Daily Thoughts 12/07/2013

Three Girls Reading, 1907, Edmund Charles Tarbell

Daily Thoughts 12/07/2013

This morning on the way to work, I read some more of Thieves of Book Row. The action in the account occurs in libraries and bookstores between New York City and Boston. Apparently, thieves would travel and sell their stolen books between the cities.

I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.

This morning, I did a little shifting (moving around books) in the oversize books. I also have to do some moving around books in the new books section. Maintenance put in some new shelving which we had picked up as a gift from the Rye library. On Monday, we will be getting some brand new shelving for the new books as well as some fresh signage which should make things look nicer and provide better directions.

I put the book, The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough on hold which is science fiction.

The book, Junkyard Planet Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade by Adam Minter came in for me to read as well. As usual, I have too many books to read right now.

I spent most of the afternoon shifting the new books. I also spent some time talking to a colleague about electronic resources.

On the way home, I read some more of Thieves of Book Row New York's Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Stopped It by Travis McDade. Travis McDade puts forth the idea that a crooked book dealer who recruits thieves is often more of a menace to libraries than a lone thief who steals from libraries. The end of the book has the story of the Romm gang who employed a variety of thieves to steal Americanah from libraries all over Boston and New York and ultimately was broken up. The break up of the gang led to the shuttering of several bookstores. It was interesting because the story focused on the methods used from the long jacket with hidden pockets to the cosying up to librarians to get to know their patterns. We learn how book dealers would generate lists of items that they were seeking which they would hand off to scouts to find. These lists were used by both thieves and honest book scouts. Even though this book was set in the 1920s and 1930s it is still very relevant. There are a lot of names of real people in the New York book, Boston, Chicago, and Canadian book trade that are historically recognizable. The book includes extensive notes and an index.

I started reading Sonia Sotomayor, My Beloved World.