A change of pace this week.
My local library is a gift. Its resources allow me to do research on their shelves or online. Its book collection provides me with hours of reading materials--and saves my house from looking like it belongs in one of those hoarding shows on TV. On days when it's dangerous for me to be anywhere near my kitchen, I can set up my laptop at the library and work without the risk of falling off my healthy living wagon. It would not be an understatement to say that many thousands of words of my novels were written at "my" library. In some ways, it feels like a second home. I would be devastated if anything happened to it.
I imagine the people in the areas affected by Hurricane Irene feel the same way about their libraries. Water is never kind to books, and Irene left entirely too much water in her wake. (No pun intended.) One library in the Adirondacks lost almost its entire picture book collection. I'm sure other libraries were equally damaged or worse. The Library Journal is piecing together the story. Many libraries are still without power and/or access, so the exact extent of the damage is still unknown.
So please, if you have the resources, help a library rebuild. LibraryThing is compiling a list of Irene-affected libraries. You can visit that list here. (As of this writing, there is only one library listed. I'm sure more will be added as information becomes available.)
Another option is to search Amazon for library wish lists. You can link to a list of library wish lists here. If you would like to donate to a library in a specific city or state, simply follow the link and then enter the place names in the "City or State" box and click Go.
In the words of Henry Ward Beecher, "A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." Thank you for helping Irene-ravaged communities reclaim their necessities.
My local library is a gift. Its resources allow me to do research on their shelves or online. Its book collection provides me with hours of reading materials--and saves my house from looking like it belongs in one of those hoarding shows on TV. On days when it's dangerous for me to be anywhere near my kitchen, I can set up my laptop at the library and work without the risk of falling off my healthy living wagon. It would not be an understatement to say that many thousands of words of my novels were written at "my" library. In some ways, it feels like a second home. I would be devastated if anything happened to it.
I imagine the people in the areas affected by Hurricane Irene feel the same way about their libraries. Water is never kind to books, and Irene left entirely too much water in her wake. (No pun intended.) One library in the Adirondacks lost almost its entire picture book collection. I'm sure other libraries were equally damaged or worse. The Library Journal is piecing together the story. Many libraries are still without power and/or access, so the exact extent of the damage is still unknown.
So please, if you have the resources, help a library rebuild. LibraryThing is compiling a list of Irene-affected libraries. You can visit that list here. (As of this writing, there is only one library listed. I'm sure more will be added as information becomes available.)
Another option is to search Amazon for library wish lists. You can link to a list of library wish lists here. If you would like to donate to a library in a specific city or state, simply follow the link and then enter the place names in the "City or State" box and click Go.
In the words of Henry Ward Beecher, "A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." Thank you for helping Irene-ravaged communities reclaim their necessities.