Ideological Neutrality, The Best American Comics-- Chris Ware Editor, Pennyroyal Caxton Bible (Barry Moser Illustrator)

One of the central tenets of working in a public service agency is that a public agency does not endorse a particular religion or political party. The library is supposed to serve all ideologies. This is quite hard to do in some cases.

This means for official purposes we cannot support a particular candidate for mayor, or hold to a particular viewpoint. Thus we have "Holiday Parties" and either use inclusive symbolism or no symbolism at all. I am sure this angers some people, but in a way it is necessary.
It is also frustrating at times. One of the most frustrating examples of this was having to get books on eugenics that we have kept for historical purposes like "The Task of Social Hygiene" by Havelock Ellis for people, or get occult books for teenagers. Getting the eugenics books for the guy was quite hard, because he also asked for books on ethnophysiology.

Despite being neutral in service, many libraries have a tendency to order books on a liberal basis. We don't get a lot of books by Jerry Falwell, or books endorsed by Focus on the Family for example. People have a tendency to select items which they like based on their values.

Another issue which we run into is having to talk to very religious people. While it is wonderful to do this, it is also very hard sometimes when you are supposed to be ideologically neutral in service. The first words that you hear are "God bless this Christian nation." Or in one case, "Have a nice day, you are the beloved."

Part of the ideological neutrality is the concept of inclusiveness in religious and ethnic material. We have to order at least some material on sikhism, buddhism, baptists, christianity, islam, American Islam, occultism, atheism, new age material, and other religious material. Another change is that we no longer have a "black heritage" collection we have a "multicultural collection" where we also order books on hispanics, asians, and other minority groups.

____________________________________________________________________

I am enjoying reading The Best American Comics 2007, edited by Chris Ware. I am not going to say the comics I didn't like, that is the advantage of collections, you can say which parts you happened to like. I liked the autobiographical comics by Jeffrey Brown, they are about his collecting music cds and his relationship with his girlfriend. He seems to be as obsessed with collecting cds as I am with books. I liked the comic by Adrian Tomine, his statement about people from Berkeley California liking Manhattan, New York is absolutely on the money. Charles Burns has a really beautifully illustrated piece on relationships. My favorite comic strip in the whole book is Wimbledon Green by Seth. It is another autobiographical piece about growing up.



____________________________________________________________________

This is a rather personal thing. I have a copy of The Pennyroyal Caxton Bible illustrated by Barry Moser. It claims to be the first fully illustrated bible in the last one hundred years. The illustrations are quite beautiful, and the text is very readable. The illustrations are black and white woodcuts. It is both a work of art and a bible. Barry Moser has illustrated many of the classics of literature.

My father gave it to me on my birthday. Things were a bit difficult at the time. This is a link to information on the work.

http://www.pennyroyal-caxton.com/illI.htm

Some Philosophy Books, And A Bit On Widgets

Marcus Aurelius Emperor of Rome

Today is Thursday, I am not quite sure what to write about. I was thinking of mentioning some religious or philosophy books which I have. My father gave me a copy of The Holy Bible designed and illustrated by Barry Moser. The woodcuts throughout are very beautiful. I occassionally like to the read the Psalms and Proverbs.

I used to work in the History, Biography, and Religion department of a large central library at one point. I would order the eastern religion books and mystical christianity books. I don't spend as much time as I used to focused on this type of writing.

I also keep a copy of the Tao Te Ching, and the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi which I read on occassion. They both have a certain poetry to them. Although, I don't keep a copy, Sun Tzu's The Art of War can teach you a lot as well.

If you are looking for a superb piece of esoterica with all kinds of beautiful illustrations throughout, you might want to look at Manly P. Hall Secret Teachings of All Ages. It is a very interesting book.

We get a lot of questions about religion, especially christianity where I work. One thing I can say about some of the christian books is that some of them have a positive attitude. Attitude can get you to the right places in life sometimes. Although many people do not consider it a christian book, Norman Vincent Peale -- The Power of Positive Thinking can help you get pointed in the right direction towards less negativity in your life.

A lot of people have lost their sense of the Greek and Roman philosophers takes on life. A little book which has helped many people keep focus is the Enchiridion by Epictetus, it is the stoics guide on how to live. Another book is the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius who was the emperor of Rome. These are both precursors to a large portion of St. Augustine's philosoophy. Stoicism teaches that the self denial is the highest pleasure.

___________________________________________________________________

I have added a few widgets, namely a bestseller widget, a graphic novels widget, and an audiobook widget. I am still looking for an ebook widget. I haven't found a decent one yet.
I also put in a fish tank widget. It reminds me of fish tv, a popular show on cable, where people have simply put a camera in front of a fish tank the fish swim around.

Anyways, I am still reading A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin, I'll probably finish it today, maybe tomorrow. One of my favorite characters so far is Brienne the Maid of Tarth who is one ugly warrior woman. The writing is crisp and clean, it is very easy to read and enjoyable. The ironmen very much remind me of the vikings in their longships with their raiding, pillaging, and slave taking. This is really well worth reading.