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March 27, 2009 by Betsy Bird

The Library-Lovin’ Challenge

March 27, 2009 by Betsy Bird   73 comments

Bloggers are some of the most selfless people I know.  They’re constantly doing good work, contributing to goodly causes, and being rather upstanding citizens in the process.  And, of course, by "bloggers" I actually mean to say "other bloggers". Not me. I’m sort of a leech on society. I’m high profile but I don’t actually do much with that profile.  Just sorta sit there with a self-satisfied grin on my face, watching the good people go by. And once in a while I’ll link to a good person with a kind of "Go look at the good THEY’RE doing" and then, for some bizarre reason, I’ll have this weird sense of unjustified accomplishment.

It takes a pretty big event to toss me out of my rut, but darned if Susan Taylor Brown didn’t manage it. She informed me that a bunch o’ bloggers are currently engaged in a bit of comment-driven challenges.  Started by Jennifer R. Hubbard the game is simple. You comment on their site and for each comment they’ll donate just a little bit more money to a worthy library.

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Shoot. That’s good stuff.  And look at everyone who’s participating (that I know of):

  • SusanWrites (Susan Taylor Brown) for Friends of the Cambria Library, San Jose, CA
  • Jama Rattigan for Friends of ther Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
  • Sara Lewis Holmes for Flying Horse Farms library
  • Angela DeGroot for Burlington County (NJ) Bookmobile
  • Newport2Newport (Melodye Shore) for Girls Inc. of Orange County
  • Jumping the Candlestick (Debbie Diesen) for Delta Township Library
  • Kurtis Scaletta for Books for Africa
  • Armchair News for Jackson Heights Library (Queens, NY)
  • Tabwriter’s Writer Musings (Tabitha Olson) for her local library
  • Kelly Fineman of Writing & Ruminating for her local library and Books for Africa
  • Cynthea Liu for an Oklahoma library

I’m in.  The problem is that my comment feature on this blog is . . .  well, it’s awful, quite frankly.  Half the time I can’t comment on it myself.  So I’m afraid that the only way to make this fair is to tell you that for every comment that appears on this post (and only this post) between now and Sunday, March 29th I will donate $1 (up to $150) to my own favorite library-based group, Project Cicero .  This is an organization that provides books and other resources to under-funded public school libraries here in NYC.  I adore them.

So comment on me and comment on the other blogs as well.  Tis for a good cause.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. FRAN BURKE-URR says

    March 27, 2009 at 10:58 am

    I guess I’ve been lucky. The only time I can remember having trouble leaving comments here was at the very beginning (when you switched over from Blogspot) and once at the Heavy Medal blog.

    Project Cicero sounds like a great organization.

  2. FRAN BURKE-URR says

    March 27, 2009 at 10:58 am

    I guess I’ve been lucky. The only time I can remember having trouble leaving comments here was at the very beginning (when you switched over from Blogspot) and once at the Heavy Medal blog.

    Project Cicero sounds like a great organization.

  3. Jennifer Schultz says

    March 27, 2009 at 11:00 am

    Well, there you go. I cursed it. (Fran is actually me-forgot to switch names-don’t count us twice!)

  4. Fuse #8 says

    March 27, 2009 at 11:53 am

    Normally I delete the duplicate comments, but maybe this is just my blog’s way of upping what I give. Wait . . . if I comment does that mean another dollar too? Clearly I’m making this up as I go along.

  5. Terry Doherty says

    March 27, 2009 at 12:01 pm

    Thanks for putting the list all in one place. I was trying to figure out how to do that for the Literacy Round-up. Project Cicero is wonderful … go librarians!

  6. Sara says

    March 27, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Go, Project Cicero! And thanks for helping spread the word about the challenge. IMHO, libraries can’t be loved enough (both fuzzily and with cold hard cash.)

  7. Kirby Larson says

    March 27, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    What a great idea! Throw in a buck for me!

  8. Margaret says

    March 27, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    A comment for a worthy cause, I like it!

  9. Susan Taylor Brown says

    March 27, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    Woohoo – you are rutless, at least for the moment! Thanks for helping us spread the word!

    The list is growing and growing. Jennifer’s blog has the latest. (Tried to post the link but it wouldn’t let me.)

    And GO Project Cicero!

  10. Susan Taylor Brown says

    March 27, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    Woohoo – you are rutless, at least for the moment! Thanks for helping us spread the word!

