Library Larceny

[Guest guest]

When I was in college, I would frequently go to the

Fordham Branch library in the Bronx to do research. I

discovered they had a copy of "Seduction of the

Innocent" by Frederick Wertham, a study of how the

comic book industry was accused of perverting American

youth with images of violence and sexuality. It was

in the Reference Section, and could not be lent out,

so I read it in installments each time I went to the

library, and left a leather bookmark in the book so

I'd know where to resume.

 

I was about two-thirds through the book, when it

disappeared! None of the librarians knew where it

might have gone to.

 

Many years later, I had made friends with another

Bronx boy and comics fan named Martin. We were

talking about our youth, and Martin said, "When I was

in college, I worked as a student volunteer at the

Fordham library. Did you know that they had a rare

copy of Wertham's 'Seduction of the Innocent'? Of

course, I grabbed that baby up for myself..."

 

My face grew pale, then red, and I exclaimed, "So,

YOU'RE the bastard! Can I at least have my bookmark

back?"

 

(And, no, he did not let me finish the book!)

 

I do not lend books out, unless I am willing to accept

the fact that I may well lose them. If a friend wants

to read a book that I am not willing to give up, I

say, "You can read it HERE, in my apartment. What's

your schedule like?"

 

There is a New Age "writer" who stole a rare edition

of a text about Celtic mythology from the Noo Yawk

main branch Public Library, cut it up into sections,

and used the old-fashioned typeface style to

illustrate his own commentaries on Celtic myth. It

makes me so mad! This is an offense against Saraswati

Devi, in my opinion. Thank Goddess for modern

photocopying.

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

--- NMadasamy <nmadasamy

wrote:

> NMadasamy wrote : Aiyoooooo! what I know is just the

> basic lah! I

> never refer to the books actually. I have a whole

> collection of

> them. Name it : cook book for webmaster, HtML

> publishing etc but I

> hardly refer to any. I cant even remember how I got

> those books. I

> borrowed from the Singapore Library, brought them

> back to KL and

> forgot all about them. Declared lost and pay the

> fine, and the books

> becomes mine. I hope there is no Singapore Librarian

> amongst us.

> They will ban me from borrowing in future. They are

> so rich... so

> many new books.... HHHaaaa.

>

>

> Hahaaahaaaa somebody finds this statement of mine

> shocking. Okay let

> me clarify. I do not hoard books from the library. I

> stop borrowing

> because I dont trust myself. That is my first

> incident. I left it in

> the airport on my way back home and forgot all

> about. Eventually I

> have to declare it as lost because I cant find them.

> The fines I

> have to pay is the same as the cost of the books.

> Coincidentally

> somebody in the airport found it and return it back

> to me during my

> next trip. Since I have already paid, the library

> said its consider

> sold.

>

> If I want to do my reading, I go to the reference

> section. No more

> books to bring back except those I bought from the

> bookstore.

>

> Lesson learn from here people, if never never lend

> your books to me.

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

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