collections in all of LC along with
Cutter<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutter_Expansive_Classification>and
SUDOCs <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/explain.html>.

The work was intellectual and physical and gave me an immense appreciation
for the
character and labors of Sisyphus <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus>.
The faster and more accurately we did our jobs, the
greater the circulation and reshelving.  At the same time I was doing that
job, I was also
getting my library degree and working for the Marines as a Military Advisor
for three
USMC Colonels in the reserves.  There was barely time for laundry.

During my years in that labor, I physically handled a least a million
books.
The work required that I appreciate every subject, every discipline and I
opened every
book that interested me.  That was the real benefit to me.  From Mars
Voyager <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_program_(Mars)>
program to History of Math <http://www.ams.org/> to analysis of Tibetan
Tanka<http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=tibetan+tanka&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=>
to
the use of
charicatures in Germanic
political<http://www.caricaturesetcaricature.com/article-10259459.html>literature,
I was able to gain some insight
into how little I do know.

>From an intellectual standpoint, as librarians I think we need to be able to
consider
the whole body of knowledge.  We should strive for that.  And, the
profession begs
us to do that.

I will take my cue from Jefferson. There is no favorite arrangement of a
mere
few hundred pages of words in the vast scope of human understanding. Let
Trustees look at the room of knowledge through a keyhole - librarians must
enter the room and embrace it.

R. Balliot
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com

On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 9:15 AM, Nann Blaine Hilyard <
nbhilyard at zblibrary.org> wrote:

>  IMO people who can settle on **one** lifetime favorite  book haven’t read
> very much.   Different books make a difference at different times in one’s
> life.  When I was 2 I loved the Little Golden Book edition of The
> Gingerbread Man.  When I was 7 I loved the Happy Hollisters (okay, that was
> an entire series…PetePamRickyHollySue, ages 12, 10, 7, 6, and 4, their
> collie Zip, and their cat whose name I can’t remember).  When I was 11,
> Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright.  At 13, Gone with the Wind.
>
>
>
> So, being asked “what’s your favorite?” gives you the opportunity to do
> some reader’s advisory:  “I’ve always liked historical fiction. I started
> with Rosemary Sutcliff, then discovered Jean Plaidy, and now I really like
> Alison Weir.”  “Reading about food is non-fattening.   From M.F.K. Fisher to
> Julie Powell, with Jeffrey Steingarten and Tony Bourain in between.”  Etc.
>
>
>
> Nann
>
> @the library in Zion, Illinois
>
>
>
> *From:* publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:
> publib-bounces at webjunction.org] *On Behalf Of *Robert L. Balliot
> *Sent:* Saturday, August 08, 2009 4:19 PM
> *To:* Backwage at aol.com; publib at webjunction.org
> *Subject:* RE: [Publib] Jobs and People - Favorite Book?
>
>
>
> Should we have a favorite book?
>
>
>
> I recently met with a Library Board  about a building project they are
> trying
>
> to get off the ground.  One of the Board Members wanted to know my favorite
> book.
>
>
>
> I think if I were a minister, the answer should have been The Bible.
>
> If I were a car mechanic, maybe it would be Chilton’s.  If I were
>
> a child who had just started to read, perhaps it would be the last picture
> book that my
>
> mother had shared with me. In the early 70’s, I found Tolkien’s books
> connected very well with my
>
> sense of fantasy.  A few years ago at Oxford, I was privileged to stay
> where he attended
>
> school (along with Smithson). But, his books were only a favorite as I
> consumed them.
>
>
>
> Vartan Gregorian released a list of what *he* thought were the greatest
> books ever written.
>
> I recall at the top of the list he included James Joyce’s – Ulysses .  I
> read it, and was
>
> amused by the word play, but I enjoyed everything Vonnegut wrote more.  He
> connected
>
> to me.  And, I liked Michener and Steinbeck and Faulkner more.  But, I read
> everything they
>
> wrote – not assigned reading.  As children of an academic library director,
> we had access
>
> to every subject, every author.
>
>
>
> But, I do not have a favorite book and the Trustee did not seem to be able
> to understand.
>
> It was as if there were only 43 flavors and I should be able to pick just
> one.
>
>
>
> If Trustees do not understand the scope of the profession, what chance do
> disinterested
>
> council members?
>
>
>
> *************************************************
>
> Robert L. Balliot
>
> Skype: RBalliot
>
> Bristol, Rhode Island
>
> http://oceanstatelibrarian.com/contact.htm
>
> *************************************************
>  ------------------------------
>
> *From:* publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:
> publib-bounces at webjunction.org] *On Behalf Of *Backwage at aol.com
> *Sent:* Friday, August 07, 2009 6:35 PM
> *To:* publib at webjunction.org
> *Subject:* [Publib] Jobs and People
>
>
>
> The plumber receives 36 dollars an hour without benefits.  The carpenter a
> bit less; the electrician a bit more.  Even in public service these workers
> are more highly paid than librarians.  There are many reasons for this, but
> principal among them is that the librarian's employers do not believe that
> librarians have rare and valuable skills.  The city council members can tell
> you what a carpenter does, but they couldn't draw a line between a librarian
> and a clerk to save their lives.  Most of them don't know whether the
> library uses Dewey or Library of Congress--if they know what those are.
>
>
>
> Most governments don't know what a library consists of.  They think it is a
> building with some fussy folks who maintain order.  This is not their fault
> but ours.
>
>
>
> How do you know the difference between a carpenter and a plumber?  At least
> you know that one uses pipe and the other wood.  And that you call the one
> when the water doesn't work.  Would your council member know when your
> library was broken?  More to the point, would your chief librarian tell
> him?
>
>
>
> M. McGrorty
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Publib mailing list
> Publib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/mailman/listinfo/publib
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/publib/attachments/20090810/159b4453/attachment.htm