The beauty of books

November 2009
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I’ve done very little lately besides homework, namely my research paper. I so badly want it to be good & to appear smart. Plus, I find it all so interesting that I don’t mind researching. Although, the mechanics of writing a paper are less than enjoyable.

I’ve come across so many beautiful quotes about books, libraries, archives & records that I thought I’d share one of my favorites. This is from a speech at the Library of Congress by Barbara Tuchman:

ooks are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are engines of change, windows on the world, and (as a poet has said) ‘light-houses erected in the seas of time.’ They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print.

If I had enough space on my arm, I would get this tattooed.

Also – I need your help!
In a few months, I will be going on an Alternative Spring Break trip with some other SI students. There are a number of different places I could spend the week and they include the Library of Congress, the Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, NPR, the American Library Association and the National Archives and Records Management [to name a few]. Students going on the trip make a $25 donation and pay for their own food, but travel & housing are paid for through fundraising & matching grants from SI. One of the ways we raise money is by hosting an annual book sale.

So:
Please donate your old books!
Your new books! Short books! Yellow books!
Any & all objects that could be seen as a “book.”
You can give them to me or drop them off on the 4th floor of West Hall if you happen to be around campus.
I would really really appreciate it.

Credit goes to Daily Drop Cap for the beautiful “B” used in the quote. Check out the site more more fancy letters!

Also, check out this fun site. They have postcards, such as the one below, that you can fill out & send online! It’s a fun, thoughtful way to keep in touch with those around you [besides inviting them to take Facebook quizzes...].