Treasures!

The other day we had a family bring in a sad donation. They had boxes of books and magazines from their mom's house. They were cleaning it out because she was going into a rest home. I am a bit jaded about this after all these years of working in the library. People bring us boxes of books thinking that Every. Single. One. Is. A. Treasure.

They aren't. Libraries are contemporary institutions. We don't warehouse dusty tomes. That's only in the movies, folks. We have standards about what we keep and what we don't. Believe it or not: WE THROW THINGS AWAY. It's called weeding and it's my favorite job at the library.

Anyway, they were sad and so was I, but for a different reason The haul looked like garbage. Then I moved a box and saw magazines. My heart sank a little further. We NEVER add magazines to the library collection. Why people give these to us is just a groaner to me. But then I saw what they were:


 Do you remember Victoria magazine from the 80's and 90's? It was The Most Beautiful Magazine Ever. Every page had pretty decorations and clothes and was sprinkled with quotes and poetry. Yes, sometimes it was a bit stuffy, but still...

I brought home ALL of them (paid $4.00 for this treasure) and put them next to my bed. That night I opened up my first one. As I went through it, all these wonderful feelings ebbed through me. It was so ... pretty. I felt invigorated with beauty. I was reminded of what I find wonderous and pretty and inspiring and comforting. I am so glad to have a dozen more to look through.

In addition to finding things that I love in there, it is also refreshing not to see some things - there was no nudity in ads, no website addresses, no mention of "green" or "climate" or "recycle" or "repurpose" or any of those words that are so overused in my day to day life.

Mental and spiritual refreshment, Amen.

Comments

Heidi said…
I,too, work in a library. We recently had a man bring in some quilting things that had belonged to his mother and grandmother. He was so excited about the great quilting books that in the box.
Our quilting group is always happy for donations. I accepted the box and took it upstairs to go through it. While there were some spectacular books and magazines, there were many old catalogs that were really of no use. You could no longer purchase the kits, as the catalogs were over 15 years old.
Being both a crocheter/knitter and a sometimes quilter, I waded through what could be used and what couldn't. It was a great donation, but they will never know what was weeded out and what was actually used. (I told the quilters that they would divvy it up how they wanted, but none of it could end up in our book sale, otherwise the family would be offended.)
Heather Eddy said…
I am so glad you understand!

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