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Give and get support around quitting

SuzyQ411
Member

IT'S NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK

books in a pile.jpg

In recognition of National Library Week, I'm sharing this interesting information from Writer's Relief , included in their 4/23/2020 newsletter:

"Research seems to indicate that libraries originated out of a need to preserve the sales and tax records as well as other administrative details of running a country. We don’t really know exact dates because, well, there were no libraries existing to store those dates. But an agreed-on time period puts the first library appearing about 5,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, an area that roughly covers the modern-day Middle East. This is the area that also brought us the invention of the wheel, planting cereal crops, and great strides in math, astronomy, and agriculture. It wasn’t called fertile for nothing!

The earliest known library was founded in Nineveh (now modern-day Iraq) sometime in the seventh century BCE. The library had 30,000 volumes, all clay tablets, which were engraved by scribes using a reed to impress characters into wet clay. And you thought hardcover books were cumbersome! (Hmmm…wonder what the return cart looked like…) Interestingly, clay tablets were stored much like modern-day books with the spine facing out."

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"Later, more libraries (and librarians) popped up across the developing world in Egypt, India, and much of Asia. The oldest known functioning library is in Morocco, which opened 1,157 years ago, in 859 AD. That’s also the year algebra was invented: Which proves that some inventions benefited humankind, while others were created simply to throw the alphabet into math problems and cause stress when taking exams."

"For hundreds of years, libraries were private collections, restricted to scholars, priests, and friends of the wealthy patrons who funded the libraries. In fact, books were so scarce that they were once chained to the desks! (And some still are if you can believe that!) Throughout parts of China, libraries were exclusively developed and used by members of the royal families or approved scholars. Knowledge is power—and sometimes, so is a royal bloodline."

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"The invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century changed the library forever. Eventually, private libraries would become accessible to everyone as books became more available to the working class. Yet it still took several hundred years more for public libraries to appear. The first public, tax-supported library in America was opened in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 1833."

printing press.jpg

We are so fortunate in our day and age to have ready access to books -- not only through libraries-- but from specialty bookshops, super marts, online sellers, and electronic books to name just a few.

So, in our quest for knowledge about our nicotine addiction and help in combating it, our resources are endless.

Tags (1)
9 Replies
Cousin-Itt
Member

Thank you for the great info Suzy

SuzyQ411
Member

Cousin-Itt   

I just love books so found the article interesting as well! In the days when my kids were still at home (3 sons) I was the librarian at our local library. It was a part-time gig as our little village had a population of less that 2000 souls. But I loved it!! I recall when the internet first came out--before I even had access-- how shaken I really was to think about just popping online to get answers to all your questions. As a woman of a certain decade, I recall many glorious times (really!) of pulling out the appropriate drawer with cards filed according to the Dewey Decimal System  to gain access to the information I sought. I thought that surely I would never, ever, ever by -pass this tried and true system of research UNTIL I needed personal computer access for degrees I pursued after my kids were all in school. Now, I can honestly say I cannot remember the last time I was in a library! Information is truly at my fingertips via my laptop and I google constantly. However, I still fondly recall my days as a small-town librarian. 

Cousin-Itt
Member

   I remember all to well going to the library research info for school papers or having to check out a book we  were assigned to read   It would be a perfect place to go to break up the boredom of this lockdown but they're lockdown also.  When this is over I might go check one out 

sweetplt
Member

Thanks Suzy SuzyQ411 for the history lesson...I love books and reading...I used a library so much when little and growing up and through college...then I started buying books because I loved book stores...I loved the feel and buying book markers....Then lo an behold I got sick about 10 years ago and was in my house for the year and my husband got me a kindle, I said “NO way”...well that lasted a short time ... I love it ... I go no where without my kindle...

Happy Friday....~ Colleen 508 DOF 

YoungAtHeart
Member

I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere - and our library was a Victorian house.  As a young person, the only books suitable were Zane Grays.  I used to ride there on my bike, grab a stack, and take one and my lunch and pedal to our reservoir, find a rock, and spend an afternoon reading, listening to the water lap at my feet, and the birdsong.  I was a lucky young lady to have such pleasures!  I was appalled when they built the new library - metal and orange panels - blech!  Didn't go there much!

I'm with sweetplt now  - I go nowhere without my Kindle, and I refuse to use the Library to get books for it.  I just hate having a deadline to finish reading a book.  I ALWAYS finish one fairly quickly in the winter (not so much in the spring, summer and fall when I have other things to keep me busy) - but I just HATE having to keep track of a deadline.  Lucky am I that I can afford to buy them!

SuzyQ411
Member

In today's re-reading of your post Nancy YoungAtHeart‌, I can almost envision your childhood library in that Victorian house; I'm a sucker for the grace and detail of those beautiful homes and can just imagine a drawing room filled with bookshelves. Also, I still read hard copy books so am easily called from the street and into any bookstore to explore all aisles and to no doubt purchase at least one book!!

I also envision a happy summer's day at the peacful reservoir of your childhood 

Thanks for sharing these memories~

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Christine13
Member

I remember my local library, very much.  I was looking for a job, and the girl there typed up my resume for me, and when they asked me what the job was, they researched it and told me to memorize who everyone was in politics.

I was only 17 years old, thanks to those ladies, not only did I get the job, but it was with a very good job, where I worked until I was married.  I was very good at it, and I loved it.

Marigene6266
Member

Thank you for the history of libraries SuzyQ411! I earned my associates degree as a Library Para-Professional (that's not the exact title but close enough)  in 2013 and hope to someday put it to use. We covered a little bit of history in my first year but did not go in depth as this article did. In response to what some others have commented, during class discussions it was discovered that many of us miss the old card catalog. I remember when learning to use it seem so complicated but while the internet is faster I think it is more complicated than the card catalog ever was. 

SuzyQ411
Member

WOW Marigene6266‌... did not realize there was an associate's degree in library science and so happy you chose to pursue it! Yes, Dewey's system was originally overwhelming to me as well when I was a student member of our school's Library Club. But it soon became clear to me how systematic and ingenious it was and I loved the musty smell of those old typed index cards!