Learning in Little Rock

Photo from the Washington Post

I haven’t ever been to Arkansas, but now I have a good excuse to visit - The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock.  
The center includes the Clinton Presidential Library, The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and an Arkansas office of the Clinton Foundation.  I read about the library in Sarah Eddington’s article, “Clinton Helps Dedicate Little Rock Nine Exhibit”, and headed over to check it out.  I found lots of cool goodies at the library site but no mention of the Little Rock Nine exhibit.  I decided to do some digging on my own.  A few weeks ago I wrote about the Greenville 8’s trouble at the library but this story takes trouble to another level.  I had a foggy understanding of the 1957 incident at Little Rock High, I knew it had something to do with school segregation, The National Guard and The Civil Rights Movement - right?  When I went back and read the facts, the abhorrent truth unfolded.  
There were a few key players:  nine African American high school students were the main characters, Governor Orval Faubus played the villain (he took the role very seriously) and President Eisenhower was the hero, although his actions didn’t do much to craft a happy ending for the students. After the Supreme Court decided that school segregation was unconstitutional, in 1954, the states began plans for gradual integration in schools.  The NAACP helped them evolve by enrolling black students in white schools throughout the southern states.

On the morning of September 4, 1957, nine enrolled African American students arrived at school and were physically  blocked from entering the building by segregation groups on the stairs.  This was the moment Governor Faubus was waiting for...he sent in the Arkansas National Guard to PREVENT the students from going to school.  Let me type that again...a line of  National Guardsmen (on the order of the Governor)  blocked the students so they could not attend school.  It sure makes you wonder what he was thinking.
The city went crazy - some in favor and some against - and President Eisenhower met with Governor Faubus to remind him that he was meddling in a decision made by the Supreme Court.  That fact didn’t seem to bother him a bit.  Twenty-one days later the students were finally allowed to enter the school only because President Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne Division of the ARMY  and federalized the National Guard Troops, basically shutting down old Orval’s ability to make decisions.  I sure would have liked to hear the conversations leading up to that rather drastic decision...
The students spent a mostly unpleasant year at Little Rock High, enduring verbal and physical abuse.  Clearly just getting the students in the door of the school wasn’t enough, kind of like opening the door to the polar bear’s exhibit and throwing in some salmon.   I can’t help wonder where the superintendent, principals and teachers were during this year and whose side they were on?
Little Rock High is still an operating school but now it is also a National Historic Site and home to a civil rights museum.  In 1999 Bill Clinton awarded the Little Rock Nine with Congressional Medals of Honor, the country’s highest honor and one of those medals is now displayed at Clinton’s Library in Little Rock.  These nine teenagers suffered to remind our country of the promises it made to treat all citizens equally and I’m glad the library is around to remind me of their sacrifice.

Global African Village

Photo from the GLAV website

The year I moved to 4th grade I read an article about Global African Village in Buffalo, NY.  They are a non-profit group working to help the Bagishu people  in Uganda.  The director, Sebastian Wanzama-Piro emmigrated to Canada from this rural community on Mt. Elgon and has since created a child care center for the children of the village.  I contacted them to see if we could partner with their school to provide books, write letters and raise funds - they happily agreed!  

Sharon Green,  in charge of Buffalo operations,  now visits my school each year to show students what life is like in Uganda without electricity, running water, roads or hospitals (the average life expectancy is 41 yrs.).  Last year we created an anthology of literature around the theme of “Hope”, we shipped several copies to our new friends and they were so inspired they began a library at their school.   This year we are writing our anthology about ‘Love’, my students are trying their hand at writing haiku poems for their submissions.  We’ve also sent penpal letters filling in our new friends about our life in New York.  The kids took digital cameras to HSBC Arena, to their dance studios and to Jamie’s Ice Cream...I can only imagine what the children in Uganda must think as they read about these spectacular spots.  We have also received many beautiful pen pal letters from them, written in English, their second language, and explaining their favorite foods and games.  The anthology and the letters have truly connected these children across the globe.