    The list is growing and growing. Jennifer’s blog has the latest. (Tried to post the link but it wouldn’t let me.)

    And GO Project Cicero!

  11. J. C. Phillipps says

    March 27, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    What a wonderful thing to do. I’ll check out some other sites as well.

  12. Kaethe says

    March 27, 2009 at 12:53 pm

    Great idea. Mind if I repost the list at my blog?

  13. Amy Lappin says

    March 27, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    Very cool.

  14. Amy Lappin says

    March 27, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    Very cool.

  15. Rie says

    March 27, 2009 at 1:13 pm

    This is an amazing idea! Props to you, Betsy!

  16. Sandy D. says

    March 27, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    Much as I love your blog’s content, and the comments here, I have to say that the design is….unwieldy. Kind of like an excellent book with an appalling cover. 🙂

  17. LSCH says

    March 27, 2009 at 2:11 pm

    I don’t want to be curmudgeonly about this–and I yield to no one in my adoration of the Sublime Betsy Bird–but all these positive comments together are a little dull. People can’t agree on pleasantries forever–the conversation grinds to a halt. So let me pose a question: what is the strangest thing you’ve ever seen happen in a library?

    I’ll begin. Years ago, in my old library, we had a patron who was obsessed with President Tyler. And this gentleman, who ordered every book about Tyler through interlibrary loan (there aren’t a lot of them) used to bleed on the floor. He didn’t bleed much, and I don’t know where he bled FROM. But he bled on multiple occasions. We’d find little drops of blood by the microfiche machine, next to the pile of requests for books about President Tyler.

    I selected him because he was more mysterious than the old woman who carried a bucket of water with her wherever she went, or the old man who wore tap shoes at all times and twittered like a bird, crying, “Oh, my God!” at frequent intervals. But there are a lot of odd people who frequent libraries. Stories, anyone?

  18. Fuse #8 says

    March 27, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    I dunno. It’s hard to follow blood, but I’ll give it a shot. I know that in my old library they had a problem with a guy with a sword and a different fellow with a parrot. Personally I always found the adult patron who insisted on checking out the same Diana Ross children’s biography over and over again a bit off. Man… tough question. Oh! And as for the design of this blog, I’m with you. Not like I can redecorate, however. It is what it is.

  19. jama says

    March 27, 2009 at 3:21 pm

    Thanks for participating! Hope you’ll tell us more about Project Cicero in a future post :).

  20. Janet Fox says

    March 27, 2009 at 4:36 pm

    I have a library story! (and I love this challenge, too). My grandmother, who was deaf, was a prodigious reader. In order to identify which books in our library she’d already read, so my mom wouldn’t check them out twice (10 at a time), she a put teeny pencil initial in the back cover inside.

  21. Joyce Moyer Hostetter says

    March 27, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    Betsy, I don’t have an unusual library story. So I will simply suggest an idea for a blogpost. Perhaps you’ve blogged about this before and I’ve forgotten. But I’m wondering how you feel about receiving thank yous for book reviews. I’ve heard it isn’t appropriate to comment on reviews of our work. And of course I understand the need to have a certain emotional distance between reviewer and author. But it does feel really rude not to send out at least a grateful comment. So while I’m tossing this idea out there, I will simply say Thank you. And if it seems appropriate, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

  22. Fuse #8 says

    March 27, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    Hm. A Blogger Etiquette post, eh? I can do that. Anything else you want to see?

  23. Catherine says

    March 27, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    This is more of a coincidence than unusual, but when I’ve never forgotten it. My elementary school didn’t have a library, so we walked to the town library next door every week. The librarian, the wonderful Miss Rosthchild, read to us, then we could check out books. One week she was reading a book about a family who lived in the Swiss alps and their house was buried in an avalanche. Within days, a blizzard hit and our road was closed for what seemed like days because of the snowdrifts. We got milk straight from the cows across the street. I was sure Miss Rosthchild had planned it all, but looking back on it, what librarian worth her salt wouldn’t be reading a book like that in the middle of winter! I can’t tell you now the name of the book or how it ended, but I still go to that library every week. Thank you, Betsy and all the bloggers who are participating in this wonderful project!

  24. Erin says

    March 27, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    I love taking money from worthy librarians and giving it to worth causes!

  25. Erin says

    March 27, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    I love taking money from worthy librarians and giving it to worth causes!

