Many people have stopped by the library to pick up copies of our annual Scavenger Hunt. Any time I drive through town I can usually spot someone clutching their white sheet of paper in one hand and a pencil in the other, gazing up at buildings searching for that last elusive clue.
Just walking through the stacks of books here at the Amherst Public Library I’m reminded about all the treasures that await people who take the time to browse and search out that elusive title. People who only shop at Borders or other retail stores limit their literary exposure to current titles and remade classics. Of course I’ve got my Borders reward card and I’m usually there once a week on my day off, but people who don’t explore their own library may be missing out on some of the best book treasures around.
The tan, cloth-bound copy of The Dark Frigate by C.B. Hawes still stands on the shelf in Junior Fiction. The New York Tribune book review stated “No one, we think, has written so perfect a pirate tale since ‘Treasure Island” and the clipped summary from the book jacket remains pasted inside the book cover. Without Johnny Depp on the cover it’s a hard sell to today’s young readers but the stained cover is still sturdy and the sticker showing the book was a 1924 Newberry Medal winner has been taped over multiple times.
Tarzan of the Apes was a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs long before anyone thought of animating the story. Even the Wizard of Oz held shelf space long before the movie classic. Cloth bindings, well worn, and well read are signs of earlier times. Part of our library genealogy that makes each public library unique.
Downstairs, near the entrance Jane Eyre stands staunch in its orange, no-nonsense binding. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by Le Carre with its blue cloth binding seems to sink into the shadows next to other more flashy covers. Splashy fonts and graphics covered in special plastic covers protect newer books by Hiaasen and Scottoline.
I wonder about those people who stand in the aisles at the book store, sipping their lattes and browsing the stacks that have already been sorted for them by New York Times bestseller designations and a marketing plan that correlates visibility with increased sales. When all the books are slick and shiny it’s hard to tell the well read from the gimmicky, choosing from a set of cards someone has already dealt you from a limited deck.
The library keeps those favorites, those books that are timeless, that tell something about the character of those tending to the shelves. Why we would get rid of anything by Don Winslow I don’t know; The Life and Death of Bobby Z, was probably one of the best books I ever read. And the best Stephen King book won’t be found in the fiction section but I think it resides in the biography section. First editions sometimes end up on the sale rack because of space limitations and now even we are displaying the shiny new books on their own special shelves
Just like a community is made up of different people, all sizes colors and ages of books reside within the walls of the library. The collection defines who we our, our values and our dreams, I’ll keep our 1958 edition of The Call of the Wild in our collection for that one person who might appreciate the worn red copy with the fleur de lis with illustrations by Robert Todd and because you can’t always judge a book just by the cover. Sometimes you just have to discover the treasure for yourself.
