They Said It Couldn’t Be Done!

For the first time ever in my life, I was ahead of a cultural trend.

You know how some people are early adopters? Those who are super early to things are called beta testers. Traditionally I have been an omega adopter. I find out about a trend or new music or slang a year or two AFTER it jumps the shark.

I am happy to announce that for the first time – and quite possibly for the last – I have been oh-so-slightly-ahead of a cultural phenomena.

Namely, in being a rabidly assertive advocate for libraries.

The linked article, written by Linda Holmes, lists the following points (and a few more) explaining why supporting libraries is the next “big pop-culture wave”:

1. “Libraries get in fights. Everybody likes a scrapper, and between the funding battles they’re often found fighting and the body-checking involved in their periodic struggles over sharing information, there’s a certain … pleasantly plucky quality to the current perception of libraries and librarians.”

2. “Librarians know stuff. You know how the words “geek” and “nerd” have gone from actual insults to words used to lovingly describe enthusiasts? Well, if we haven’t gotten past venerating people who don’t know anything, we’ve certainly reduced, I’d argue, the degree to which we stigmatize people for knowing a lot. “

3. “Libraries are green and local…. You can pretty easily position a library as environmentally friendly (your accumulation of books and magazines you are not reading is fewer trees for the rest of us, you know), not to mention economical (obvious) and part of your local culture.”

4. “Libraries will give you things for free. Hi, have you noticed how much hardcover books cost? Not a Netflix person? They will hand you things for free. That’s not an especially hard concept to sell.”

5. “There seems to be a preposterous level of goodwill. Quite honestly, I feel like you can go on YouTube and act like a complete goof (in the best way), and if it’s for libraries, people have that same rush of warmth that they used to get about people who had sextuplets, before … well, you know. Before.”

So thank you, Linda Holmes, for defining this trend and putting all of us book nerds on the map. Love your library? MAKE SOME NOISE!!!

(What does any of this have to do with a picture of a pretty fern? Nothing. I shot the pic at camp recently and love it. Maybe ferns will be the Next Hot Thing, after libraries.)

12 Replies to “They Said It Couldn’t Be Done!”

  1. You da bomb! That is the currently slang, right? 🙂

    Huzzah to you for your long-held commitment to libraries and the dedicated women and men who work long hours not only putting books in the hands of readers but also maintaining our democracy–a literate nation is a free nation.

  2. I love my library

    Jessie says: I totally love my library. I even helped start a blog for it during our summer reading program. The kids in our program are writing the posts! Find it here: Sinclarivillefreelibrary.blogspot.com. We have book clubs, writer’s groups (Both teen and adult) as well as various groups from knitting to fly fishing that meet at the library. What a great resource for our small community. 🙂

  3. Ferns and libraries! What more could one ask for? Libraries are such amazing resources. I just came home from our library with a stack of books. Maybe someday we can coax you up to Alaska to do a reading at our library!

  4. Ahead of the curve, always

    Sweetheart, you’ve always been ahead of the curve to me.

    And, hey, didn’t we probably meet in a LIBRARY?!!

    LIBRARIES GIVE YOU THE BEST FRIENDS.

  5. Thank you!

    First for your support! It is hard to imagine a world where sharing resources and information would be something that we would EVER want to cut, yet here we are.

    Secondly, for the information. Who knew Jump the Shark originated from the decline of Happy Days.

    Just goes to show; you learn something new every day!

    Marianne
    (Philly Girl turned TX librarian)

  6. Yippee for libraries!!

    I am a nerd and I love libraries! Libraries are in the process of helping me keep my checkbook from sprouting legs and hopping out of my purse never to be seen again! My dog, cat, car, and basic needs are indebted to the wonders of the library. I can get my book fix and my movie fix, if needed, for my classroom and for pleasure and I don’t have to be going into high scale debt. Oh happy days!!!

  7. Perhaps my next novel will be about a LIBRARY made out of FERNS! AHA! I knew someone would be able to predict the Next Big Thing! Thank you for all of your tireless work advocating for libraries and librarians. It has not gone unnoticed!

    Kara

  8. Thank you

    Laurie,

    I am a librarian in Iowa, and I just want to say thank you for all of your support for those of us in the field. I love reading your books and would read them regardless of your feelings toward my profession, but knowing where you stand just makes them that much more enjoyable. Can’t wait to get my hands on Forge!

  9. Thank you from a “new” librarian who loves working with children and young adults. Libraries ROCK!

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