Dear Anonymous: Keep on Shining
This morning I received an e-mail notification that someone had commented in my recent blog post called, "Where is the light?" Here it is:
"If you are so desirous of shedding light, then why don't you have a Bible
in your library and recommend it to your students? The book of Esther
would have asked the same question to which you referred from The
Chocolate War. You librarians are all the same....it's your right to
corrupt, without allowing the true light into your collections...how much
Christian fiction do you have on your shelves? how many inspirational
biographies are on your shelves? You are very one-sided."
Because it was anonymous, it was a screened comment. And I admit I was tempted to keep it that way. But when I shared it with a few friends, saying I didn't plan to reply, Maureen, who I highly respect and admire, said, "I think you write the reply AS a blog post."
So, that's what I'm doing.
Dear Anonymous,
I am not a librarian. I do own three copies of the Bible in my private library. Thank you for the recommendation to review the Book of Esther. (I see some interesting connections between her and Jerry, the main character in The Chocolate War—though the Book of Esther is far more bloody and violent.) I'm not sure about Christian fiction because I admit I'm not sure what you mean by that term. Do you mean fiction with characters of a certain Christian faith? I'm sure we have plenty of that. We also have fiction with characters of lots of other faiths, too. And oh yes, lots of inspirational biographies. The ones about Gandhi and Rosa Parks are my favorites.
When I look at my bookshelves, I see a lot of light. Not just in the books you describe, but in all books. Hope can be anywhere, if you are willing to look closely. But I realize you and I define light in different ways. For me, light is love and hope. Maybe for you, light is God. I don't know. I think there is room for all kinds of interpretations. And I think, again, if we look closely, we'll see how similar they really are.
My mom, sister and husband are all librarians. When you said, "You librarians are all the same" I admit, that made me smile. These three couldn't be more different. Ask anyone who knows them. But they do have one thing in common, and I know it has nothing to do with their "right to corrupt." What they have in common is their desire to share great books.
My husband is an archivist at an ivy league college, and he gets to share beautiful illuminated manuscripts, including biblical ones, with students. He also gets to share the darker part of the college's history with students, such as its racist treatment of Native Americans, and the horrific way in which many male students treated women when the school went coed. But each time he shares these stories, he spreads light. In seeing the past, the students can understand the mistakes that were made and be inspired by the individuals who risked all to make things better.
What my mom and sister (both children's librarians) have in common is their mission to help kids see beyond their front door. To be inspired, to be humbled, to be entertained and maybe enlightened. All by good stories. These stories may be adventure stories. Humorous stories. Tragedies. Inspirational biographies. Some may seem light. And some may seem dark. It's all up to the individual to interpret. But by providing lots of different kinds of books, with all kinds of stories of love and struggle and humor, one is surely going to connect with the reader. And that reader is going to be inspired. Or feel less alone. Or get excited by a new idea. Or want to travel for the first time. Or decide maybe there's a reason the person they see as a bully acts the way he or she does. Or decide to talk to that kid who always sits alone. Or laugh for the first time in a long while. Or cry. Or decide life is worth living. Or decide to be more kind. Books really can do that. All kinds of books. Christian ones, and non-Christian ones. Providing a variety of books is far from one-sided.
Like nearly every librarian I have met, my mom and sister are loving, kind people. They do good work every day. And I can say with absolute conviction that they do not give any book to a reader with the intent on corrupting them.
No.
I have never met a librarian on that kind of mission.
I don't know the statistics on how many "Christian" books public libraries contain. I did do a quick search on "WorldCat" to see how many libraries in the U.S. hold copies of the Bible. It lists 39,812 (and that is just for libraries who use WorldCat). According to the American Library Association, there are an estimated 16,671 public libraries in the U.S. I hope this math looks promising to you.
Anonymous, I am sorry you have the impression that librarians have anything but the best intentions in mind. But I believe that they do. Librarians gave me books that changed my life for the better. Mine, and so many others.
