Short Nonfiction Collection - Edmund Lester Pearson - The Old Librarian's Almanack {audiobook}
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From wikipedia.org:
Edmund Lester Pearson (1880–1937) was an American librarian and author. He was a writer of the "true crime" literary genre. He is best known for his account of the notorious Lizzie Borden murder case.
Biography
Pearson was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on February 11, 1880. He graduated from Harvard College in 1902. His first publication was in a school periodical, The Harvard Advocate. In 1904, he graduated with a B.L.S. from the New York State Library School at Albany, a forerunner of the Columbia School of Library Service. His thesis was a bibliography of Theodore Roosevelt.
After graduation he first worked as a librarian at the Washington D.C. Public Library, where he met his wife, then Miss Mary Jane Sellers. They did not have any children. In 1906 he moved to the Library of Congress as an assistant in the Copyright Division. In 1908 he became the acting librarian of the Military Information Division of the War Department. From 1906 to 1920 he wrote a weekly column, "The Librarian", for the newspaper the Boston Evening Transcript. The column consisted of humorous essays and stories. The stories often featured the fictional Ezra Beesly Free Public Library of the town of Baxter, as well as other fictional persons and places. In a column from 1907, Pearson printed a paragraph supposedly from an old librarian's almanac. Response from colleagues and friends lead him to expand it to a 34 page pamphlet that was published in 1909 as The Old Librarian's Almanack. On the title page the Almanack is described as "a very rare pamphlet first published in New Haven Connecticut in 1773 and now reprinted for the first time." The pamphlet was reviewed seriously by The New York Sun, The Nation, The New York Times, and several other publications, before the hoax was generally known. In 1927 the magazine Public Libraries called the hoax "a good piece of foolery, bright, clever, with the verisimilitude of authenticity." Even today, a humorous faux-medieval Curse Against Book Stealers from the pamphlet continues to be portrayed as real.
From 1909 to 1914, Pearson lived in Newburyport and wrote several books. He wrote stories based on his childhood in The Believing Years and The Voyage of the Hoppergrass. He published some of his columns from the Librarian in The Library and the Librarian, The Librarian at Play, and The Secret Book. During this time he also served on the Board of Trustees of the Newburyport Public Library. In 1914, Pearson and his wife moved to New York City and from 1914 to 1927 he worked at the New York Public Library as the Editor of Publications. Starting in 1914, Pearson wrote a series of columns about books for national periodicals such as The Nation (column name: Books and Men), The Dial, the Weekly Review (later called the Independent and Weekly Review) (column names: Books and the News, New Books and Old), and The Outlook (column name: The Book Table). He also wrote book reviews for many publications including The Saturday Review of Literature. He wrote three books about books, Books in Black or Red, Queer Books, and Dime Novels. His work of writing was interrupted briefly during the First World War when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, but did not serve overseas.
In 1924 he published his best-known work, Studies in Murder, with its signature essay on Lizzie Borden of Fall River. In the years to follow, Pearson published other studies on American criminal cases, including Murder at Smutty Nose and Other Murders and Five Murders although these had limited popularity in comparison to his first landmark work on American crime. He maintained an extensive personal correspondence with the Scottish crime writer, William Roughead, the two writers offering support and encouragement to each other in their chosen field of "matters criminous". In 1934 Pearson went to Hollywood to serve as an uncredited writer for the films Bride of Frankenstein and Werewolf of London.
Pearson died on August 8, 1937 at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City of bronchial pneumonia. He was buried in the family plot in the Oak Hill Cemetery, in the city of his birth, Newburyport.
Norman D. Stevens has been active in keeping alive the writings of Edmond Pearson by collecting a portion of the Librarian column in a book of the same name. Stevens is the director of the Molesworth Institute which presents the Edmund Lester Pearson Library Humor Award which has rewarded and encouraged a new generation of library humorists.
In 2008, the Library of America selected Pearson's story "The "Hell Benders" or The Story of a Wayside Tavern"" for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American True Crime.
---
From cyberussr.com:
Source:
Wayne A. Wiegand, The History of a Hoax: Edmund Lester Pearson, John Cotton Dana, and 'The Old Librarian's Almanack', Beta Phi Mu, Pittsburgh PA, 1979; cloth, 75 pp.
(Beta Phi Mu is "The International Library and Information Studies Honor Society.")
Pp. 37-71 of Mr Wiegand's book are a reprint of
"Philobiblos," The Old Librarian's Almanack: A very rare pamphlet first published in New Haven Connecticut in 1773and now reprinted for the first time, The Librarian's Series/The Elm Tree Press, Woodstock VT, 1909.
