ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


6 4 6  /  C&RL News

Beyond the book review
By D ot S. T h o m p so n  an d  Roberta Laulicht Sim s

Sharing the impact o f books

R emem ber the excitement you felt as a child w h en  you beg an  a new  N ancy Drew? 
Maybe it w as the Hardy boys, The Black 

lion, Little Wo men? Chances are, you felt a kin­
ship with a character from a childhood book.

The impact books can have on our personal 
and professional lives is intriguing. Just as cer­
tain songs evoke phases in our lives, so do 
books. Remember the Lord o f the Rings trilogy? 
The D u n e trilogy? W hen w as the first time you 
read Alice in  Wonderland? The Catcher in the 
Rye? The Diary o f A nne Frank? The Grapes o f Wrath?
The Color Purple? The Sound a n d  the Fury?

Sometim es, reading a b o o k  can literally 
change our lives. Books have the ability to 
e m p o w e r, inform , e n te rta in , a n d  in sp ire. 
Through books w e can retrace history, cata­
pult into the future, or explore contemporary 
life. Books can shock us, provoke us, and cause 
us to reflect u pon our lives. Often, our reaction 
to a book depends upon w hat is happening in 
our personal lives. No tw o people experience 
any one book in the exact same way. Books 
speak to our individuality.

Reflecting u p o n  th e pow erful influence 
books can have on our lives gave us an idea 
for a series o f presentations, “Books That Made 
A Difference.” We invited faculty and adminis­
trators to come to the library and speak about 
a significant book in their lives. We did not 
w ant a boo k  review. We did not w ant an aca­
demic critique o f the author, the genre, or the 
them e. What w e w anted was som ething much 
more difficult— to hear about the very real and 
very personal influence o f a particular book on 
an individual life. O ne of our goals was to gain 
insight into our colleagues; another goal was

 

to bring more people into the library. We also 
felt that a series focusing on the importance of 
books w ould b e appropriate during a time 
w hen academic libraries are growing increas­
ingly technological and computerized.

“Books That Made A Difference” began in 
the spring term of 1990 and met the third Fri­

Stadla­y o f each m onth over the lunch hour. As 
with any public event, w e spent many hours in 
preparation. Identifying speakers was the first 
crucial step; making sure they understood that 
w e w eren’t interested in a traditional book re­
view was our biggest challenge. Our speakers 
had to be willing to abandon academic rheto­
ric, to make themselves som ew hat vulnerable.

O n the more practical side, w e had to re­
serve space, arrange for seating, microphones, 
refreshments, design a poster and write num er­
ous publicity announcem ents.

The series has now  concluded its second 
successful year. O ut biggest concern—that our 
speakers w ould lapse into a traditional book 
review—proved unfounded. All of our speakers 
offered a unique blend of book summary and per­
sonal reflections. Many brought props—music, 
photographs, related books and bibliographies. All 
of the speakers brought personal folklore.

Although w e anticipated that many speak­
ers w ould select a book from their childhood, 
in fact only one speaker did. Curiously, this 
session attracted the largest audience. O ur 
speakers discussed books ranging from the 
Nancy Drew mysteries to Ulysses. The presenta­
tions, which w ere as varied in style as the choice 
of books, m anaged to combine the scholarly 
with the intimate, offering the audience insight 
on the way books do indeed influence and 
affect our lives.

We lo o k  fo rw ard  to  fu tu re sessio n s of 
“Books That Made A Difference” w hich explore 
the fascinating and decisive impact books con­
tinue to have on our lives. ■

Dot S. Thompson is m a nager o f  user ed ucation services/reference librarian, a n d  Roberta Laulicht Sims is 
assistant to the director o f  library services a t B u ckn ell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania