Reluctant Downsizer

LAKE MACBRIDE— The pledge was to downsize by 1,000 books and this time I mean it. In fact, here’s photographic evidence of my commitment to this round of downsizing. The books in the photo will go to the local library for their used book sale. I really mean it.

Inculcated by American consumerism, it seems normal to collect stuff for later use whether it is books, groceries, clothing, shoes, tools, whatever. As the years aggregate, there is less of later in which to use all of this stuff. Using an on-line life expectancy calculator, mine is 89 years with a 75 percent chance of making it past 81. At two books per month, I can expect to read about 675 books during the my remaining time and that would be a hopeful schedule. Suffice it to say, in a time where publication on the Internet is exploding, there will be no shortage of articles and books to read. Downsizing by 1,000 books is a modest start to a much bigger downsizing.

When I visited the Library of Congress in 2009, there was a display of the books Thomas Jefferson sold to the government after the British burned the Library of Congress in 1814. That is, of what remained after a second fire in 1851 destroyed two thirds of Jefferson’s books. The exhibit was a reconstruction of Jefferson’s library using the original bill of sale. It is a cool display for book lovers, and my inevitable conclusion was that while Jefferson may have been an avid reader, there is no way he read all of the books he accumulated. I didn’t feel so bad about the size of my library after that.

There may have been a 19th century reason for personal libraries of books, and even a 20th century reason, but libraries today serve a more varied function than being the repository of printed matter. Public library programs like downloadable e-books and audio-books press the limits of copyright laws to make written material more accessible. In a corporate culture that seeks to make a fungible commodity of everything, books have been and will be included. Already some of the books in my photo are available on-line, some for free. Among other reasons, we keep personal libraries for sentimental attachment, to work on specific projects, and for convenience. All valid reasons, but how many books need to be on hand? The answer is less.

As spring turns to summer, some of my time will be taken counting out the books to be donated to the library to make my pledge. It’s time to let go and focus on more important endeavors, like sustaining our life on the prairie in a turbulent world— something that does not require a large personal library, as comforting as one might be.