Edmund Lester Pearson (1880- 1937) was a professional librarian. He got an AB degree from Harvard College in 1902, and a B.L.S. (Bachelor of Library Science?) degree from the New York State Library School at Albany in 1904. From 1904 to 1909, he held posts at the Washington DC Public Library, the Library of Congress, the War Department, and a private library in Asheville NC. In 1909, he returned to Newburyport MA to devote full time to writing.
Pearson's "Old Librarian" views library patrons as insufferable nuisances distracting librarians from their true vocation (personal reading), when not an actual danger to precious books they itch to steal or damage. Patrons certainly had no useful suggestions to make on what books to acquire. No librarian in 1909 would admit to sharing the "Old Librarian"s attitudes, but some of the satire could apply to bureaucracies in general.
Table of Contents for the Old Librarian's Almanack, as reprinted by W.A. Wiegand:
* Cover, supposedly reproduced from 1773
* 1909 "Librarian's Series" title page
* Pearson's 1909 preface to the "reprint"
* Eclipses and listing of major stars
* Introduction supposedly from 1773
* Entries for January 1774 (2 pp. format)
* Doggerel; moon phases; "calendar, weather, & c."
* An essay or verse on the librarian's craft
* Identical 2-page format for months Feb-Dec
* A Cure for the Bite of a Rattlesnake (satirical).
Pearson copied the astronomical and weather tables wholesale from a genuine 1773 New Haven CT almanac authored by Joseph Perry. Similar items are still printed today in the "Farmer's Almanac."
Some Quotations from The Old Librarian's Almanack:
p. 49 (Feb 1774)
Cataloguing books (an early exposition on job security?)
[...]
"There will then remain the necessity of recording [a book's] Acquisition in your Ledgers of Record. As for the Entry of its Style and Title in the Catalogue, many counsel that this is not needful, since you may be expected to remember that the Book has been Purchas'd for the Library. It may, however, occupy your leisure moments. Some would advise that if it be a Volume of Sermons it be placed on the Shelves with others of its like; or if it be a work of Natural Philosophy it stand near the Volumes of that class. This is a waste of time.
"Assign it a Number which shall correspond to its Position on the Shelf, and shall be the next in Sequence from the latest Book which you have added, and so let them stand in the Order in which thay are Receiv'd. For, surely, if you desire to find a number of volumes of Sermons, it will be an easy matter for you, recalling when they were Purchas'd, to pluck them from their several resting-places.
"Keep your books behind stout Gratings, and in no wise let any Persons come at them to take them from the Shelf except yourself.
"Have in Mind the Counsel of Master Enoch Sneed (that most Worthy Librarian) who says: It were better that no Person enter the Library (save the Librarian Himself) and that the Books be kept in Safety, than that one book be lost, or others Misplac'd. Guard well your Books, -- this is always your foremost Duty."
p. 53 (April 1774)
On thieves of library books (This gem is widely quoted):
[...]
"And what Condemnation shall befit the accurst Wretch (for he cannot justly claim the title of Man) who pilfers and purloins for his own selfish ends such a precious article as a Book? I am reminded of the Warning display'd in the Library of the Popish Monastery of San Pedro at Barcelona. This is the version English'd by Sir Matthew Manhan, who saw it writ in Latin in the Monastery, as he himself describes in his learn'd Book, Travels in Spanish Countries, 1712
"The Warning reads thus: 'For him that stealeth a Book from this Library, let it change to a Serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with Palsy, and all his Members blasted. Let him languish in Pain, crying aloud for Mercy and let there be no surcease to his Agony till he sink to Dissolution. Let Book-worms gnaw his Entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, and when at last he goeth to his final Punishment let the Flames of Hell consume him for ever and aye.'"
p. 57 (June 1774)
The customer is always wrong:
"So far as your Authority will permit of it, exercise great Discrimination as to which Persons shall be admitted to the use of the Library. For the Treasure House of Literature is no more to be thrown open to the ravages of the unreasoning Mob, than is a fair Garden to be laid unprotected at the Mercy of a Swarm of Beasts.
"Question each Applicant closely. See that he be a Person of good Reputation, scholarly Habits, sober and courteous Demeanour. Any mere Trifler, a Person that would Dally with Books, or seek in them shallow Amusement, may be Dismiss'd without delay.
