Support your local library!
 

Today was the first day of my local library's used book sale. For
once I got there early and joined the ranks of the hard-core used-book
sellers and random townies like me who hope they can get the good
stuff before someone else does :-)

Twenty minutes and $15 later, I waltzed out with ten cookbooks.

Now, when you "shop" at a fund-raiser like this and at high speed,
competing with the pro's for books, you end up with some strange and
wonderful stuff. For instance,

_Fondue_Cookery_ by Alison Burt, ~1970. The very first recipe is the
standard traditional cheese fondue with kirsch. Much of the rest
looks yummy. Fondue: out of vogue not long thereafter, back in again
in the '90s, ignored again in the oughts, destined to be back in again
as soon as the next time I fire up my fondue pot again :-)

_The_Best_Bagels_ by Dona Meilach, 1995. Good basic bagels and the
thinking behind them and a host of good variations to try and
toppings.

_An_Encyclopedia_of_Chinese_Food_and_Cooking_ by <a bunch of authors>,
1970. A weird book with a weird recipe format:

A. Ingredient A
B. Ingredient B
etc.

Preparation:

Do something with A.
Do something else with B.
etc. with C, D, E, and so on.

Cooking:

Cook A like this
Add B like this
etc. with C, D, E, and so on.

Literally: As, Bs, Cs, used to compress the recipe into text so that
1000 of them fit into a 1 1/2 inch thick cookbook. A modern computer
nerd would be proud.

And a bunch of other cookbooks not worth mentioning particularly.

What I wanted to emphasize is simply this: Support your local
library. Especially In these tough economic times, they are frugal
and valuable oaseses of information.

--
Silvar Beitel
(very occasional poster)

Support your local library!
 

On Mar 20, 1:14*pm, wrote:
> Today was the first day of my local library's used book sale. *For
> once I got there early and joined the ranks of the hard-core used-book
> sellers and random townies like me who hope they can get the good
> stuff before someone else does :-)
>
> Twenty minutes and $15 later, I waltzed out with ten cookbooks.
>
> Now, when you "shop" at a fund-raiser like this and at high speed,
> competing with the pro's for books, you end up with some strange and
> wonderful stuff. *For instance,
>
> _Fondue_Cookery_ by Alison Burt, ~1970. *The very first recipe is the
> standard traditional cheese fondue with kirsch. *Much of the rest
> looks yummy. *Fondue: out of vogue not long thereafter, back in again
> in the '90s, ignored again in the oughts, destined to be back in again
> as soon as the next time I fire up my fondue pot again :-)
>
> _The_Best_Bagels_ by Dona Meilach, 1995. *Good basic bagels and the
> thinking behind them and a host of good variations to try and
> toppings.
>
> _An_Encyclopedia_of_Chinese_Food_and_Cooking_ by <a bunch of authors>,
> 1970. *A weird book with a weird recipe format:
>
> A. Ingredient A
> B. Ingredient B
> etc.
>
> Preparation:
>
> Do something with A.
> Do something else with B.
> etc. with C, D, E, and so on.
>
> Cooking:
>
> Cook A like this
> Add B like this
> etc. with C, D, E, and so on.
>
> Literally: As, Bs, Cs, used to compress the recipe into text so that
> 1000 of them fit into a 1 1/2 inch thick cookbook. *A modern computer
> nerd would be proud.
>
> And a bunch of other cookbooks not worth mentioning particularly.
>
> What I wanted to emphasize is simply this: Support your local
> library. *Especially In these tough economic times, they are frugal
> and valuable oaseses of information.

I agree wholeheartedly.
>
> --
> Silvar Beitel
> (very occasional poster)

--Bryan

Support your local library!
 

