"Never Forget the Weirdos..."

During lunch I was reading a book industry newsletter and came across this marvelous quote from Sarah McNally, a NYC bookshop owner: "Never forget the wonks, and the weirdos, and the people who will be delighted by this book that they never could even have imagined could exist and they will find on your shelf." I love that. And it sums up my philosophy of library collections. Not every book on a shelf has to be popular. An individual book doesn't take up that much space. So what if it doesn't get checked out frequently? There's always somebody who will want that book but just doesn't know it yet.  Keeping it on the shelf means keeping alive the possibility of that delightful moment when someone finds a book they didn't know existed  and realizes they can't wait to start reading it. It's great that patrons can call the library and request books be put on hold for them, or ask for books online. But if that's the only way they get books they're depriving themselves of surprise. They'll never know that moment. That's  why we've got a book on the guys who embalmed Lenin  and a novel about time travel in Ancient Egypt. That's why we've got books with titles like Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink and The Pope's Rhinoceros. Come to the library and explore the shelves. Anything* might be waiting for you.   *Well, not literally anything. Not puff adders, for example.