To me, that is light. That is love. That is hope.
Keep on shining.
"If you are so desirous of shedding light, then why don't you have a Bible
in your library and recommend it to your students? The book of Esther
would have asked the same question to which you referred from The
Chocolate War. You librarians are all the same....it's your right to
corrupt, without allowing the true light into your collections...how much
Christian fiction do you have on your shelves? how many inspirational
biographies are on your shelves? You are very one-sided."
Because it was anonymous, it was a screened comment. And I admit I was tempted to keep it that way. But when I shared it with a few friends, saying I didn't plan to reply, Maureen, who I highly respect and admire, said, "I think you write the reply AS a blog post."
So, that's what I'm doing.
Dear Anonymous,
I am not a librarian. I do own three copies of the Bible in my private library. Thank you for the recommendation to review the Book of Esther. (I see some interesting connections between her and Jerry, the main character in The Chocolate War—though the Book of Esther is far more bloody and violent.) I'm not sure about Christian fiction because I admit I'm not sure what you mean by that term. Do you mean fiction with characters of a certain Christian faith? I'm sure we have plenty of that. We also have fiction with characters of lots of other faiths, too. And oh yes, lots of inspirational biographies. The ones about Gandhi and Rosa Parks are my favorites.
When I look at my bookshelves, I see a lot of light. Not just in the books you describe, but in all books. Hope can be anywhere, if you are willing to look closely. But I realize you and I define light in different ways. For me, light is love and hope. Maybe for you, light is God. I don't know. I think there is room for all kinds of interpretations. And I think, again, if we look closely, we'll see how similar they really are.
My mom, sister and husband are all librarians. When you said, "You librarians are all the same" I admit, that made me smile. These three couldn't be more different. Ask anyone who knows them. But they do have one thing in common, and I know it has nothing to do with their "right to corrupt." What they have in common is their desire to share great books.
My husband is an archivist at an ivy league college, and he gets to share beautiful illuminated manuscripts, including biblical ones, with students. He also gets to share the darker part of the college's history with students, such as its racist treatment of Native Americans, and the horrific way in which many male students treated women when the school went coed. But each time he shares these stories, he spreads light. In seeing the past, the students can understand the mistakes that were made and be inspired by the individuals who risked all to make things better.
What my mom and sister (both children's librarians) have in common is their mission to help kids see beyond their front door. To be inspired, to be humbled, to be entertained and maybe enlightened. All by good stories. These stories may be adventure stories. Humorous stories. Tragedies. Inspirational biographies. Some may seem light. And some may seem dark. It's all up to the individual to interpret. But by providing lots of different kinds of books, with all kinds of stories of love and struggle and humor, one is surely going to connect with the reader. And that reader is going to be inspired. Or feel less alone. Or get excited by a new idea. Or want to travel for the first time. Or decide maybe there's a reason the person they see as a bully acts the way he or she does. Or decide to talk to that kid who always sits alone. Or laugh for the first time in a long while. Or cry. Or decide life is worth living. Or decide to be more kind. Books really can do that. All kinds of books. Christian ones, and non-Christian ones. Providing a variety of books is far from one-sided.
Like nearly every librarian I have met, my mom and sister are loving, kind people. They do good work every day. And I can say with absolute conviction that they do not give any book to a reader with the intent on corrupting them.
No.
I have never met a librarian on that kind of mission.
I don't know the statistics on how many "Christian" books public libraries contain. I did do a quick search on "WorldCat" to see how many libraries in the U.S. hold copies of the Bible. It lists 39,812 (and that is just for libraries who use WorldCat). According to the American Library Association, there are an estimated 16,671 public libraries in the U.S. I hope this math looks promising to you.
Anonymous, I am sorry you have the impression that librarians have anything but the best intentions in mind. But I believe that they do. Librarians gave me books that changed my life for the better. Mine, and so many others.
To me, that is light. That is love. That is hope.
Keep on shining.
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