“With Lundquist directing, the volunteers worked for the next three days around the clock. Most were strangers to each other, drawn together unexpectedly, and worked together for hours, diligently and peacefully. The formed a human chain, passing the books hand over hand from one person the the next, through the smoky building and out the door. It was as if, in the urgent moment, the people of Los Angeles formed a living library. They created, for that short time, a system to protect and pass along shared knowledge, to save what we know for each other, which is what libraries do everyday.” PeopleTimeKnowledgeCreationBooksLibraryUrgencyStrangersVolunteersHuman Chain Book:The Library Book Source: The Library Book
“With Lundquist directing, the volunteers worked for the next three days around the clock. Most were strangers to each other, drawn together unexpectedly, and worked together for hours, diligently and peacefully. The formed a human chain, passing the books hand over hand from one person the the next, through the smoky building and out the door. It was as if, in this urgent moment, the people of Los Angeles formed a living library. They created, for that short time, a system to protect and pass along shared knowledge, to save what we know for each other, which is what libraries do everyday.” PeopleTimeKnowledgeCreationBooksLibraryUrgencyStrangersVolunteersHuman Chain Book:The Library Book Source: The Library Book
“Another senior librarian I interviewed that day told me that seeing the library in ruins so traumatized her that she didn't get her period for the next four months.” TimeHealthPeriodsLibraryTraumaWellnessInterviewLibrariansMenstrual Cycle Book:The Library Book Source: The Library Book
“At the time, the library's fire prevention consisted of smoke detectors and handheld fire extinguishers. There were no sprinklers. The American Library Association, known informally as the ALA, always advised against sprinklers, because water damage was even worse for books than fire damage.” TimeWaterFireBooksLibraryFire ExtinguishersAmerican Library AssociationFire PreventionSmoke DetectorsSprinklers Book:The Library Book Source: The Library Book
“It wasn't that time stopped in the library. It was as if it were captured, collected here, and in all libraries -- and not only my time, my life, but all human time as well. In the library, time is dammed up--not just stopped but saved.” TimeReadingBooksLibraryLibraries Book:The Library Book Source: The Library Book
“I'm much more willing to buy a novel electronically by someone I don't know. Because if halfway through I think, I don't really like this, I can just stop. I can't throw books out, even if I think they're crummy. I feel like I've got to give it to the library. I've got to loan it to somebody, or I keep it on my shelf. It's like a plant.” IfsThinkingKnowsGivingFeelsI CanBookNovelWillingPlantLibraryShelvesLoanHalfway Author:Susan Orlean
“Libraries are what is best about us as a society: open, exciting, rich, informative, free, inclusive, engaging.” RichExcitingLibraryEngagingInformative Author:Susan Orlean
