Tag Archives: libraries

Why are you here?

20 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by in community, libraries, philosophy, writing

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That question was recently asked by what could have been a younger, curious version of myself.

A few times each month, I spend three hours of bliss volunteering in a small bookshop.

I get to meet interesting people, stroke and skim through the latest items placed on the shelves. Not a month goes by without me purchasing something of interest to me or someone I love. I like the fact that sales revenues go towards purchasing new books and supporting programs for our local libraries. Being in that book shop is the closest I can get to working in a library – for now  🙂

My recent volunteer shift was graced by the usual lingering regulars and families attending events nearby. It warms my heart when children express delight as they find a book or two that they want their parents to buy.

One particular tot caught my attention while exploring books with her older sister, parents and grandmother. She approached the front desk, her blonde head barely above the counter, her blue eyes peering at me.

“What’s your name?” she asked in a sweet and barely audible voice.

I responded with a smile and asked about hers. Her Mother responded on her behalf due to the child’s limited conversation skills.

Then the child asked, “Why are you here?”

“Why am I here? Well… I like books, I like meeting new people and selling them books.”

Then she skittered away to explore the shelves with her family.

Soon she returned to ask again “Why are you here?”.

After I repeated my previous response I wanted to ask the wee thing if she was being philosophical about the big picture but I decided it would just confuse matters.

It was cute. It was thought-provoking in a naive kind of way.

I think that was a helpful experience for those basic queries we should ask ourselves often, like “Why am I here?”.

If we cannot answer the why, we could at least ask, “What am I doing during my time here?”.

T

Dilemmas and distractions

26 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by in libraries, reading, therapy, writing

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As I sort through the books in the library of le petit apartment, I feel emotionally drained. 

books on bookcase and in boxes

One section of the personal library, sorted, categorized and tagged for potential purging.

In addition to supporting a family, performing full time work and nestling into a new volunteer role, I have let this project take over a month and will likely let it drag on through the summer. I am letting it prepare me for a quest that is doubly draining and has suffered from my procrastination.

It’s a daunting task to sort and justify keeping or discarding books. Some brought joy, inspiration and comfort. They are like old friends.

Some brought knowledge and helped build skills. Some skills are transferable; some are no longer applicable in today’s job markets.

I think back to 20 years ago, to my foray into dialup connectivity, HTML web design and website usability. While I balanced family, work and survival, these books challenged my creativity, nurtured my fascination with hyperlinks and supported my appreciation of online communities.

Books about web design misc.

Favourite oldies, books about web design, usability and succinctness of Twitter

The concepts in some of these books could still apply while some have been left in the dust due to fast-paced development and evolution of technology. Do I keep them out of nostalgia or donate to the community? Will they even be of value to somebody else?

Then there are the books that reinforced my love of nature, justified a moderately paced life style, and encouraged one to take action in preserving this earth for future generations. We can’t give up.


Next time:  We look at Biographies and Poetry.

Thanks for dropping by.  What are you struggling with in your personal library or de-cluttering projects these days?

If you need a distraction from your projects, you can read the novel I wrote under my pen name. Flo is old school but she’s getting hip to the ways of Twitter. Please visit Smashwords to download a sample of the e-book for The Year of the Rabbit. You could choose to purchase a copy. It’s only 99 cents or you can pay what you feel is a fair price. It’s okay, I wrote it mainly to share a story. Some people liked reading it. If you enjoyed the novel, please mention it to others.

Although it is not quite the same, may you be spared the emotions of sorting through your e-book libraries one day.

T