Sharing a book is the heart of the library, the opportunity to offer ideas to a person and in so doing bring a moment of escape, hope, joy,  connection or peace to their life.  
We heard it from Andrew Carnegie and Gary Paulsen and now from the children of Africa - books have the unique power to lift your spirit,  renew your hope and see your future -  all they need is a library to live in.
When you [give] a man a book you don't [give] just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you [give] him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there's all heaven and earth in a book ~Christopher Morley

Read Across America

photo from the NYPL website

Today at thousands of Target stores across America kids are listening to Dr. Seuss during free storytimes.  Finally some good news!  Target celebrates ‘Read Across America’ in a BIG way - storytimes, giveaways, Seuss books on sale, public awareness campaigns and online games and quizzes, they actually c0sponsor the event across the country with the National Education Association.   Target already contributes 5% of its profits to its communities but recently they have committed to give $500 million to education and reading programs by 2015.  

On their website they point to research that demonstrates how critical it is for children to be reading by the end of 3rd grade.  They also note that 1 in 4 American kids fails to graduate from high school.  It’s great to see a private sector company taking on some of the nitty gritty work, of course money is great but a helping hand getting the job done doesn’t hurt - just think about how many kids will be exposed to a great Dr. Seuss book when they would have just been schlepping around looking for toothpaste?  What if Target read to kids for an hour or two every Saturday...think of the learning...and think of the business they would attract.

Read Across America was founded by the National Education Association in 1998 to get kids excited about reading and every year, on March 2nd, Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, the stripy cat hats go on.  The day is like a cross country pep rally to get kids motivated to read, remind parents to read to them and give teachers and librarians and excuse to pull out their favorite Seuss book to read out loud - last year Michelle Obama and Arnie Duncan celebrated the day at the Library of Congress (check them out on school tube)..  

Target and the NEA kicked off the event in a big way at the NYPL where they constructed a 3-dimensional, 26 foot  “READ” sign on the steps of the library (right between Patience and Fortitude) literally made out of 25,000 Dr. Seuss books.  Then they invited Mark Ruffalo and Uma Thurman to read to kids and pump up the excitement.  The books used to make the sculpture will eventually be donated to NYC schools.
Target is selling two Dr. Seuss favorites for only $10 until March 15th - if you know someone under 5 yrs. old who doesn’t have these classic books do them a favor and pick them up - it could change their life.

This advice from Mr. Geisel’s inspires me everyday, “the more that you read, the more things you will know.  The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Belle's Books

Portrait by Paul Cesar Helleu from Wikipedia

It does not surprise me a to find a strong, smart woman behind a great man.  It’s a pattern that can be traced back to Genghis Khan (Borte), Napoleon (Josephine), FDR (Eleanor) and Ronald Reagan (Nancy).  Not to say that these women were calling all the shots, but they certainly wielded great influence in the decisions made by their men.  Before the women’s movement, women often worked in the shadows, quietly offering advice and making things happen through their connections, thankfully they now they can wield their intellect and power without a front man (Hilary Clinton is an example of doing it both ways). 

 I nominate the great J.P Morgan to the select group of men who were smart enough to heed the advice of their ‘better half’.  The previous two posts have documented Morgan’s phenomenal library and museum in NYC but today I discovered that his great library collection was thanks to the decades of work by Belle da Costa Greene.  She was not his wife or mistress (as far as we know) but his personal librarian and worked for the library for over 40 years.  J.P.’s son, Jack Morgan, asked her to stay and continue to work for the library after his father’s death in 1913  and she was hired as the first director of the Library and museum in 1924.

Belle Marion Greener was born into a prominent African American family in Washington, D.C in 1879.  Her father was the Dean of the Law School at Howard University and the first African American to graduate from Harvard College.  Her mother, Ida Fleet was from an old, well-respected family in D.C.  When her parents separated, Belle, who was light skinned,  changed her name to Greene, added da Costa to connote a Portugese background and passed as white. She then began her library work at Princeton University, where she met the librarian Junius Morgan and was lucky enough to be introduced to his uncle, “J.P.”.

She was hired by J.P. Morgan in 1905 to manage his personal collection and they both discovered that she had a gift for negotiating deals for manuscripts, rare books and art.  She quickly earned his trust and went on to spend his millions building the world class collection we can enjoy at The Morgan today.  In addition to her book smarts, she had great personal style and flair and she is attributed with the quote, “just because I’m a librarian doesn’t mean I have to dress like one.”    
Nor did she behave like one, she put her rare books aside long enough to enjoy a long romance with Bernard Berenson, a well know art historian who was also a married man.  She earned a certain popularity from her powerful position at the Morgan and enjoyed a very social, unconventional lifestyle for the time.  When Morgan died he left Belle a sizable inheritance of $50,000 (about $800,000 today) but when she was impolitely asked if they were romantically linked all she would reply is, “we tried”.  Interestingly, she burned all of her letters before her death and was reluctant to share her personal story (not surprisingly), when she died in 1950 any secrets she had went with her. 