On Mar 20, 2:14*pm, wrote:
> Today was the first day of my local library's used book sale. *For
> once I got there early and joined the ranks of the hard-core used-book
> sellers and random townies like me who hope they can get the good
> stuff before someone else does :-)
>
> Twenty minutes and $15 later, I waltzed out with ten cookbooks.
>
> Now, when you "shop" at a fund-raiser like this and at high speed,
> competing with the pro's for books, you end up with some strange and
> wonderful stuff. *For instance,
>
> _Fondue_Cookery_ by Alison Burt, ~1970. *The very first recipe is the
> standard traditional cheese fondue with kirsch. *Much of the rest
> looks yummy. *Fondue: out of vogue not long thereafter, back in again
> in the '90s, ignored again in the oughts, destined to be back in again
> as soon as the next time I fire up my fondue pot again :-)
>
> _The_Best_Bagels_ by Dona Meilach, 1995. *Good basic bagels and the
> thinking behind them and a host of good variations to try and
> toppings.
>
> _An_Encyclopedia_of_Chinese_Food_and_Cooking_ by <a bunch of authors>,
> 1970. *A weird book with a weird recipe format:
>
> A. Ingredient A
> B. Ingredient B
> etc.
>
> Preparation:
>
> Do something with A.
> Do something else with B.
> etc. with C, D, E, and so on.
>
> Cooking:
>
> Cook A like this
> Add B like this
> etc. with C, D, E, and so on.
>
> Literally: As, Bs, Cs, used to compress the recipe into text so that
> 1000 of them fit into a 1 1/2 inch thick cookbook. *A modern computer
> nerd would be proud.
>
> And a bunch of other cookbooks not worth mentioning particularly.
>
> What I wanted to emphasize is simply this: Support your local
> library. *Especially In these tough economic times, they are frugal
> and valuable oaseses of information.
>
> --
> Silvar Beitel
> (very occasional poster)

Sounds like you had a good haul! I love library sales and try not to
miss one at my local branch.

Kris, who LOVES her library

Support your local library!
 

On Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:50:29 -0700 (PDT), Kris wrote:

> On Mar 20, 2:14Â*pm, wrote:
>>
>> What I wanted to emphasize is simply this: Support your local
>> library. Â*Especially In these tough economic times, they are frugal
>> and valuable oaseses of information.
>>
>> --
>> Silvar Beitel
>> (very occasional poster)
>
> Sounds like you had a good haul! I love library sales and try not to
> miss one at my local branch.
>
> Kris, who LOVES her library

my local branch library is not the greatest, but the thing to keep in mind
is the inter-library loan system, which really *can* get you almost
anything in print, and some out of print as well. maybe they can locate
that obscure cookbook you've been pining for.

plus, all the librarians i've known are Good People„¢.

your pal,
blake

Support your local library!
 

On Mar 21, 11:23 am, blake murphy > wrote:
> On Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:50:29 -0700 (PDT), Kris wrote:
> > On Mar 20, 2:14 pm, wrote:
>
> >> What I wanted to emphasize is simply this: Support your local
> >> library. Especially In these tough economic times, they are frugal
> >> and valuable oaseses of information.
>
> >> --
> >> Silvar Beitel
> >> (very occasional poster)
>
> > Sounds like you had a good haul! I love library sales and try not to
> > miss one at my local branch.
>
> > Kris, who LOVES her library
>
> my local branch library is not the greatest, but the thing to keep in mind
> is the inter-library loan system, which really *can* get you almost
> anything in print, and some out of print as well. maybe they can locate
> that obscure cookbook you've been pining for.
>
> plus, all the librarians i've known are Good People™.
>
> your pal,
> blake

Quite. The reason I posted this is that in these times the state (in
my case Massachusetts) and its local communities are having to cut
spending - libraries are of course a target. The problem is that if a
town cuts its library budget (staff, hours, services) too far, the
library loses accreditation and can no longer participate in the
various regional/state inter-library loan systems. Several towns have
already succumbed to this. My own (largely middle-class) town will
weather it out, but it will be close.

Most libraries have support groups that do fund-raising in support of
the libraries and their programs. The one in my town is quite active
and the used book sale is the biggest fund-raiser. The entire
basement of the library building gets filled up with donated books to
the point where they have to beg people to stop bringing books in.

