Library fines

What do George Washington and Jerry Seinfeld have in common? They both owed big fines to libraries in NYC for overdue books.

Whereas Jerry checking out "Tropic of Cancer" in 1971 and failing to return it was actually just a plot of a classic episode, it appears that our nation's first president actually did check out two library books on October 5, 1789 and fail to return them on November 2.

According to the New York Society Library's informal estimate, President Washington owes approximately $4,577 for the lost copies of "Law of Nations" and the 12th volume of "Common Debates." The fine at the time was 2 pence per day, but now it's fifteen cents.

Anyone else intrigued by how little the overdue fine has gone up in 221 years? I know the fine for overdue books at my local library is quite a bit steeper, at $1 per day. It give you a lot more incentive to return the book on time that way.

Anyway, I don't think the NYSL is going to get their $4577 anytime soon. A better question is whatever happened to those two books?

Have you ever gotten a really big library fine? Do you always return your books on time?

do you hear what I hear?

*crickets*

Yeah, that's about what I expect to hear tonight when I give my first ever author talk at the Benton Library.

The good news is, if I bomb, I get a chance to make it all better tomorrow at the Bryant Library!

I guess it's not really my "first" talk because a few weeks ago I met with 35 members of the Bryant High School reading club and I spoke to those guys. But they made it easy because they asked questions and all I had to do was sparkle.

What if nobody asks me anything tonight?

What if I lose my sparkle?

Tell me what you think I should talk about that will engage a crowd mixed with kids and adults. What would you want to hear that would keep you interested and maybe even inspire you to ask a question?

BTW, I can't believe Christmas is just a few days away. Happy Holidays to all my 'Nistas and all our friends in the interwebs. Thanks to all of our readers...we feel very blessed to have you guys in our virtual lives.

Do you library?

As a kid, libraries were a huge part of my life. I could spend hours in the small local library, wandering the stacks, reading the magazines, planning what books I'd take out next time because I'd already used up my quota for that visit. In high school, the school library became my refuge. Having gone to private school until half way through the 9th grade, I didn't understand how a large public school functioned (cafeteria? What is that?) so I spent every free moment (lunch, study hall, cough*gym*cough) in that sacred space. I probably read 75% of the fiction books they had.

Oddly enough, as adult, I've fallen away from my first love. I'll be honest. I don't actually know where my local library is. Sad, isn't it? I don't have a library card, but I plan on getting one and soon. There are an estimated 123,129 libraries of all kinds in the United States, so there's really no excuse not to visit one. When was the last time you went to the library?