Belle carved a path in the world on her own terms and in her own way.  She achieved incredible success and independence at a time when being a single woman, an African American and even a librarian could easily be held against you.  Despite her reality, Belle da Costa Greene was not afraid to show off her talent, her intelligence and her autonomy.  Certainly a librarian and a woman born ahead of her time.    

Dear Diary

Patrick Breen's Diary from the
 Academy of Pacific Coast History

There is something deliciously indecent about reading a diary that’s not your own, not that I’ve ever done it myself.  I’m just imagining sneaking a peek at the hidden pages, glancing guiltily over my shoulder to make sure I don’t get caught...
Lucky for me memoirs are the all the rage in popular fiction lately- which is kind of like reading all the good parts of a diary, skipping over the boring bits and not worrying about getting caught.  My favorite memoir is Eat, Love, Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert, followed by Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen.  My ‘read next’ list has two more that I’m looking forward to: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua and Poser by Claire Dederer.  I devour these book like movie theater popcorn, lick my fingers and head back for more, probably because I see parts of myself in the authors, their struggles comfort me and give me hope for happy endings.  But sometimes it's just the lure of a great story, I don’t have a lot in common with Greg Mortensen but I just couldn’t step away from his book,  Three Cups of Tea, it was riveting and inspirational.  

The Morgan Library has made diary peeping safe - you too can be a voyeur from the comfort of your own desk...assuming you live too far away to hop on a subway and visit in person.  I was a little skeptical about digital library collections before seeing (and hearing) this exhibit - online exhibits always seemed a little skimpy, like hors d’oeuvres without any dinner to follow.  However, in my book, The Morgan is really more of a museum than  a library, first of all it’s not free and public and, second, they have the money, resources and people power required to put on a spectacular exhibit.
“the diary:  Three Centuries of Private Lives” is more like a banquet or an ‘all you can eat buffet’ set up in the best restaurant in town.    Previously private diaries, from Sir Walter Scott to Tennessee Williams, are thrown open to reveal every detail, sordid and mundane, of daily life.  This exhibit will have you clicking back for more during the stolen moments of your day, hey, everyone needs a mid-afternoon pick me up, right?.  There are so many juicy stories and one link leads to another and another, there is more content than one person could possibly absorb in a visit, which is the beauty of a digital collection

Here’s another plus...not only can you see and zoom into the actual diary pages (transcribed for easy reading) but also you can listen to a podcast explaining the highlights of each diary, revealing the connections between the texts and retelling wonderful story snippets.  I was briefly transported into the lives of each writer, feeling their pain, love, resolve and heartache.  
But wait, there’s more.  You get all this, for free, plus a blog from Christine Nelson, the exhibit curator.  The blog shares background, insights and reflection about diaries and explains purpose.  It also includes guest posts from exhibited diary authors, offering added depth to enjoy the reading.
Visiting this exhibit online is like having a guided, private tour of the best library in the best city without the  crowds, tired feet and empty wallet.  I’ve got to go...Charlotte Bronte’s diary is waiting...  

Morgan's Monument

Our hero, Andrew Carnegie, lived by the adage, “the man who dies rich dies disgraced”.  The final twenty years of his life were dedicated to giving away his vast fortune and we reap the benefits of his generosity daily in thousands of communities around the world that used his great fortunes to build libraries (see entries: Mr. Library and Hometown Hero).  At the time of his death he had given away $350 million.  The foundations and organizations he set up 100 years ago continue to ‘do good’ in the world.
J.P. Morgan lived by a different philosophy altogether.  He was all in favor of conspicuous consumption and seemed to be living by the motto “he who dies with the most toys wins”.  In a New York Times article from 1907 he makes it clear that retirement from business at the age of 70 would equate to a death sentence.  And although he did make some sizable donations to organization he felt were deserving, he was quite happy to spend his fortune feeding his own passions.  
When he died in 1913 he left his estate, worth $68 million (about a billion and half in today’s dollars), to his son.  His art collection alone was estimated at $50 million.  But, as fate would have it, he ended up creating a fantastic library legacy of his own; the Morgan Library in NYC.  
Mr. Morgan had his library built by the famous architect Charles McKim in 1902, next door to his brownstone on Madison Avenue and 36th Street.  Essentially it was a place for him to bring all the books, artwork, sculptures and object d’art that he had collected throughout Europe to one central location.  He wanted to create a majestic space that would highlight the great masterpieces he had accumulated but he insisted that the interior be intimate so he could enjoy the splendor and glory of his collections.  Let me just say that while I’m sure there were millions of things J.P. Morgan could have done with his money in 1902, this library is truly a temple that will take your breath away.  
If life is preventing you from visiting in person, check out the slide show and guided tour at the New York Times and prepare to drool, a lot.    Christoper Gray takes us inside Mr. Morgan’s Renaissance Library and explains that in these lavish rooms J.P. Morgan enjoyed his treasures as well as daily cigars and games of solitaire.  He tells the amazing story of the near financial disaster of 1907 when Morgan locked a room full of prominent men in the library until they pledged to participate in a bail out (where was he a few years back?)
The current library and museum, a city block of interconnected buildings, courtyards and pavilions, has just gone through a $4.5 million restoration that cleaned away a century of grime and replaced the red damask wall covering in the study.  It’s hard to decide which room is more perfect, they are all serene, beautiful and intimate.  If it were my library I don’t think I would have ever come out.  It is a shame that Morgan was only able to enjoy his oasis for 7 years but I, for one, am so thankful that his son, J.P. Morgan Jr., had the foresight to preserve and share (for the admission fee of $15) this fitting temple with the world.

photo of The Morgan from the New York Diary Star

Even thought Carnegie and Morgan didn’t always see eye to eye when it came to ideology, they were both shrewd business men.  When Carnegie was 65 he sold his steel company to J.P. Morgan for $468 million.  The Carnegie Institution reports that Carnegie said, Now, Pierpont, I'm the happiest man in the world. I have unloaded this burden on your back, and I'm off to Europe to play."  And then, instead of playing, he went to work spreading libraries around the world and left Morgan to build one right in his own backyard.

Gimme Me, Gimme Me

On the odd chance that you weren’t completely convinced about the metaphysical benefits of going to the West Seneca Library  (see yesterday’s post), here is a list of all the physical things I got from the library and how they made my world a better place...

• Thinkertoys, by Michael Michalko, a book outlining creativity tools that is personally inspiring (that’s just a bonus) and will help me write my research paper for my class in facilitating group problem solving.  This makes me feel like a good, and thrifty, grad student.
• Three brand new, hot off the presses YA books for my daughter, who, at 14, still loves to read if she find the right book - fortunately, I usually know what will hook her and only need to leave the alluringly books on the dining room table to be devoured.  This makes me feel like a good mom.
• Three new audio books on CD (this was pretty extravagant, even for me but I couldn’t choose and don’t know when I’ll be back at this branch) God Never Blinks, Regina Brett, In the Company of Others by Jan Karon - love this series, comfort food for the soul, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chjabon ( looks juicy but a little brain-stretching as well).
• The Guide to Literary Agents was in the reference section.  I’ve been thinking about how to to turn some of my blog entries into magazine articles.   Reference books can’t be checked out but I will look for a copy in the Niagara library system when I get closer to home  The guide was filled with great essays from authors explaining how they got there start - inspirational!  This makes me feel like I’m moving forward with my personal goals.
• Online at the Buffalo & Erie County Public  Library ‘s research site, I accessed thousands of journals, books,  periodicals and papers to find peer reviewed articles for my research paper for grad school  - not only did I find the full text articles but I was able to email them to myself to use as a continued resource  - for free.  Again, feeling like a good student.
• Finally, on my way out I picked up a copy of the local arts paper to get some ideas about what was going on in Buffalo this week and I bought a few chapter books for my classroom from the used book shelf (.25 cents a each).  This makes me feel like a good mom and a good teacher.

If I had more leisure time I could have also picked out a movie on DVD to watch or  some CDs to rock out to, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.  Where else can you get one stop shopping to feel like a good parent, student, worker, learner and human being without spending any money?  Actually, even if you did want to spend your money where would you go?
They just don’t make a place that is more useful, beneficial, fun and cost effective than the library - I hate to think of what we would lose without it.

Library As Spa?

