By Andrew D. Scrimgeour
Illustration by Jon Krause
Here are the first paragraphs of a brilliantly written essay on the "liturgical" role of a librarian as he handles the library of a deceased scholar. It demonstrates the way the smallest details to attention are important in preserving the qualities of an individual as found in the way their books are stacked or placed on shelves; markings of the readers in those books; and the insertions so often left in the pages of a well used book.
You will not want to miss this essay in its entirety!
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I have been here many times before.
Not to this particular library but to others like it. Some have been on college
campuses, others in private homes. Some have sprawled through many rooms,
including the bathroom; others were confined to a single space. One had no
windows; another overlooked a lake. Most were crowded. All were dusty.
Each was the domain of a scholar.
Each was the accumulation of a lifetime of intellectual achievement. Each
reflected a well-defined precinct of specialization. But what they also had in
common was that each of their owners had died. And by declaration of their
wills, or by the discernment of their families, I had been called to claim or
consider the bereft books for my university library.
One of the little-known roles of the
academic librarian is bereavement counseling: assisting families with the
disposition of books when the deceased have not specified a plan for them. Most
relatives know these books were the lifeblood of their owners and so of
intellectual value if not great monetary worth. But they remain clueless about
how to handle them responsibly. Some call used-book shops. Some call the Salvation
Army. Others call a university library. Many allow friends and relatives to
pick over the shelves before bringing in a professional.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/books/review/handled-with-care.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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