  26. Doret says

    March 27, 2009 at 6:39 pm

    libraries rock hard

  27. Doret says

    March 27, 2009 at 6:39 pm

    libraries rock hard

  28. janeyolen says

    March 27, 2009 at 7:14 pm

    The point is not to read every comment but to get down to the bottom and add one’s own.
    Because we love Betsy and WANT HER TO SPEND MONEY.

  29. janeyolen says

    March 27, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    Because “MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND, WORLD GO ROUND. . .” in a nice German accent.

  30. Scope Notes says

    March 27, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    Some facts about the library of congress:
    1. The Library was founded in 1800, making it the oldest federal cultural institution in the nation.
    2. The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with more than 138 million items on approximately 650 miles of bookshelves.
    3. The Library receives some 22,000 items each working day and adds approximately 10,000 items to the collections daily.

  31. Karen Gray Ruelle says

    March 27, 2009 at 7:55 pm

    OK, library stories: the best I can come up with was the elderly gentleman who kept bringing his lunch into the library every day. Every time I walked by, he’d quickly hide it under his newspaper, just like a guilty little boy–as if I wouldn’t notice the rustling, and the sandwich aroma, and the grease stain slowly appearing on the newspaper. . . and I never had the heart to let on, so I just pretended I hadn’t noticed and let the poor guy finish his lunch.

  32. AmandaLSnow says

    March 27, 2009 at 8:07 pm

    Soo glad you got involved! Awesome!

  33. Jenny Schwartzberg says

    March 27, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    Library stories? Hmm. My own library, the Newberry Library has been mentioned in a few novels, such as Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife, and Linda Howard’s Son of the Morning. One mystery and fantasy writer works here, Dan Crawford, and other staff members write scholarly papers and books. Most literary. But any weird stories… I’m blank. But I’d like to hear of other novels set in commentators’ libraries. Hint, hint.

  34. Kathi Appelt says

    March 27, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    Hooray for all you bloggers! What a great idea. I’m for anything that helps libraries.
    xo
    K

  35. mhg says

    March 27, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    As a young hippie girl I was followed around and watched at your library, Betsy. Like I was gonna steal a book or something. Have no idea why.

  36. kim baker says

    March 28, 2009 at 12:36 am

    Great idea!
    Librarians are awesome. My elementary school librarian would let me hang out and give her a hand sometimes after school when my mom was working late, and I’ve had a soft spot ever since.

  37. emmaco says

    March 28, 2009 at 7:22 am

    Off the top of my head I can’t think of any good library stories, because every time I enter I just hear ”

  38. emmaco says

    March 28, 2009 at 7:26 am

    Wow, your blog is angy at you Fuse. Sorry for the duplicate comment, but it looks like I’ve been struck down dead to prevent me from giving away a library’s secret above. I was saying I just hear BOOKS when I’m in a library and don’t pay attention to other people so much. And that Project Cicero sounds great.

  39. Sara O''Leary says

    March 28, 2009 at 7:50 am

    Great idea. I’d like to go back to a question posted here by Joyce Moyer Hostetter about whether it’s appropriate for authors to pop in to blogs say thank you for reviews.

    As a blogger who wears several hats – writing children’s books and reviewing them – I have to say I have met some of the loveliest people this way. I wonder how others feel about it.

    And just to up the stakes here a little (and so it’s not all Betsy out of pocket on this), I’ve looked up the address for Project Cicero and will be sending them a book donation.

    Project Cicero
    53 East 79th Street
    New York, New York 10021

  40. Kelly Fineman says

    March 28, 2009 at 8:09 am

    Project Cicero sounds like a great donee. Thanks for the mention, and for joining the project!

  41. jmyersbook says

    March 28, 2009 at 9:30 am

    We do love us some books! And making Fuse #8 spend money on such a good cause sounds like a heck of a deal!

  42. writerjenn says

    March 28, 2009 at 10:03 am

    Thank you so much! I’ll add your blog to my list immediately.

  43. Bev says

    March 28, 2009 at 10:58 am

    As a kid, my library did not carry any Nancy Drew books, saying they were not ‘real’ books. Happy to say, they line the shelves now:) Otherwise, I did love my library and still do.
    Thanks for your generosity!
    Bev
    http://www.classof2k9.com

  44. rockinlibrarian says

    March 28, 2009 at 11:46 am

    I love the idea of raising money for library causes. I just wish I could figure out how to make it work in support of my own public library that is desperately in need of a new building. But few people read (and even less comment on) my blog, and the poor library barely pays me anything to begin with for me to give it right back….