West Seneca Library

One might think that I would get over the excitement of walking into a library on a  snowy Saturday afternoon.  I even find it hard to fathom why strolling into the modest branch in West Seneca, N.Y. fills me with anticipation and a peace that has eluded me all week.  To be honestly, the library doesn’t get all the credit, there are a few related factors that I must first confess...

1.  I have three hours to myself and no one knows where I am.  No one.  You probably won’t understand this singular joy unless you are a mother and/or an elementary school teacher - I am both.  The quiet and anonymity of the library , particularly a library located about an hour from home, is bliss.  

2.  No one is following me around asking me to check their work, help them with long division, log them onto the computer, use the bathroom, take them to the mall/movies/store, wash their jeans or make them something to eat.

3.  There are no animals at the  library to be fed, walked, shooed or cleaned up after - when I sit down there is no cat cleaning their private parts on my keyboard or tracking muddy feet across my papers.  The comfy library chair at my clean study carol is not awash in cat hair.  

4.  There is a clean, accessible bathroom nearby.  

OK, deep breath, I sound bitter and obviously need more sleep.  Honestly, I love being a mom, teacher and sometimes pet owner.  But the fact remains that there are few places in the world that protect peacefulness for free and place no demands on your time (like work).  It’s like a spa for poor people (without the massage).

Of course, there is more to the library than enforced quietude - there are the books.  The minute I walk in the door I feel their vibes of possibility, hope and potential - it is palpable.  So many subjects to explore, so many stories to get lost in, so many voices waiting to be heard.  Time stops and the ‘to do’ list disappears.  Shelves of books release a comfort and calm, like the veggie spritzers at the grocery store, that cannot be replicated, they invite you to sit, breath and dream.  That is an invitation that never fails to excite me.

Restoration at the Rosenbach

photo from www.visitphilly.com

The Rosenbach Museum & Library, located at 2010 Delancey Place in Philadelphia, was the very fortunate recent recipient of Maurice Sendak’s newly discovered mural (see yesterday’s entry).  The library began as the amazing rare book and decorative art collection of Dr. A.S.W Rosenbach and his brother, Philip Rosenbach.
The brothers lived at 2010 Delancey Place from 1926-1952 while they worked as successful dealers of rare books and manuscripts for their company, simply named, The Rosenbach Company.  Dr. Rosenbach was instrumental in building the collections at The Huntington Library and The Widener Library at Harvard.  In the process of helping clients build important private collections they also established an incredible personal collection.  Their home was packed with the treasures that they held onto over the years and includes Chippendale furnishing, silver from the British Royals, the only known portrait of Cervantes, the manuscript of Ulysses and the earliest letter of George Washington.  The brothers established the library as a public gift in 1954 in order to share their treasures with the world.  The library purchased the townhouse at 2008 Delancey Place in 1993 to expand their exhibition space.     
Maurice Sendak didn’t know the Rosenbachs personally but in the late 1960s he discovered that they shared a love for many of the same authors and artists and he decided to give his collection of illustrations and manuscripts to the library.  There are now over 10,000 Sendak artifacts in the collection including sketches, photos, proofs and original drawings.  The library has mounted several exhibitions of Sendak’s work and also houses a permanent gallery space.  Of course, there is also a museum shop that sells ‘authorized’ books, prints and toys.   
Their latest project is the Sendak Mural.  The Chertoff family donated their mural on the condition that the library would pay for its removal and conservation.  It has taken three years and over $200,000 to remove the mural from the Central Park West apartment in NYC and restore it to its original state.  The library launched ‘The Bring It Home Campaign’ to preserve the painting and offer complimentary programs.   The 1400 lb. mural wall was removed in two sections and then carefully put back together and moved to a restoration studio in Philadelphia.  Years of background paint were painstakingly removed and the mural was restored to its original condition. Finally it arrived at the Rosenbach and is now undergoing some final touch up work. If you are lucky enough to live near Philly you can head to the museum and watch the final restoration in person each week - what a great opportunity to learn about art conservation!  Sendak himself  is planning to visit the library and put the final touches on the mural for the official unveiling next month.  That is my idea of an exciting event (much better than the Superbowl).  I just can’t help feeling sorry for the next kids that move into the apartment on Central Park West and see the brand new, freshly painted, blank wall..

