What I Learn from My Little Lending Library
"The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking." - Christopher Morley
I've had a little lending library outside my house for five or six years now. It's perfectly position for traffic - a corner lot at which the elementary school bus stops to pick up children from the neighborhood. So for 10 minutes every school day morning, there’s a good number of kids and their parents milling around my little library, checking out what's new in the box. I check the box after my walks, just to see that nothing is amiss and, occasionally, to take advantage of a good find myself. I have a policy not to censor what people decide to put in the library, but since children frequently peruse what's on offer, I pull out some of the more dubious titles and deposit them in one of the other lending libraries in the neighborhood.
We get a lot of books for small children, a reflection of just how young our neighborhood has become in the past five years. Lots of young couples with newborns and toddlers. During the pandemic-inspired lock downs, it seemed there were more baby strollers on the road than cars. I pull those books and take them to a lending library close by that caters specifically to books for small children.
Every once and while, I'll put a book in the box just to see how long it stays. A book by Ann Coulter was gone in about a week. Whether someone wanted to read it or didn't want anyone else to read it, I can't say. I may not censor what’s available, but that doesn't mean that others don't. Self-help books or things that are too text booky stay for months, if they move at all. A lot of Christian faith books come and go. What moves the fastest are the trashy romance novels. They're usually well-warn, too. This past week, I discovered "Fifty Shades of Gray" along with a book titled "Women of the Bible." I put the two next to each other, just to see if they'd spontaneously combust. They didn't. Books, it seems, aren't particular about the company they keep. (Checking this morning for "Fifty Shades of Gray"...it's gone. "Women of the Bible" is still available.)
All in all, it's an ebb and flow. A very tiny glimpse into what interests a small slice of my neighbors. And on balance, I like what my little lending library is revealing.
If you have any questions, need anything clarified, or have something else on your mind, please use the comments section or email me directly.
Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash