“A Letter always seemed to me like immortality because it is the mind alone without corporeal friend.” — Emily Dickinson in a letter to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1869
“Destroy these letters!” — Warren G. Harding to one of his lovers, Carrie Phillips, who received more than 250 of his mash notes between 1909 and 1920
“It’s long [...]
Archive for October, 2008
On Letters and the Mail
Posted in Literature, Mail, Postal History on October 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
George “Hound Dog” Lorenz
Posted in Music on October 27, 2008 | 1 Comment »
In the earliest days of Rock & Roll music, even before it was called Rock & Roll, I was blessed with a brother who was five years older than myself. Growing up in a suburb of Buffalo, we shared a small room, with a radio on the table between our beds. At bedtime, I wanted [...]
May I See Your Library Card?
Posted in Libraries, Literature, Photography on October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In May of 1933, the Nazi party in Germany decreed that all literature must fall into line with Nazi principles, and that existing books that were not appropriate would be purged from the libraries and the culture of the nation. Book burnings took place all over Germany; books by Jewish authors, of course, were destroyed, [...]
Everyone Knows
Posted in Commentary, Literature on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“Every year, my family rents a divine villa in St.-Tropez, one of my most beloved vacation spots. Before setting off, we spend time with my grandmother in St. Jean Cap Ferrat. Once we arrive at our final destination, I return to the same places I’ve loved for years. Everyone knows about the St.-Tropez market on [...]
The National Library, Sarajevo
Posted in Libraries on October 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
From April 5, 1992 to February 29, 1996, the people of Sarajevo were under artillery fire by Serb forces in the mountains that circled the city. From 200 gun emplacements, they shelled the city; within the city, Serb snipers shot at civilians. Of the 12,000 who died during this time, 80% were unarmed men, women [...]
Tolerance & Understanding
Posted in Commentary on October 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A letter I and my classmates received in June 1962, from a teacher at Kenmore West Senior High School:
My dear Student:
Before we close the final chapter in our course in World History may I take this opportunity to pass on to you these parting thoughts.
I want you to know that, whatever may have transpired between [...]
Philosophy of Reference Service
Posted in Libraries, Literature on October 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“Reference service is the dynamic act of animating and dowering with the life energy of the reference librarian the knowledge and information lying curled in cold point in documents for the use of readers. The reference librarian brings about the mating of the fermenting mind of a reader with the thought frozen in documents. This [...]
An Oath of Librarianship
Posted in Libraries, Literature on October 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“I pledge myself never to let little rules obscure large service. I pledge myself always to abhor the one great sin, that of hiding the light and closing the mind. I promise to remember the punishment of Pharaoh at the Red Sea and of all others who have stopped their ears and shut their eyes [...]
Library Adventure
Posted in Libraries, Literature on October 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
From the log of the Reference Desk at the Syracuse University Library:
“Female patron reported to Reference Desk the presence of a man exposing himself near study carrels by windows in Reference area. Security was called; one man responded and talked to alleged flasher, took him upstairs toward Waverly exit, whereupon the miscreant made a sudden [...]
A Fine Defense
Posted in Commentary on October 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“We have lots of things in our house that don’t belong to us.”
– Sen. Ted Stevens, (R-Alaska)
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