"No person younger than 20 years (save if he be a Student, of more than 18 years, and vouched by his Tutor) is on any pretext to enter the Library. Be suspicious of Women. They are given to the Reading of frivolous Romances, and at all events, their presence in a Library adds little to (if it does not, indeed, detract from) that aspect of gravity, Seriousness and Learning which is its greatest Glory. You will make no error in excluding them altogether, even though by that Act it befall that you should prohibit from entering some one of those Excellent Females who are distinguished by their Wit and Learning. There is little Chance that You or I, Sir, will ever see such an One.
[...]
P. 59 (July 1774)
("Annual examination": Recall all books for inventory, during which library is shut for six weeks.)
p. 61 (August 1774)
"Your Library is now closed, and so it will remain for six Weeks, or perchance, two Months. These be Halcyon Days. the Annoyances to which you are subjected throughout all the year vanish away, and there is naught to Disturb you.
"Master Enoch Sneed (for whom I am ever ready to Testify my Reverence) has written: I am so be-pestered and bothered by persons insinuating themselves into the Library to get Books that frequently I am near to my Wit's end. There have been days when I was scarce able to read for two Hours consecutive without some Donkey breaking in upon my Peace. Only the thought of the Annual Examination sustains me. Then, forsooth, I can defy them all and read in some Security."
[...] "He can be no lover of books if he be at ease when his books are absent from the Library."
P. 63 (September 1774)
"Matrimony, so maintain'd worthy Master Peleg Gudger, is no fit Diversion for the Librarian, and in truth, I commend his Wisdom in the Matter. The dissipations of time, the vain Emptinesses of Amusement, the general be-pesterment that follows embarkation on this doubtful Sea (doubtful, if not in fact, Perilous) all these concomitants of the Married State so conspire and agree to harass the Librarian and woo him from his legitimate tasks as to behoove him to take a great Oath never to allow himself to be entrapped. Tis the only safe course. Otherwise will he find himself badger'd when he desires to read in Peace; led forth to Domestic Duties when he should be marshalling his Books; and at all time Distract'd & Annoy'd, to the detriment of his Profession.
[...]
P. 65 (October 1774)
[...] "Master Timothy, being in Charge of a Publick Library, was one day reading diligently when a Member of the Library entered, and presenting his Subscription Ticket begged the Librarian to fetch him a certain Book. Master Timothy being incens'd at this Interruption of his Reading, and Chancing at that Moment to see the Constable passing the Library, did put out his Head from the Window and Bawl loudly for the Constable to come in.
"When the latter had entered he gave the Member into custody of the Officer, professing against him a charge of Disturbance of the Peace."
---
From archive.org:
The old librarian's almanack (1909)
Author: Pearson, Edmund Lester, 1880-1937
Subject: Librarians; Libraries
Publisher: Woodstock, Vt. : Published by the Elm Tree Press
Year: 1909
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Digitizing sponsor: Google
Book from the collections of: University of Michigan
Collection: americana
Notes: A hoax, attributed by Pearson, the actual author, to a fictitious 18th C. librarian named Jared Bean.
Pseud. "Philobiblos" on t.p. in Greek
Preface by Edmund Lester Pearson
Wiegand, W. The history of a hoax
Excerpt:
Nathaniel Cutter, Esq., who for over fifty years had practised law in Newburyport, Mass., died on March 9, 1907. His executor asked me to arrange and catalogue the books which composed Mr. Cutter's library. They were in his office in an old brick building on State Street, and if dust and cobwebs may be taken as evidence, many of the books had not been disturbed for thirty or forty years. The library was almost entirely composed of legal works, of no especial interest. There were, in addition, a file of the Newburyport Herald from 1850 to 1895, and a large number of old almanacs. Mr. Cutter seems to have taken great pains to gather almanacs, and his collection has passed into the possession of the Newburyport Antiquarian Society. Acknowledgments are due that Society for permission to make this reprint of the most interesting of the collection. It is the first complete reprint of " The Old Librarian's Almanack ", - though one or two extracts from it have appeared in the Boston Evening Transcript.
After a long search I have found record of only one other copy of the Almanack. The "Preliminary Check List of American Almanacs" compiled by Mr. Hugh Alexander Morrison of the Library of Congress, - probably the most complete work of the kind in existence, makes no mention of it. But at the sale of the library of the Hon. John Stephney Wales in New York, November 16, 1896, a copy was sold (for $14) to Dr. Morris Kimball, of St. Louis. Dr. Kimball writes me, however, that his copy is imperfect, - the title-page and covers are missing.