A Scene from Sendak

from the Rosenbach Museum

I have already confessed to having a notoriously bad memory, so it won’t surprise you to know that I don’t remember the names of my elementary school teachers, can’t bring to mind what I did on family vacations and have trouble recalling old addresses.  I do remember, with frightening clarity, all the lyrics from the score of ‘Really Rosie’, a musical, and TV special,  written in 1975 by Maurice Sendak (story and lyrics) and Carole King (music) - with a pair like that it would be hard to go wrong.   The musical features the indomitable Rosie and the stories came from Sendak’s books set entitled the ‘Nutshell Library’.
My favorite songs from the album are ‘Chicken Soup with Rice’ and ‘Pierre’.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing ‘Pierre’ you must take a minute to listen, I promise it will bring you a little joy and remind you to care (especially about important things like the library).  Maurice Sendak knows the heart and souls of kids...he captures their exuberance, determination and frustration and mixes them with whimsy before reflecting it back to us in stories, illustrations, movies, and now, a mural.
The mural is a revelation, even to Sendak fans.  It was made public when the announcement came that it would be moved from a 13th floor apartment in N.Y.C to the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia (more on the Rosenbach tomorrow).  Apparently, Sendak painted the mural on the wall of his friend’s apartment in 1961 when he was 33 years old.  The wall was in the room of Nina and Larry Chertoff, two very lucky children that grew up with a happy gang of Sendak’s characters marching across their bedroom.  I saw several old friends in the parade participants... Jennie leads the way, she would become Max’s intended victim in Where the Wild Thing Are, published two years later in 1963.  Rosie follows along with Little Bear (from Elsie Minarik’s lovely stories) and I wonder if the boy and the lion in the parade were precursors to Pierre (published in 1962).  The lucky “kids” are now in their 50s and donated the mural, saving it for posterity, to the Rosenbach in their parent’s honor.  Now we are all lucky enough to enjoy the mural and to remember the magic that Maurice Sendak dispensed.

Books of Hope

Helping my students widen their view of the world has always been one of my classroom goals.  The idea that every kid in the world doesn’t play soccer (or hockey), shop at Abercrombie and eat at Applebees can be a shocking revelation to elementary school kids.  When they see pictures of how children live in third world countries they don’t understand why the children are smiling.  They learn that kids can be happy even if they don’t live in American suburbs, provided they have food, love, shelter and an opportunity to grow and learn.  When I have given the kids a chance to work on projects that allow them to make a difference in the world they suddenly become so motivated to read, write, learn, present, create, discuss and, most importantly, think about how they can help others.  Their 10 yr. old supercharged energy take on a new mature purpose when they are empowered to help.

The chance to foster empathy and work on a real world problem led me to enroll my students in the  Books of Hope program several years ago.  Books of Hope was started by Ben Schumaker when he was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, the current director is Abha Thakkar.  Their concept is simple:  children in America write and illustrate ‘books’ and BOH ships them to children in Uganda whose war torn lives are in desperate need of learning and joy.  My students were so excited to become real authors...they wrote adventure stories, made diagrams for books about animals and thought up creative ABC books.  At the end of the year we shipped our books to Wisconsin where they joined forces with other books from across America  Containers of books were then shipped to schools and shelters in Uganda.  Abha Thakkar travelled to Uganda to facilitate the deliver of the books and sent back remarkable pictures of happy children cradling our books.  There is a beautiful video of her delivery trip on their website, the smiles and songs of the children will give you goosebumps on your goosebumps.  Recently, “Books of Hope” has gone digital and is providing books to a group of 17 sister schools.  The children in these schools will have their first taste of library solace. Despite their difficult and sometimes dangerous surroundings they will have the chance to choose a book and get lost in it, to create a new reality for themselves and let their fears melt away for a moment.  Abha Thakkar puts it beautifully, “Books are food for the soul and shelter for the spirit. A single book can contain a universe of hope and possibility. Books - and the learning and imagination they inspire - allow us to explore our potential and become fully alive.  
So keep writing kids...the children in Uganda are counting on you...  

