March 9, 2020—Still in the 600s, I’ve gone from Nutrition to Lawnmowers to Pets to Sewing to Cleaning and Stain removal. It’s a wide-ranging section. Bad news for cat lovers. The library has 2 ½ shelves of dog books, and less than a shelf of cat books. And cats must share the space with dogs, hamsters, rabbits, and cheese-making. It’s an interesting section, the 600s. I’m happy to see oil smears on car repair books, water damage on boat repair books, and dirt on the gardening books. Gardening has twelve shelves, that is, two whole racks to itself (unlike birds, which only had four shelves). Gardening differs from Botany, which is in the 500 section. It also differs from Landscaping, which is in the 700 section. There was a wide range of books since 635 (Gardening) encompasses Hydroponics, Roses, Orchids, Citrus, Trees and much, much more. I noticed the book on Deer-Resistant Design, to which I say Kiss My Aster (actual book title). Having attempted to garden in what amounts to a wildlife sanctuary I can testify that there is little that is truly deer-resistant.
Speaking of gardening, while I was working in the 635s, one of the other volunteers was weeding. That is to say, taking books off the shelves to be evaluated for removal from circulation. In other words, a “selection.” Weeded books go to the semi-annual book sale; unsold books go to some sort of wholesale distributor. Supposedly *not* as compost. One of the librarians also grabbed a book that was being weeded, saying “One less book to look at. It’s always nice.” I don’t know—I feel sorry for the books that have been weeded. There’s actually a book about library weeding that Mac and I have read--Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks. Annie Spence, who is a real librarian, wrote farewell notes to the books she was removing from the shelves, along with love letters to the ones she was retaining. Most of the time it was because no one had checked out the book for years, decades even. Sometimes the book was severely damaged. Sometimes the book presented information that had been updated. I can see removing Principles of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis. But ditching Anna Karenina?? (I checked—our library has at least one print copy of Anna Karenina and multiple e-versions. Phew!) I can’t but help think of the Roche Sisters’ song “Weeded.” So appropriate, so sad, so bouncy. Comments are closed.
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Author Rebecca Moore is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. She is currently Reviews Editor for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions and Co-Director of The Jonestown Institute. Archives
December 2021
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