Shelf Notes

No one is certain when or by whom the Library of Alexandria was destroyed, but it has been deduced that it was in the first few centuries A.D. For the next 1500 years or so, anything resembling a library would have been in a monastery where monks painstakingly copied books by hand (for which I will be eternally grateful), or in collections of the extremely wealthy. These were not open to the public, even supposing John Q were literate.

A century or two before the concept of public libraries began to take shape, individuals and groups were building subscription libraries. These were collections privately funded by donors or through membership fees.

In 1731, Benjamin Franklin founded a subscription library now called The Library Company of Philadelphia. It was established by fifty founding members who contributed 40 shillings each and agreed to pay ten shillings per year to maintain membership. According to the Library’s website, “All of the books the Library Company acquired year by year over more than two and a half centuries are still on its shelves, along with many others added since it was transformed into a research library in the 1950s . . . Nonmembers could borrow books by depositing their value as security ‘and paying a small Acknowledgment for the Reading’” (“At the Instance of Benjamin Franklin,” Edwin Wolf, p.3).

This article was originally written by Diane Pendergraft in three parts and published in The Wyoming News Chronicle in the spring of 2023. A sample of that article is presented here. You can read the rest here.

Over the years, so many of us have realized the importance of collecting and making available the Landmark books. But it can be hard to explain to a patron why this book should come off of the shelf to be read. We decided to spend a year (or more) diving into the world of Landmark books, and we have produced a two-part podcast entitled “Landmark Books: What Are They? Why Do They Matter?” that can be shared with your patrons to help them understand the treasure on your shelves. We love the Landmark books so much that we created a hub on our website for all of our Landmark reviews, podcasts, and future projects. You can find that here: https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/landmark-books/

Also, we did a series on Landmark books featuring fellow librarians Sherry Early, Sandy Hall, Mary Schubert, Kathleen Seeger, Kristi Stansfield, and Jeannette Tulis.

You can find those here:

The Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd

Medical Corps Heroes
Combat Nurses of WWII
The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
Alexander the Great
The Vikings
Librarians’ Favorite American Landmark Book (Evangeline, Geronimo, Teddy Roosevelt)

Do you like book lists? Of course, you do. One librarian we know collects her many book lists in a three ring binder and carries them in her car when she goes shopping.

Biblioguides provides a free printable PDF list of all 186 Landmark books in chronological order with a checkmark box for each book so that you can check off the books you already own and see the ones that you want to add to your wishlist.

Biblioguides also provides many other free, downloadable, curated and series book lists for all sorts of needs and occasions. And if you are a Biblioguides member, you can easily create your own custom lists to organize your family's reading or to give your own subject lists to patrons. You can also create homeschool plans that include books and anything else you want to keep track of.

• "As our youngest daughter left for university several years ago and we began adjusting to an empty nest, I wondered prayerfully, as well as out loud to my husband and dear friends, “What on earth am I going to do now?!” I’ve only ever known raising and educating children, as I became a mom at a very young age. And also, what to do with all these books? I still find myself loving both reading and collecting and really didn’t want to stop, but for what purpose would I continue to fill my house with books?" You can read this month in our Card Catalog section, Librarian Notices, about private lending librarian Stacie Bean and A Humble Place home lending Library in Okeechobee, Florida.

• Report from Karen Laughlin and The Book Barn Library in Alabama: We had a small turnout for the library opening on 10/1, but we signed two families in addition to the one who had already signed when we officially opened on 9/4, for a total of 3. It was a beautiful day and my husband took families on a tractor hay ride. Included in membership, we are offering our property up for walks/nature study. We have 29 acres, so the hay ride allowed them to see the boundaries.

• Diane Pendergraft's Split Rocks Lending Library in Wyoming held an open house /soft opening on Saturday, October 14th with several families coming by to check out the new library. One of the families that came is using Picture Book Preschool with their four year old, so Diane will be collecting more of the books that are listed there to share with her patrons.

• Lia Carta and her team of moms in Decatur, Texas are opening the Book Bus Library. "Our vision is to create a sacred space that caters to the imagination of our children, offering a wide range of books suitable for all ages. Each item in the library will be vetted to ensure that children browsing the shelves won't discover controversial content. The Book Bus Library will be a retreat for young readers, fostering their love for literature and learning. Resources for parents will also be available to help navigate raising children in today's rapidly evolving culture." Their target date for opening is January, 2024.

• As of now there are 78 libraries from all over the world listed in the Private Lending Libraries Directory at Biblioguides. If your library is not listed, please take a minute to add it to the growing list so that families everywhere can find a library full of rich and enduring treasure books that will feed young minds with truth and beauty. Thanks to Biblioguides for graciously agreeing to host a directory for private lending libraries at the Biblioguides website.
  

We would love to hear from you about the questions, answers, and resources you would like to see available in The Card Catalog. To peruse previous issues of Shelf Notes, go to our Shelf Notes page.

Would you like to encourage other librarians by telling your library story at The Card Catalog? We would be honored to share the story of your library journey on our website. Please take some time to answer some questions for us, and we will be happy to work with you to publish your story: Library Story Submission Form.

Email: thecardcataloglibrarians@gmail.com
Website: plumfieldandpaideia.com/the-card-catalog/
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