tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5229028689051680427.post4021037474551718351..comments2012-06-07T10:50:12.541-07:00Comments on Maria's Libraries: What is it about libraries? Part Iarielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18261233487080587459noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5229028689051680427.post-76342698269535129642010-06-03T22:56:59.495-07:002010-06-03T22:56:59.495-07:00The joke about librarians being generous could as ...The joke about librarians being generous could as well be true! Libraries are places that we dont expect much in terms of cash changing hands and so as modern librarians, we are trained and have come to learn how to give our services for free many a times to people we may not even know. That's what we are, librarians!Otuoma Sanyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08542828261996995526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5229028689051680427.post-59897740783505357742010-03-26T10:38:07.199-07:002010-03-26T10:38:07.199-07:00Oh, and I forgot to mention the strangest donation...Oh, and I forgot to mention the strangest donation we've gotten-- The district probation officer donated prison labor to clear the grounds of the library so we can survey it. How do we say thank you for that one? Maybe have book day at the prison once a week? <br /><br />That would be nice-- like when the Maasai donated 12 cows to New York after September 11. There was no real way to get them over to New York, but it was probably one of the most touching gestures towards the US that came out of that period-- the US said thank you by establishing 12 college scholarships for the Maasai.Evahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927494608763407972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5229028689051680427.post-66020084222020838042010-03-25T22:05:31.188-07:002010-03-25T22:05:31.188-07:00I still get very upset sometimes empathizing with ...I still get very upset sometimes empathizing with performance artists who must appear in person and do their art at that moment, if they want anyone to see their art. As a viewer or a listener, of course I am thrilled at the opportunity to see a fantastic and never-to-be repeated concert or play, but when I put myself in the position of the artist, I wonder how he can bring himself to channel his creativity in such an ephemeral form—wouldn’t he prefer, instead, to leave a drawing or an essay, that can be enjoyed in his presence and re-enjoyed after he is gone? I remind myself nearly every time I see a breathtaking performance* that even if I only see them one time, and they never play anywhere else ever again, they live on because of the stories I tell about them, and because of my memories of them, and the way they capture my imagination for years afterwards. <br /><br />What does this have to do with libraries! I think I might conceive of live performances in a similar way to the way I relate to borrowed books. If we were lucky enough to grow up near a library, as I was, it seemed as a child sort of unfathomable the selection available and the difficulty in choosing that first book! How many times did I read a book, return it, only to take it out again 3 weeks later? In the meantime, I wondered, who was looking at it? What if I wanted to take it out again, and it wasn’t there? How did I know it wouldn’t get lost, or some little kid smear his jelly fingers all over it and make the pages stick together? I’m sure that happened sometimes, but I lived. And in the interim, I remembered the books I’d read. I don’t think I thought much about how the stories I loved caught my attention until I went to university with people from different areas, and realized that we’d all grown up with a similar set of favorite stories. How did that happen?<br /><br />We read it, we give it back, and we remember it. There’s something so delicious about the idea that after it’s out of our hands, someone else is reading it too. Maybe we’ll meet one day and talk about it!<br /><br />And don’t even get me started on democracy! <br /><br /><br />*remember the Gorillaz’s Monkey: Journey to the West, or Sufjan Stevens’ presentation on the BQE at BAM?arielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18261233487080587459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5229028689051680427.post-90952078385848051392010-03-25T21:34:20.721-07:002010-03-25T21:34:20.721-07:00It's not boring! It's so, so much fun!!It's not boring! It's so, so much fun!!arielnoreply@blogger.com