Director’s Corner

The Gift

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The holidays are upon us and with it the promise of gifts. Lewis Hyde in his book The Gift, first published in 1983, and never out of print, offers a thoughtful exploration on gifts. Gift giving and gratitude for the gift are  common human activities. A gift can be as simple as holding a door open or as opulent as a potlatch, a ceremonial feast of Indians living on our northwest coast, where possessions are given away. Gifts are part of the culture of Christmas, Halloween, Día de los Muertos, Hanukkah, Diwali and many other holidays.

Director’s Corner

Dangerous Libraries

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During Banned Books Week which occurs in September since 1982, librarians routinely prepare a list of books whose contents are considered by some to be so controversial that the books are banned from libraries, schools, communities, and even countries. It is scary when books, the repository of much of our knowledge and deemed by most to be fun, educational or classics, are deemed subversive and contaminating. Throughout the history of books, challenges to their contents have been frequent. But, interestingly, a book scare in the 19th and early 20th century was prompted not by content, but by another factor, a book’s physicality. At a time when public libraries were opening throughout the United States (the Kent Memorial Library opened in 1899), diseases were also rampant.

Director’s Corner

To Lexicography

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Dictionaries have been around a long time, perhaps beginning on cuneiform tablets around 2300 BCE (or BC if you prefer) in the area of modern-day Syria. In 1604, the first English alphabetical dictionary was published.

Director’s Corner

Blood and Tears

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I recently read Sam Fuller’s account of how the library on 50 North Main Street came to be. The building’s inception was awash in what Sam called “blood and tears.”

Director’s Corner

Librarian Spies?

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I have toted home a few books on spies for my husband which got me thinking. Many writers were spies – but were there librarian spies? I could only find three. Vasili Mitrokhin was a KGB librarian. For 10 years, from 1975 to 1985, he logged the names of KGB officers, their agents and informants.

Director’s Corner

Happy Birthday

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April is a busy literary month. It is National Poetry Month. It also contains National Library Week, National Bookmobile Day, Poem in Your Pocket Day, and a whole host of other literary holidays few people will celebrate.