The question of authorship of the Almanack is the only other point which needs to be mentioned. The identity of "Philobiblos" appears to be established by the fact that the copy owned by Dr. Kimball has in manuscript, on the page for the month of March, the words "writ by me, Jared Bean". In both that copy and the one which I found in the library of Mr. Cutter, the initials "J. B." are printed at the end of the poem. They have been retained here out of respect for the whim of the old librarian, who evidently rather fancied himself as a versifier.
Jared Bean, whose name today is so nearly forgotten, is mentioned in Sarah Gilman Bigelow's "Literary and Genealogical Annals of Connecticut", (New York, 1870). He was born in New Haven in 1705 or 1706. About 1754 he became curator or librarian of the Connecticut Society of Antiquarians, situated in his native town. In this congenial post he spent, so far as we know, the remainder of his life. His will, to which Mrs. Bigelow had access, was proved in 1788, and that is taken as the approximate date of his death. The old librarian never accepted the results of the American Revolution, which broke out soon after the publication of his Almanack, and toward his "Sovereign Lord ", King George III, retained his allegiance to the end. He kept the King's birthday each year; but there is no indication that he took any part in public affairs, or devoted himself to anything but his beloved books. He believed with Sir Thomas Bodley, that a librarian should never marry, and he died a bachelor. His character is so well displayed in his Almanack as to require no other description. Whatever we may think of his ideas of librarianship, his right to his favorite appellation of "Booklover" is not to be denied.
Mrs. Bigelow saw his gravestone, in 1869, in the old "East Hill Burying Ground" near New Haven. She writes that the dates and most of the inscription had become obliterated; but that the name "Jared Bean, Philobiblos" remained, together with the epitaph:
Death, thou hast closed ye Book of Life
& set me free from earthly strife,
Ye page is turn'd & I'm at rest
Ye last word said, Finitum est.
This bit of doggerel, undoubtedly the work of some professional epitaph monger, would have displeased Jared Bean, though he might have taken consolation in remembering the verse on Shakespeare's grave. But the headstone, and even the burying ground itself, have disappeared; and an electric car line runs through the place where the old librarian was buried.
Edmund Lester Pearson
Zealandia Lodge
Asheville. N. C
May 19, 1909
---
From amberpolo.com:
Old Librarian's Almanac 1774
(Excerpts)
by Edmund Lester Pearson
* Job Description -
The Librarian may be justly compar'd with him who keep an Armoury of Weapons; for as the Keeper doth neither forge the implements of War, nor employ them on the field of Battle so neither doth the Librarian compose the learn'd Works which are under his charge, not use their wisdom in his own especial interest.
But like that other Keeper, it is his Duty to see that his Armoury (which is the Library) be well stock'd with the fittest Weapons, and that they be put into the hands of such as can use them at the proper time.
The Metaphor need not stop at this, for neither, for even as the Weapons of the Armoury are unfitted for the hands of all, so do the Books (the Weapons over which the Librarian is Custodian) are ofttimes dangerous & harmful if they come to the hands of persons ill-fitted to peruse them.
Mr. Pope (an able poet, tho' a Papist) warns us that:
A little learning is a dangerous thing!
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
The wisdom of such advice, & the folly of not observing it may be seen now-a-days, when Demagogues and other of shallow intellect seek to stir up sedition & revolt. Whence it appears that is as Custos Librorum (as the Ancients call'd him) or Guardian of the Books, that the Librarian exercises his true function.
* Qualifications –
I am sensible that there will be some who will enquire as to what qualities should be possess'd by him who stands thus as Guardian of the Books. These may think (if perchance the hasty and frivolous workings of their ill-taught minds may be so dignified as to term it thinking) that it matters little what the character of the Librarian be.
Such as these cannot too soon become aware of their error. For how can it be possible that a man can act as Warder of the accumulated record of the world's wisdom, piety, learning, & experience, and hold the same in necessary reverence, if he be not a person of sober Godly life, learn'd, virtuous, chaste, moral, frugal and temperate?
This should be the character of the Librarian, and it is such as he that I would extol, as through these pages, I offer for your benefit, the results of twenty years of labour in our Honourable Profession.
* Book Selection –
You shall chuse your Books with care and Circumspection. When you have determin'd that it is Prudent to purchase a certain Work do so cautiously and make a Shrewd Bargain with the Vendor. It will then be your Duty to Peruse the Volume, even if (as doubtless with be the Fact) you have scan'd it before Buying.
Do not let the Importunities of Persons who come to the Library hasten you in the Performance of this Task. They should be Content to wait for the Book until you have Satisfied yourself of its Contents.