Providence Pays

Photo by Michael McKenney

Vermont is known for its thrift, Yankee ingenuity and ice cream.  I'm pretty sure that wasting anything is considered a criminal act and for good reason.  New England colonists struggled through too many frigid winters and toiled over too many stone walls to waste precious time, energy or resources.  Waste not, want not is a daily way of life that also pertains to buildings.  Vermont is brimming with century-old houses, barns and churches, some gleamingly restored and others hanging on by their last leg.  When buildings do finally take their last gasp, they are typically replaced with conservative structures that blend into their surrounding (if they are replaced at all).  Vermonters are often more content to make do with what they have and improvise to make things work than to go to the trouble and expense of building something new and idyllic (maybe because the landscape already is idyllic?).
In Richmond, V.T. I stumbled on a church that epitomizes this idea.  The Unitarian Universalist Church was built in 1897.  The soaring spire and arching windows first caught my eye - what drama - and then I found these two stunning photographs of the church taken by Michael McKennedy - they look like they’re right off the set of a Tim Burton movie.  You can order prints and cards of these images (along with others).  But the coolest thing is that Unitarians moved on 40 years ago and now the space is a public library and community center.  But wait, it also had another life, for 20 some years, as the town’s elementary school.  And it's still standing - they sure don’t make them like that anymore.

The church was actually sold to Walter A. Griffith in 1957.  He passed it on to the school board and it became the town's school.  A $7,000 bond was passed to create a gym and cafeteria in the old church - imagine eating your pb & j while rays of stained glass sun streamed down around you?  The population outgrew the school/church in the 1980s and a new elementary school was constructed.  By that time the library was ready for a new home and the school district deeded the building to the town.  In 1990 voters approved another bond to renovate the first floor into a library space.  Now the library boasts a second floor with two youth libraries, a large community space with a grand piano (for mustic and dance lessons) and four practice rooms with electric pianos.

Richmond a picturesque town in Northern Vermont (population 4,000), not far from Burlington or the Ben & Jerry’s Factory.  Its real claim to fame is a 16-sided meetinghouse that was built in 1812 by five of the town’s religious denominations (this was way before the Universalists teamed up with Unitarians and struck out on their own) and has been beautifully restored.  The meetinghouse is on the registry of National Historic Landmarks, certainly not to be missed, but when I go to Richmond I’m definitely headed to the library/school/church first.

Still Inspired

I am a quote junkie.  It started when I was a teenager, music was my gateway and I found myself filling composition books with song lyrics and posting index cards on my bedroom mirror.  I try to control my habit now, but mostly I just hide it...I tuck quotes into my wallet, slide them under my desk blotter and slide them under my socks - usually I never look at them again, but the act of saving them seems to preserve them somewhere in my memory.  Lately, I have been emailing inspirational quotes to myself, pathetic, I know but, like I said, I have a problem and I’m not proud of it.
By lovely coincidence I came across a book called The Librarian’s Book of Quotes by Tanya Eckstrand.  Perfect, I thought, now I can feed my addiction with an obsession.  Since my sock draw is full, I’m putting some favorites, from the book and elsewhere, to enjoy and maybe I’ll even come back and read them, although I doubt it.  However, I will go back to learn more about the wise souls who offered these words of wisdom on my next rainy dat...

Robert S. Martin:  “America's libraries are the fruits of a great democracy. They exist because we believe that memory and truth are important. They exist because we believe that information and knowledge are not the exclusive domain of a certain type or class of person, but rather the province of all who seek to learn. A democratic society holds these institutions in high regard.”

Peter Golkin:  “My two favorite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything. The perfect day: riding a bike to the library.”

William A.E. Axon:  “Every man should have a library....And when we have got our little library we may look proudly at Shakspeare, and Bacon, and Bunyan, as they stand in our bookcase in company with other noble spirits, and one or two of whom the world knows nothing, but whose worth we have often tested. These may cheer and enlighten us, may inspire us with higher aims and aspirations, may make us, if we use them rightly, wiser and better men. “

James Crossley:  “It is impossible to enter a large library... without feeling an inward sensation of reverence, and without catching some sparks of noble emulation, from the mass of mind which is scattered around you.”

“Medicine for the soul” - Inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes
Herbet Samuel:  “A library is thought in cold storage.”
Jan Morris:  “Book lovers will understand me, and they will know too, that part of the pleasure of a library lies in its very existence.”

from Wikipedia

Andrew Carnegie also had a little bit of a problem when it came to quotes, although at the time it was still acceptable to be inspired by quotations.  His libraries often had quotes etched into the stone.  Over the door of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh were the words, “Free to the People” - the foundation of his belief about libraries. But the undeniably best quotation is, fittingly, at Carnegie’s hometown library in Dunfermline, Scotland.  These are the words that politicians should be reminded of as they slash budgets and close libraries across the country.  Above the sunburst at the entrance the to library are the simple words:  “Let there be light”.