March 23—I had forgotten that for almost four years I lived four blocks from the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. in the 1970s. Researching George Herbert Putnam (1861–1955), the eighth Librarian of Congress and the inventor of the Library of Congress (or LOC) catalog system, brought up lots of memories. Most I am willing to share. 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. March 13—Friday the Thirteenth, Day of Infamy. The San Juan Public Library will be closed starting Sunday March 15 until Friday April 24. Fortunately we got notices this afternoon, because we are volunteers. We made a mad dash to the library, grabbing books and DVDs off the shelves as if they were toilet paper. The only upside to all of this is that I can keep the book I had checked out on Inter-Library Loan for an extra month. February 24—Yes, my birthday, because shelf reading doesn’t stop for high holy days. I wonder what archaeologists of the future will have to say about us when they see all the books about diet and health, books on every conceivable body part including The Prostate Book, brain, kidney, IBD, IBS, Alzheimer’s, anti-Alzheimer and anti-aging. And orgasms. Lots of books about orgasms, like Come As You Are, Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm, and The Orgasmic Diet, which happens to currently be checked out. Some of the spicier books are only available as ebooks, like 365 Sex Positions, possibly to be read in tandem with An Orgasm (or More) a Day, also only in ebook format. |
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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