  45. Keith says

    March 28, 2009 at 12:37 pm

    Well, I really hope we make it all the way to 150!

  46. boreal_owl says

    March 28, 2009 at 1:55 pm

    Yah for libraries!

  47. boreal_owl says

    March 28, 2009 at 1:55 pm

    Yah for libraries!

  48. Jennie says

    March 28, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    My favorite work story is the day when I was wearing my Babymouse t-shirt and the kids asked me about it. I handed out all my Babymouse books that afternoon. THEN! A super-macho 7 year old marched up to my desk and DEMANDED a copy of ”

  49. Jennie says

    March 28, 2009 at 2:02 pm

    Ugh. It ATE half my comment. Anyway, we demanded a copy of “that pink book everybody else is reading.” It’s been over 2 years, and I still can’t keep Babymouse on the shelf.

  50. Carolyn Foote says

    March 28, 2009 at 2:11 pm

    Great idea, and an inspiring one! I’m in!

  51. Bonny Becker says

    March 28, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    I’m in!

  52. Linda Covella says

    March 28, 2009 at 2:38 pm

    Thanks for doing this. Great cause!

  53. Kate Olson says

    March 28, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    This is a great project and I really admire you for doing it. Thanks!

  54. Janet Halfmann says

    March 28, 2009 at 3:22 pm

    Thanks so much for doing this! I put a link to the challenge on my Facebook page.
    Janet Halfmann, Author
    Little Skink’s Tail
    Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story

  55. Liz says

    March 28, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    I love libraries also!

  56. yukari says

    March 28, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    Fantastic cause, especially in these economically difficult times. School libraries really can use all the help they can get. It’s wonderful that you’re participating!

  57. tearoof says

    March 28, 2009 at 4:05 pm

    Wonderful idea, sorry I don’t have any strange tales to tell.

  58. eclecticmum says

    March 28, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    Hoorah for libraries and for books and for readers and for you for donating!

  59. eclecticmum says

    March 28, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    Hoorah for libraries and for books and for readers and for you for donating!

  60. mhg says

    March 28, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    @Sara O’Leary, I’ve become shameless, I thank reviewers. Betsy has gottne a few shout outs from me whenever she plugs my blog. And if you ever wanted to review my books or interview me I’m open. Melanie Hope Greenberg

  61. mhg says

    March 28, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    I hardly ever self correct my spellin’ misteaks 🙂 And they are abundant. *Sigh* But for charity, I meant “gotten”, not gottne.

  62. Tricia says

    March 28, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    Commenting for the library’s sake! YAY!

  63. Little Willow says

    March 28, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    Great cause! 🙂

  64. Courtney says

    March 28, 2009 at 8:11 pm

    Thank you for participating in this!

  65. BookMoot says

    March 28, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    As the saying goes, you can learn everything about one thing or one thing about everything at a library! Thank you for doing this!

  66. BookMoot says

    March 28, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    As the saying goes, you can learn everything about one thing or one thing about everything at a library! Thank you for doing this!

  67. Missy S says

    March 29, 2009 at 6:38 am

    I love libraries! Great fund raising idea!! Good luck!!

  68. Missy S says

    March 29, 2009 at 6:38 am

    I love libraries! Great fund raising idea!! Good luck!!

  69. Sherry Early says

    March 29, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    What a great idea! I may tweak this idea and use it soon for my re-entry to blogging after Lent.

    Anyway, library stories: There was the time when I was working reference, and a man called and asked how to spell Gretel. THREE HOURS later I heard my fellow reference librarian spelling over the phone: H-A-N-S-E-L. I never could figure out what caused the three hour time lag between questions.

  70. Last minute Lucy says

    March 29, 2009 at 7:26 pm

    Thanks for your blog and for your generosity!

  71. Darcy Pattison says

    March 29, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    Hurrah for libraries!

    Here’s my library story:
    darcypattison.com/darcys-books/tornado-and-author-visit/

    Darcy

  72. Natasha @ Maw Books says

    April 1, 2009 at 10:48 pm

    What a great idea! I love it.

  73. Alison Hart says

    March 11, 2010 at 8:20 am

    Now that the word is out on Facebook, you might have to increase that $$.
    Book Lovers Unite!

    http://www.alisonhartbooks.com

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