* Technical Services - There will then remain the Necessity of recording its Acquisition in your Ledgers of Record. As for the Entry of its Style and Title in the Catalogue, many counsel that this is not needful, since you may be expected to remember that the Book has been Purchas'd for the Library. It may, however, occupy your leisure moments. Some would advise that if it be a Volume of Sermons it be placed on the Shelves with others of its like; or if it be a work of Natural Philosophy it stand near the Volumes of that class. This is a waste of Labour.
Assign it a Number which shall correspond to its Position on the Shelf, and shall be the next in Sequence from the latest Book which you have added, and so let them stand in the Order in which they are Receiv'd. For, surely, if you desire to find a number of volumes of Sermons, it will be an easy matter for you, recalling when they were Purchas'd, to pluck them from their several resting-places.
* Security - Keep your Books behind stout Gratings, and in no wise let any Person come at them to take them from the Shelf except yourself ... Towards the Persons who frequent your Library maintain a courteous Demeanour, but the utmost Vigilance. For as it is your duty to guard well the Books which are the Riches of your Treasury, so you cannot afford to relax those Restrictions which may save you from Despoilment and the most grievous Loss. The Biblioklept or Thief of Books is your eternal Foe.
John Milton truly wrote: "For Books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of Life in them to be as active as that Soul was whose Progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a Violl the purest efficacy and extraction of that living Intellect that bred them." This, then, is the Value of a Book in the Mind of that great Poet.
* Penalties – How far beyond mere Gold or Silver is the worth of a Book; & how Filthy & Base the Act of one who steals a Book! But there be sneeking unutterable Villains who will enter a Library, and in their furtive & Detestable fashion carry from it one of its Treasures!
And what Condemnation shall befit the accurst Wretch (for he cannot justly claim the title of Man) who pilfers and purloins for his own selfish ends such a precious article as a Book?) I am minded of the Warning display'd in the Library of the Popish Monastery of San Pedro at Barcelona. This is the version English'd by Sir Matthew Mahan, who saw it writ in Latin in the Monastery, as he himself describes in his learn'd Book. "Travels in Spanish Countries, 1712".
The Warning reads thus: "For him that stealeth a Book from this Library, let it change to a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with Palsy, and all his Members blasted. Let him languish in Pain, crying aloud for Mercy and let there be no surcease to his Agony till he sink to Dissolution. Let Book-worms gnaw his Entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, and when at last he goeth to his final Punishment let the Flames of Hell consume him for ever and aye".
* Requirements for Obtaining a Library Card – So far as your Authority will permit of it, exercise great Discrimination as to which Persons shall be admitted to the use of the Library. For the Treasure House of Literature is no more to be thrown open to the ravages of the reasoning Mob, than is a fair Garden to be laid unprotected at the Mercy of a Swarm of Beasts.
Question each Applicant closely. See that he is a Person of good Reputation, scholarly Habits, sober and courteous Demeanour. Any mere Trifler, a Person that would Dally with Books, or seek in them shallow Amusement, may be Dismiss'd without delay.
No Person younger than 20 years (save if he be a Student, of more than 18 years, and vouched by his Tutor) is on any pretext to enter the Library. Be suspicious of Women. They are given to the Reading of frivolous Romances, and at all events, their presence in a Library adds little to (if it does not indeed, detract from) that aspect of Gravity, Seriousness and Learning which is its greatest Glory. You will make no error in excluding them altogether, even though by that Act it befall that you should prohibit from entering some one of those Excellent Females who are distinguished by their Wit and Learning. There is little Chance that You or I, Sir, will ever see such a One.
Let no Politician be in your Library, nor no man who Talks overmuch. It will be difficult for him to observe Silence, and he is objectionable otherwise, as well. No Astrologer, Necromancer, Charlatan, Quack, nor Humbug: no Vendor of Nostrums, nor Teacher of false Knowledge, no fantastic Preacher nor Refugee. Admit no one of loose or evil Life: prohibit the Gamester, the Gypsey, the Vagrant. Allow none who suffers from an infectious Disease; and none whose Apparel is so Gaudy or Eccentrick as to attract the Eye. Keep out the Light-witted, the Shallow, the Base and Obscure. See to it that none enter who are Senile, and none who are immature in their Minds, even tho' they have reach'd the requir'd Age.
* Inventory - About this Time prepare for the Annual Examination. Close your Library not later than August. I, having given due Notice that all Books must be returned under Pain of Expulsion. See that every Book the Library owns is in its proper place on the Shelf by the first Day of the Month. It will perchance be necessary for you to seek some of them Yourself, taking care, at the same time to administer a Reproof to the delinquent Ones.
Covers should be examined and all those worm and tatters should be replaced. Never let a Book leave the Library without a stout paper cover to protect it against the Abuses of the careless.
Paste is to be preferred to Glue in affixing these. To one cupful of Flour add nine spoonfuls of water, and a little Vinegar. A half-ounce of Oil of Spearmint will be found an admirable Preservative.
* Cataloging - Look to it that each Book is numbered in accordance with its corresponding place on the shelf. During the six Weeks that the Library remains closed to all but Yourself there is an excellent Opportunity to compile your Catalogue.
...worthy Master Enoch Sneed deems it better not to compile a Catalogue, both as an unavailing Bother and moreover as the absence of it makes you more Secure in your Office) then, in this case, you have a goodly season for the Relishment of your Books.
* Weeding - Examine your Books with great care to see that none have crept in which have an immoral or debasing Character, or which contain Pernicious and unsound Theology. A few Books of Moral tendency may be included for the Young. Their Elders will choose these, for surely children are not to be permitted in the Library themselves, to the disturbance of all others.
Cast out and destroy any Book which is merely frivolous and empty of all serious meaning, for the true object of Literature is to instil Wisdom and to lead to Habits of grave Meditation, and there always are those whose vapid Minds will feed, if it be allowed, on nothing but that which amuses for the Moment. Such must not be abetted.
Make the most of every Moment during the period of the Annual Examination, for you can then be assured that the Books are safe and well cared for, rather than spread abroad and distributed Hither and Thither.
Your Library is now closed, and so it will remain for six Weeks, or perchance two Months. These be Halcyon Days. The Annoyances to which you are subjected throughout all the Year vanish away, and there is naught to Disturb you.
Master Enoch Sneed (for whom I am ever ready to Testify my Reverence) has written: I am so be-pestered and bothered by persons insinuating themselves into the Library to get Books that frequently I am near to my Wit's end. There have been days when I was scarce able to read for two Hours consecutive without some Donkey breaking in upon my Peace. Only the thought of the Annual Examination sustains me. Then forsooth, I can defy them all and read in some Security.
The necessary Tasks of the Examination (which I described last month) are easily preformed in a Week, or less. Indeed, if you omit the preparation of the Catalogue (and worthy Master Enoch Sneed deems it better not to compile a Catalogue, both as an unavailing Bother and moreover as the absence of it makes you more Secure in your Office) then, in this case, you have a goodly season for the Relishment of your Books.
How agreeable, on these sultry Days, is the Library! The rays of the Sun which descend so fierce outdoors, are tempered inside its walls, and your Footsteps, as you walk hither and yon among the Alcoves, echo loudly. A lonely Sound, say you? Not so, the Lover of Books is not affected by Loneliness when he is encompassed by his Friends. On every Shelf they stand, none missing (I hope truly) and all at your service.
Parents of Children are said to be more delighted in their possession when the offspring are safe in their Beds, than at any other time. Tho' I trust I may be pardoned for making a seeming Comparison between Books and such a subject as Children, yet it may be said that it is true of Librarian that he is most content when all his Books are in the Library under his protection. For he can be no lover of books if he be at ease when his books are absent from the Library.
* Shall a Librarian Marry? - Matrimony, so maintain'd worthy Master Peleg Gudger, is no fit Diversion for the Librarian, and in truth, I commend his Wisdom in the matter, The dissipations of Time, the Emptinesses of Amusement, the general be-pesterment that follows embarkation on this doubtful Sea (doubtful, if not in fact, Perilous) all these concomitants of the Married State so conspire and agree to harass the Librarian and woo him from his legitimate tasks as to behoove him to take a great Oath never to allow himself to be entrapped. Tis the only save course. Otherwise will he find himself badger'd when he desires to read in Peace; led forth to Domestic Duties when he should be marshalling his Books; and at all times Distract'd & Annoy'd, to the detriment of his Profession.