OK, what this has to do with r.f.c. is this: These book sales are gold
mines of old (and not so old) cookbooks. I bought a pile yesterday
and went back today and bought a few more. So what if I donate 2/3 of
them *back* to the book sale next year - it's all money to keep the
library afloat. But a fair number of my "keepers" have come from
there.

Today's weird find: _Tofu_Cookery_ by Louise Hagler. 1982. The
photos have that old cookbook cast you're used to from the 50s, but
some of the recipes are actually fairly creative and interesting. 50
cents. I also bought copies of a couple of cookbooks I already have
that I like so that I can give them to friends. $2 for a hardback is
always going to beat even Amazon's used book dealer prices, given the
$4.99 shipping/handling fee.

So, keep an eye out for those library used book sales and hit them up.
Good for you and good for the libraries!

--
Silvar Beitel
(very occasional poster)

Support your local library!
 

On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:48:57 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>OK, what this has to do with r.f.c. is this: These book sales are gold
>mines of old (and not so old) cookbooks.

I wish my branch libraries had book sales more than once a year. As
it is, our book sales are once a year, HUGE, and not worth the trip
for me because it is so darned crowded.
http://www.friendssfpl.org/?Big_Book_Sale


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

Support your local library!
 

Support your local library!
 

Support your local library!
 

On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:48:57 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

> On Mar 21, 11:23 am, blake murphy > wrote:
>> On Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:50:29 -0700 (PDT), Kris wrote:
>>> On Mar 20, 2:14 pm, wrote:
>>
>>>> What I wanted to emphasize is simply this: Support your local
>>>> library. Especially In these tough economic times, they are frugal
>>>> and valuable oaseses of information.
>>
>>>> --
>>>> Silvar Beitel
>>>> (very occasional poster)
>>
>>> Sounds like you had a good haul! I love library sales and try not to
>>> miss one at my local branch.
>>
>>> Kris, who LOVES her library
>>
>> my local branch library is not the greatest, but the thing to keep in mind
>> is the inter-library loan system, which really *can* get you almost
>> anything in print, and some out of print as well. maybe they can locate
>> that obscure cookbook you've been pining for.
>>
>> plus, all the librarians i've known are Good People„¢.
>>
>> your pal,
>> blake
>
> Quite. The reason I posted this is that in these times the state (in
> my case Massachusetts) and its local communities are having to cut
> spending - libraries are of course a target. The problem is that if a
> town cuts its library budget (staff, hours, services) too far, the
> library loses accreditation and can no longer participate in the
> various regional/state inter-library loan systems. Several towns have
> already succumbed to this. My own (largely middle-class) town will
> weather it out, but it will be close.
>
but if it is part of a county system, couldn't they piggyback on that?

> Most libraries have support groups that do fund-raising in support of
> the libraries and their programs. The one in my town is quite active
> and the used book sale is the biggest fund-raiser. The entire
> basement of the library building gets filled up with donated books to
> the point where they have to beg people to stop bringing books in.
>
> OK, what this has to do with r.f.c. is this: These book sales are gold
> mines of old (and not so old) cookbooks. I bought a pile yesterday
> and went back today and bought a few more. So what if I donate 2/3 of
> them *back* to the book sale next year - it's all money to keep the
> library afloat. But a fair number of my "keepers" have come from
> there.
>

the branch near me always has a couple racks of used books (paperbacks
fifty cents, hardbacks a dollar), and it seems every time i visit i come
home with one or two. sometimes i take books in, but it's hard to tell in
which direction the net flow is. (the library is also my polling place.)

your pal,
blake

Support your local library!
 

