Episode 506: Library History and Mystery

Episode 506: library History and Mystery logo

Welcome back to the show. We are so glad you are here, joining us for the book group discussion!

Each week we talk  about books and about different genres, and provide useful information for people who want to talk about books. There are so many books out there that it’s tough to be an expert on all of them. So we pick a new genre each week to chat about and hopefully provide you with some insight into what may be an unfamiliar genre! We want to help you find new books for yourself, and to be ready to share them with others.

This week we are celebrating libraries!  We like libraries, and there are so many interesting books out there about them! So we are going to admire books about libraries, specifically history and mysteries.  (More library genres will follow.)

This week our returning Guest Host is Violet Fox, a Dewey Editor. 

Beverages:

Each week we like to connect the theme of our books with our beverages, and we each came prepared with our own drink to enjoy while we talk about our books. You are an important part of this book group, so if you don’t have a beverage go ahead and get one now. Each of our beverages will have a recipe or a link on our episode page, so you can try them yourself!

Today we are going to enjoy books that are all related to the most famous part of library work: the books. You can find all our beverages, and more, in the article  25 Brilliant and Literary-Inspired Mixed Drinks.

  1. The Gryffindor

     Potter fans (at least those over 21) can indulge their booze tooth in this elaborate, color-themed cocktail. This very fruity drink is composed of cranberry juice and orange juice with just a dash of raspberry liqueur, topped with a cherry and a twist of orange peel.

  2. Turn of the Screwdriver

     In Henry James’ novella, Turn of the Screw, a young governess is tortured by seemingly supernatural figures, though the exact meaning and nature of her visions is never explained by the book. Whatever the case, this take on the classic screwdriver will help you to stave off any nightmares you might have after reading this (possible) ghost story.

  3. Chandler’s Gimlet

     One of the best-known stories about Raymond Chandler relates to his writing of the movie The Blue Dahlia, in which he purposely relapsed into alcoholism in order to break through his terrible writer’s block and finish the script. You can drink to his insane dedication to writing (or his intense desire for a drink) by whipping up one of his favorites, the Gimlet.

Genre Discussion:

It’s not exactly a secret here, but we love libraries! We are a multitype library system, which means we provide training and advocacy to all of our nearly 300 member libraries. So we have a bunch of school libraries: elementary, middle, and high school. And we have some academic libraries: community and tech colleges as well as universities. And we have all kinds of libraries designated as special libraries: history center archives, hospital libraries, business libraries, and any other type of library. The world of library work is so varied, and so filled with interesting possibilities, that it is no wonder at all that there are so many books written about libraries!

So this week we are going to look at books about the history of libraries, and also some books set in libraries. No matter what you like about libraries, we’ve got you covered here. 

Libraries have been in the US since Europeans first started settling on the East Coast. Anglican churches had libraries, with a few books to share across their communities. Many churches, temples, and mosques today have libraries with collections developed for their member interests.

Public libraries started very early, though the first library is not certain. The first big city public library was probably in Boston, and New York and Philadelphia also had public libraries for their communities.

The oldest academic library is at Harvard, established in 1638. “Harvard University Library, … [was] established when John Harvard, a young Puritan minister, left his collection of 260 volumes to the new Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass., in 1638. The core of the collection now contains 10,000,000 volumes, housed in three adjacent buildings.”

School libraries have also been around for a while. Although there is not a specific date or a “first” library, schools may have had a couple of books that students could read. By 1744, the plans drawn up for the Penn Charter School in Philadelphia included a room for a library. “In 1900, the first professionally trained school librarian, Mary Kingsbury, was appointed to manage the Erasmus High School library in Brooklyn. The second was Mary E. Hall, appointed in 1903 by the Girls’ High School in Brooklyn.”

So, libraries of all sorts have been part of the life of the United States as we developed and grew into a country. Your first impulse to think about libraries, and the services they provide, might be to picture a public library.  And yes, there are over 9,000 public libraries in the US.

There are so many more libraries out there, serving your information needs! In 2015, there were 98,460 school libraries in the US – hopefully one in your community. And hopefully the library is funded so that it can provide good services to ensure all K-12 students get the information skills they need to be successful! 

In addition to all of these libraries, there are law libraries in courthouses where you can find resources, hospital libraries in most hospitals for medical staff and patients, businesses have libraries to help them collect books, journals, and databases they need, newspapers have libraries to help them ensure they have the best information, zoos and museums have libraries to provide the specialized scientific material they need. There are music libraries, science and engineering libraries, military libraries, federal libraries, performing arts libraries – and so many more, available to serve every information need!

With all these great features, of course people want to write books set in libraries, so we are going to look at a few library mysteries. Whether you are visiting a library, or just enjoying reading about them, you have a lot of great choices!

Suggested Reading Resources:

Book Discussion

Now we are a little more familiar with this week’s genre, and we have enjoyed some of our special beverages, let’s get to the book discussion! If you click on one of our links below, as always they take you to the Amazon.com page for that book. Amazon will give us a small percent of their profits from anything you buy, so thank you in advance!

Conclusion

Thanks to Violet, for sharing this discussion with us!

Thanks so much to you for joining us this week for the book group! It’s always better when you are here with us. Join us on Patreon, to get some behind-the scenes secrets after every episode. Official Office Dog Lady Grey appreciates your support. (She’s paid in treats, and a portion of your support goes directly to rewarding her for being such a good doggo!).

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Join us next week for more genre discussions!