It is true, there be some who hold the Contrary. Dr. Simon Bagley writes: I have not found Wives to be altogether a too heavy Encumbrance. They can dust Books, and at times, they may be trusted to arrange the volumes properly in their places. Beyond this, it would perchance, be rash to go with them. I am far from advising Librarians to marry without weighing the Question soberly, and considering it discreetly, but this I do affirm: that a Wife may be train'd to partake in a Librarian's labours in such a way as not to altogether to act as a Millstone about his Neck. It is scarce necessary to comment on Dr. Bagley's words. Truly he impeaches his own Contention, by the apologetick fashion of his phrases. Most willingly do I mention the Opinion of that diligent Librarian, Master Enoch Sneed, with whom on this (as on every point in our Profession) I am rejoiced to own myself at one. Steer a straight course, he says, away from feminine Blandishments. These Females are as Leeches or Bloodsuckers, hardly to be torn off. They would make you take your Victuals at certain fix'd seasons to conform to their rules of Housekeeping, regarding not that you may wish to read at those Hours; while again they will Babble & Complain should it chance that after a hard night's reading you ask that a hot Supper be served at Daybreak. Shun them as you would the Devil.
* Dusting – Master Caleb Pingree's Book tells of Dr. Matthew Gully who set out one Day to dust the Books in his Library. But the first Volume which he plucked from the shelf was the works of Herodotus, which he had long desir'd to read yet again, and at leisure, and so enthrall'd did the worthy Dr. Gully become in the writings of the Greek historian, that starting in to peruse the Book, he set it not down till he had read it from Beginning to End.
Thus it happen'd with the next Book, and the next, the excellent Doctor standing before his Book Shelves, holding in one hand the Cloth, wherewith he had purpos'd to wipe off the Dust from the Books, and in the other the Volume which he could not lay aside until he had read it.
So he abode standing, and retun'd each Day to his task, yet each Day reading more of the Books, till at last full eighteen Months had pass'd, and Dr. Gully had read every book in the Library. But at that time the Dust lay as thick on the Books whereat he had commen'd, as ever it had been in the Beginning.
Also there is related an Incident concerning Master Timothy Mason, the same who had his Bed fitted up in the Library, that he might sleep near his Books and thereby not suffer Annoyance when he should be wakeful at Night, and find not the Books at hand.
* Difficult Patrons - Master Timothy, being in Charge of the Publick Library, was one day reading diligently when a Member of the Library entered, and presenting his Subscription Ticket begged the Librarian to fetch him a certain Book. Master Timothy being incens'd at this Interruption of his Reading, and Chancing at that Moment to see the Constable passing the Library, did put out his Head from the Window and Bawl loudly for the Constable to come in.
When the latter had enter'd he gave the Member into custody of the Officer, preferring against him a charge of Disturbance of the Peace.
* Love of Reading - The admirable Timothy Mason (of whom we read last Month) was wont to Walk with a Book held before his Nose, reading as he pass'd along the Street. He looked neither up nor down as he Walk'd, but fixt his Attention upon the Page before him, being somewhat short of Vision, tho' wearing powerful Lenses in his Spectacles. It was his Custom to leave the Library when it lack'd a few Minutes of 6 o'clock in the Evening, he had found that his walk brought him to his Dwelling at the Moment that the Town Clock struck the Hour.
One Evening, in Midsummer, the worthy Librarian set out for his Home, holding before him & reading with Earnestness the Ecclesiastical Polity of the learn'd Hooker. Now, it chanc'd that the Town Clock had become damag'd, the Librarian, hearing not the customary Ringing, strode past his Door (despite the loud cries of his Housekeeper), continu'd down the Street, never for an instant relaxing his Zeal for Reading. At 7 o'clock the Excellent man was still walking in the direction of the neighboring Town, and only at a quarter after 8, when the failing Light caus'd him to glance up, did he perceive that he had travell'd over 6 miles & arriv'd in the Market place of the next Town, having perus'd the greater part of the Ecclesiastical Polity on the journey.
The Librarian was sore perplex'd, for at first he failed to recognize his surroundings, & he was unable to account for the hooting Rabble that dogg'd his Footsteps, in the Custom of such Vulgar Persons when they discover a Stranger of unusual Aspect. He was also at a loss to understand how his Shoes & Hose had become so be-fouled & be-mired, for he was unaware that he had crossed divers Brooks, & forded sundry Watercourses during his journey. It might have fared ill with Master Timothy, had not Master Caleb Perkins, a Brother Librarian, chanc'd to encounter him at that Moment. Through the good offices of this Friend, Master Timothy was provided with com fortable Lodgings for the Night & on the Morrow suitably convey'd to his own Home.
* Joys of the Profession of Librarianship - There is none so Felicitous as the Librarian, and none with so small a cause of Ill-Content, Jealousy or Rancour. No other Profession is like his; no other so Happy. Of the Clergy, I speak not, their Calling is sacred and not of this World. The Physician & Lawyer administer to the ills and evils of Mankind. The Merchant's happiness is conditioned upon his pecuniary Success.