On Mar 22, 11:28 am, blake murphy > wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:48:57 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
> > On Mar 21, 11:23 am, blake murphy > wrote:
> >> On Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:50:29 -0700 (PDT), Kris wrote:
> >>> On Mar 20, 2:14 pm, wrote:
>
> >>>> What I wanted to emphasize is simply this: Support your local
> >>>> library. Especially In these tough economic times, they are frugal
> >>>> and valuable oaseses of information.
>
> >>>> --
> >>>> Silvar Beitel
> >>>> (very occasional poster)
>
> >>> Sounds like you had a good haul! I love library sales and try not to
> >>> miss one at my local branch.
>
> >>> Kris, who LOVES her library
>
> >> my local branch library is not the greatest, but the thing to keep in mind
> >> is the inter-library loan system, which really *can* get you almost
> >> anything in print, and some out of print as well. maybe they can locate
> >> that obscure cookbook you've been pining for.
>
> >> plus, all the librarians i've known are Good People™.
>
> >> your pal,
> >> blake
>
> > Quite. The reason I posted this is that in these times the state (in
> > my case Massachusetts) and its local communities are having to cut
> > spending - libraries are of course a target. The problem is that if a
> > town cuts its library budget (staff, hours, services) too far, the
> > library loses accreditation and can no longer participate in the
> > various regional/state inter-library loan systems. Several towns have
> > already succumbed to this. My own (largely middle-class) town will
> > weather it out, but it will be close.
>
> but if it is part of a county system, couldn't they piggyback on that?

This is getting OT, but the short answer is no. All libraries here
are local entities funded by the individual cities and towns (although
some of the revenue is tax money fed back by the state). The state
sets standards for them and accredits them or not. The town can
choose to fund or underfund their library (or school system, or
highway department, or whatever) but there are penalties like
decertification or stoppage of state aid for cutting too deeply. In
the case of libraries, it means they're cut off from the regionalized
administrative systems that facilitate sharing. For historical,
geographical and demographic reasons, there are practically no county-
level systems in Massachusetts.

I could go on and on, but it's OT so I won't. If I meet you some day,
you can buy me a beer and I'll bend your ear about the good and the
bad of it.

> > Most libraries have support groups that do fund-raising in support of
> > the libraries and their programs. The one in my town is quite active
> > and the used book sale is the biggest fund-raiser. The entire
> > basement of the library building gets filled up with donated books to
> > the point where they have to beg people to stop bringing books in.
>
> > OK, what this has to do with r.f.c. is this: These book sales are gold
> > mines of old (and not so old) cookbooks. I bought a pile yesterday
> > and went back today and bought a few more. So what if I donate 2/3 of
> > them *back* to the book sale next year - it's all money to keep the
> > library afloat. But a fair number of my "keepers" have come from
> > there.
>
> the branch near me always has a couple racks of used books (paperbacks
> fifty cents, hardbacks a dollar), and it seems every time i visit i come
> home with one or two. sometimes i take books in, but it's hard to tell in
> which direction the net flow is. (the library is also my polling place.)
>
> your pal,
> blake

--
Silvar Beitel
(very occasional poster)

Support your local library!
 

Support your local library!
 

In article
>,
wrote:


> This is getting OT, but the short answer is no. All libraries here
> are local entities funded by the individual cities and towns (although
> some of the revenue is tax money fed back by the state). The state
> sets standards for them and accredits them or not. The town can
> choose to fund or underfund their library (or school system, or
> highway department, or whatever) but there are penalties like
> decertification or stoppage of state aid for cutting too deeply. In
> the case of libraries, it means they're cut off from the regionalized
> administrative systems that facilitate sharing. For historical,
> geographical and demographic reasons, there are practically no county-
> level systems in Massachusetts.

Interesting. Some people think that the US is pretty homogeneous as far
as local governments, but it isn't. Our libraries (I'm in California)
are all run by the county. There is a county school system, but it
mostly provides support services. The few classes they offer are mostly
for kids who have been expelled from one of the 40 school districts in
the county. The school districts don't always correspond to cities.
There are nine school districts in my city of 50,000 people! The city
pays for city streets, the county pays for county roads and the state
pays for highways.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

Support your local library!
 

