Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
books?? amazing. paperbacks?? soft, cozy, may fit in your pocket, cheap so you don’t feel bad for taking notes in them. hardcovers??? beautiful, pristine, ground you into the world they hold by making you grip them tighter, the stars of every bookshelf. ebooks?? convenient, cheap, always with you, a vast library that you can hold in your palm. new books?? crisp, the smell of wood, ideas waiting to imprint themselves upon the world. old books?? objects transcending history, sweet smelling, enriched by the hands that stroked their pages. books.
controversial opinion, but donating your old books to libraries isn’t usually the universally charitable deed most people think it is. most public libraries don’t have the space, staff, or budget to sort through used books in the off chance that one or two out of a hundred are in good enough condition to add to their collection.
it’s always a good idea to call ahead and ask what, if any, materials the library might accept as a donation. you’d be surprised what they will and won’t take! my library flat-out refuses encyclopedias and textbooks, which takes a lot of people by surprise. on the other hand, the same library is always accepting donations of jigsaw puzzles and used magazines! it doesn’t hurt to ask.
if you have old books you don’t want and need to get rid of, i suggest finding a used bookstore, a charity that specializes in distributing used books, or a local school and/or retirement community.
if you just want to support your local library, that’s great! just… ask them what they need, instead of assuming. most libraries would be much happier to receive a crisp $20 bill than a boxload of dusty paperbacks.
You know who WOULD like your dusty paperbacks? Charities that distribute books to people who are incarcerated!
As a library worker, there’s something I want to say to you.
You do not have to apologize for the books you choose to read.
At all. To anyone. You owe nobody any explanations; you need no excuse or “good reason” to be reading the book.
You do not have to be ashamed for wanting to read “bad” books. You wanna read Twilight? We got Twilight. Need a banal, cookie-cutter-plot mystery or thriller?Those are always fun. Our regulars check them out by the towering stack. Ask Betty for recommendations; she’s read them all. 50 Shades of Oh Fucking No? We’ve got it, we even got it in large print. Have fun. Check out the rest of our porn too. Oh, and the sex manuals are a MUST if you want to “experiment” yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask; they’re here for a reason.
Want to read a book written by a huge asshole everyone hates and agree was a monster? Yeah, we have those. No, we don’t think you’re an asshole for wanting to know what was actually written in there, or judging things for yourself.
You are not too old for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Babysitter’s Club, or Captain Underpants. You are not too young for Sherlock Holmes. There’s nothing wrong with a boy reading The Princess Academy or Sweet Valley High. There’s nothing wrong with a girl being into The Hardy Boys or Artemis Fowl instead.
You do not have to pull the shame face and offer me an excuse when you check out your books. I don’t care if I got so angry at that book I threw it against a wall when I read it: you have the right to read it, and enjoy it if it’s enjoyable for you. THAT’S WHY THE LIBRARY HAS IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. If we only stocked pure, unproblematic literature everyone approved of, by authors of unquestionable virtue, we wouldn’t have any books at all. Or music. Or movies. It would be utterly fucking boring. And it certainly wouldn’t be a library.
These are all important facts.
Same goes for if you’re wanting to buy a book in a bookshop.
Do not be embarrassed about your taste in books, ever.
(I wish I’d understood this better myself as a teenaged boy xD)
I will cheerfully battle Amazon/Gladiator style for your intellectual freedom. I have literally had a 7-year-old ask me “where are the books on dead bodies?” and my first question was “what sort of dead bodies? Fact or fiction? Are you lookie for books about zombies? Holocaust victims? CSI forensic books? Mummies? Autopsy manuals? Murder victims? Art books? War casualties? My job is not to censor what you read; my job is to find you the information you are seeking! I’ve discussed Cassandra Clair of the HP Fandom with a young man in a wheelchair, tsunami science with young girls, suggested fairy books to a father who was looking for something sweet that he could read to his son, and more/
Valuable information if some of your prized books were affected by recent flooding. The video even shows you what to do if you can’t dry the book out right away.