But the Librarian, so far removed from any of these, ministers to the Wisdom and Delight of Mankind, increases his own Knowledge, lives surrounded by the Noble thoughts of great Minds, and can take no Concern of pecuniary Success, forasmuch as such a thing is not within the boundaries of Possibility.
If any may rival him in good Fortune, it is the Author, who produces some great Work of which the Librarian shall stand as humble Guardian. But even here, again, a little reading suffices to show that Authors have frequently lived in Turmoil or Penury, dying Destitute or wretched, because that Publick Esteem which was necessary to their Contentment had been withheld until long after they had quitted this Earth.
The Librarian, as he cannot hope for Wealth (nor fret his Mind about it), so he cannot expect to achieve Fame. Where is the Monument erected to a Librarian? Great Monarchs and Warriors have theirs; in ancient times it was even a custom thus to honour the Poet. But the Librarian lives and dies unknown to Fame; the durable results of his Labours are not visible to the Eye, and if at all he receiveth Honour it is for his private Character as a Man. His Brother Librarians may know and Esteem him as an Ornament to their Profession, and that is his sufficient Reward.
He lives protected, avaricious neither of Money nor of Worldly Fame, and happy in the goodliest of all Occupations, – the pursuit of wisdom.
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ARS BIBLIOTHECARII
First of all matters, 'tis your greatest need
To read unceasing & unceasing read;
When one Book's ended, with a mind unvext
Turn then your whole Attention to the Next.
Let naught intrude; to all the World be blind,
And chase each vain allurement from our Mind.
Be also deaf: 'tis well to turn the Lock,
And let who will the outer portal knock.
Behold in Books your Raiment & your Bread,
So, lacking Books you're neither warm'd nor fed;
Chuse them with care, repudiate the Chaff,
Or see corruption spoil the better half;
For one base volume spreads the Poison through, -
A single Traitor can a Host undo.
As Books, like Men, go better neatly drest,
Let Pater, Print, & Binding be the Best.
Your Books obtained, behold the Problem rise
How best secure them from unworthy eyes;
Or, graver yet, to guard lest you're bereft
By Fire, Worms, or (absit omen!) Theft.
Remember this: they're safe upon the shelf,
When none has access thither but yourself.
As you to guard them best are qualifi'd,
So you to read them, clearly 'tis impli'd.
Be vigilant our Treasury to keep,
In watchful care know neither rest nor sleep;
All other Readers better far keep out
Than put the safely of your Books in doubt.
And first, or last, this Precept ever heed:
To read unceasing, and unceasing read.
J.B.
* Collection Maintenance - Of the Enemies of Books I especially esteem the Cockroach. That worthy Librarian, Master Enoch Sneed (for whom I profess my reverent Admiration), would have it that the Domestic Mouse, building her Nest, as she will, 'mid the Tatters of our most precious Volumes, more fairly merits the name of Chief Destroyer. But though it be true that the Ravage wrought by the Mouse is compleat, yet she & her Kind may be exterminated, & the Library rid of her Presence with not great Ado.
But the Cockroach, more elusive in his Habits, & not less insidious in his Character, spreads destruction wherever his footsteps may wander, & he is a greater Bother to remove, in view of the Celerity of his Movements, & the amazing Fecundity with which he reproduces his Kind.
Some may question if the Nature of the Destruction wrought by this Pestilential Insect be of serious import, but I do earnestly Assure all such that I have witnessed with my own eyes appalling Injuries inflicted on the most Precious Books in my Custody, & these Injuries, I am convinc'd, were justly chargeable to this hardshelled Rogue who Scuttles about the Book Shelves, & owns no restraint upon his ungovernable Appetite. For the Cockroach will so gnaw & devour the Bindings, so prey upon the leavs of old Books that I have been Moved nearly to an access of Tears when I have gaz'd upon the Ruin which he has left after him. With devilish Cunning he will come at only the rare and costly Volumes, picking them out, it would seem, as by the leadership of Satan, & visiting upon them his own foul Mutilation.
I have found the following Preparation to be highly serviceable: To three minims of distilled Hen-Bane, add four drops of the Tincture of Saffron. Take this Mixture & combine it with a half a gill of the Liquor which comes from boyling a peck of common Tansy. After allowing it to cool, add four great spoonfuls of pure Vinegar, a pinch of powdered Rhubarb, & the juice of a score of Mulberries, heated well. The resulting Compound should be kept in a Jar, tightly seal'd, & sprinkled on the Book Shelves, or wherever the Enemy are seen.
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