On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:35:11 -0700, Dan Abel > wrote:

>In article
>,
> wrote:
>
>
>> This is getting OT, but the short answer is no. All libraries here
>> are local entities funded by the individual cities and towns (although
>> some of the revenue is tax money fed back by the state). The state
>> sets standards for them and accredits them or not. The town can
>> choose to fund or underfund their library (or school system, or
>> highway department, or whatever) but there are penalties like
>> decertification or stoppage of state aid for cutting too deeply. In
>> the case of libraries, it means they're cut off from the regionalized
>> administrative systems that facilitate sharing. For historical,
>> geographical and demographic reasons, there are practically no county-
>> level systems in Massachusetts.
>
>Interesting. Some people think that the US is pretty homogeneous as far
>as local governments, but it isn't. Our libraries (I'm in California)
>are all run by the county.

Ours (I'm in California, too) are run by the individual cities.

Serene

Support your local library!
 

Serene Vannoy > wrote:

>On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:35:11 -0700, Dan Abel > wrote:

>>Interesting. Some people think that the US is pretty homogeneous as far
>>as local governments, but it isn't. Our libraries (I'm in California)
>>are all run by the county.

>Ours (I'm in California, too) are run by the individual cities.

Alameda County, CA runs a library system; some of the larger
cities within the county have their own systems. (Which the
local voters have duly funded due to the success of Proposition 13.)

So both statement are true.

Steve

Support your local library!
 

In article >,
(Steve Pope) wrote:

> Serene Vannoy > wrote:
>
> >On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:35:11 -0700, Dan Abel > wrote:
>
> >>Interesting. Some people think that the US is pretty homogeneous as far
> >>as local governments, but it isn't. Our libraries (I'm in California)
> >>are all run by the county.
>
> >Ours (I'm in California, too) are run by the individual cities.
>
> Alameda County, CA runs a library system; some of the larger
> cities within the county have their own systems. (Which the
> local voters have duly funded due to the success of Proposition 13.)
>
> So both statement are true.

Yeah. My statement above was poorly worded. I just meant my local
county.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

Support your local library!
 

On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:14:27 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

> On Mar 22, 11:28 am, blake murphy > wrote:
>> On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:48:57 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
>>> On Mar 21, 11:23 am, blake murphy > wrote:
>>>> On Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:50:29 -0700 (PDT), Kris wrote:
>>>>> On Mar 20, 2:14 pm, wrote:
>>
>>>>>> What I wanted to emphasize is simply this: Support your local
>>>>>> library. Especially In these tough economic times, they are frugal
>>>>>> and valuable oaseses of information.
>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Silvar Beitel
>>>>>> (very occasional poster)
>>
>>>>> Sounds like you had a good haul! I love library sales and try not to
>>>>> miss one at my local branch.
>>
>>>>> Kris, who LOVES her library
>>
>>>> my local branch library is not the greatest, but the thing to keep in mind
>>>> is the inter-library loan system, which really *can* get you almost
>>>> anything in print, and some out of print as well. maybe they can locate
>>>> that obscure cookbook you've been pining for.
>>
>>>> plus, all the librarians i've known are Good People„¢.
>>
>>>> your pal,
>>>> blake
>>
>>> Quite. The reason I posted this is that in these times the state (in
>>> my case Massachusetts) and its local communities are having to cut
>>> spending - libraries are of course a target. The problem is that if a
>>> town cuts its library budget (staff, hours, services) too far, the
>>> library loses accreditation and can no longer participate in the
>>> various regional/state inter-library loan systems. Several towns have
>>> already succumbed to this. My own (largely middle-class) town will
>>> weather it out, but it will be close.
>>
>> but if it is part of a county system, couldn't they piggyback on that?
>
> This is getting OT, but the short answer is no. All libraries here
> are local entities funded by the individual cities and towns (although
> some of the revenue is tax money fed back by the state). The state
> sets standards for them and accredits them or not. The town can
> choose to fund or underfund their library (or school system, or
> highway department, or whatever) but there are penalties like
> decertification or stoppage of state aid for cutting too deeply. In
> the case of libraries, it means they're cut off from the regionalized
> administrative systems that facilitate sharing. For historical,
> geographical and demographic reasons, there are practically no county-
> level systems in Massachusetts.
>

that's a shame, but i guess money is tight in just about every local
jurisdiction, and library patrons don't seem to have much clout.

i don't think i've heard of a system that wasn't run by counties before.

your pal,
blake