Last Will and Testament

Today I finally completed one of those "adult things" we should all do -- I typed up my Last Will and Testament dictating how my assets (assuming the government doesn't take the rest of what I have) will be distributed once I pass on to the great library in the sky. Question - do you think Heaven charges late fees for overdue books? :-)

One section of my will that I am proud of is a provision that donates my personal library and a cash amount to the public library in my boyhood home of Ida Grove, Iowa. You can see what is going on in the area (quiet but a good place to raise a family) via this website -- www.idacountycourier.com

My community library exposed me to a world of learning and clearly helped prepare me for the three college degrees I have completed since I left this small town which sits in the heart of the Maple River valley.

My donation is a small thank you to the community leaders who made certain my hometown had a high quality library. May future students benefit from this gift.

Read on MacDuff and damned be the man that first cry, "hold enough!",

Todd

Newberry Library

While working in Chicago last week I attended a public policy conference held at the Newberry Library (www.newberry.org) at 60 West Walton Street. If any fellow book lovers out there are visiting Chicago may I recommend that you visit this treasure house of knowledge? The Newberry notes that it actively collects -- "books, manuscripts, maps, and other printed materials related to the history of Western Europe and the Americas." Yes, I know, "dead white men" materials -- take it easy you left wingers out there!!

The Newberry Library was founded in 1887 via an estate bequest by Walter L. Newberry who was a Chicago area "land developer and city leader" according to the brochure I picked up. This is yet another reason the US Congress needs to completely eliminate the "death tax"/estate tax so that those people who create fortunes can decide what should happen to the funds once they leave the earth. Mr. Newberry's gift is very similar to the much more famous "Carnegie Library" system created by industrialist Andrew Carnegie so my thanks to both visionaries for creating the tools necessary for disseminating knowledge.

One further historical note that I will share is that the Newberry Library's first librarian was William F. Poole who was also the founder of the American Library Association (ALA). The ALA is an institution I respect and watch since they sponsor the annual "Banned Books Week" which is worth the time of all readers to promote to others.

Thank you Mr. Newberry for your gift,

Todd

National Library Week

While visiting the Law Library in the Iowa state capitol this past week I noticed a brochure promoting "National Library Week" --

http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/natlibraryweek/nlw.htm

National Library Week is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries, librarians and library workers and to promote library use and support.

which is set for April 15 to 21, 2007.

Personally I owe a debt of gratitude to my home town library (supported by the Godbersen Family Foundation) which provided the foundation of reading materials that enabled me to become a good student in school, college, and graduate school.

As I reviewed the American Library Association website I was curious if they planned to mention the "lending library" created by Benjamin Franklin whereby patrons would pay a subscription fee for access to books. Based on what I reviewed at this weblink I did not see such a reference made (perhaps some "political correctness" at work here?) --

http://www.ala.org/ala/ppo/currentprograms/benjaminfranklin/franklin.htm

Mr. Franklin created the first lending library in the American Colonies in 1731 which was a free market solution that helped spread the practice of reading books to the underclasses as noted here --

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/benfranklin/librarian.html

Clearly the public benefits from private initiative,

Todd