Toni Morrison
“For me, there are certain kinds of books that I like to read on an iPad, because you just turn the pages and enjoy yourself. Then there are other books where I really need the book, because I am part of that book. It’s not just reading, it’s making notes in it, and underscoring, and exclamation points, and being a compulsive copy editor, so if there’s any error I have to correct it no matter what. So that tells me that I will always have and revere the library of books, three-dimensional books. But I don’t have any problem with the collection of books that you can find electronically.”
“I am grateful for your past, because it’s mine as well. And I am eager to help secure your future, whatever route it takes, because that future is mine as well.”
John Grisham
“In June of 1989, I didn’t have much money. But I had a lot more than my publisher. They printed 5,000 hard-back copies of A Time to Kill, and I bought 1,000 of them. At the time we didn’t have a nice bookstore in town, but we had a very nice library. I was going to buy the books wholesale at nine bucks, and sell them at the library for eighteen bucks. So I went to my librarian and said, “Let’s have a big book party.” We advertised it and a lot of folks showed up, and I signed books, and it was wonderful. But when the party was over, I still owned 882 copies of A Time to Kill. I went back to my librarian and said, “I’m sure you know a lot of librarians around the state. I can take this show on the road.” He started calling librarians. I pretty much took off the summer of 1989 going to libraries all over the state of Mississippi selling A Time to Kill out of the trunk of my car.”
Dave Isay
“I think the archive [of StoryCorps] is going to be extremely important for families who can someday get to listen to their ancestors. But I also think it’s going to create this great grassroots, bottom-up, historical record of great events and who we are as Americans.”
U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers
Keep touting the message that libraries are important. I do everything I can here for you, but it’s amazing how few people today are supportive of libraries. You have to work actively within the community to get community support. There’s no other answer.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed
“The cost of ignorance is much more great and much more destructive than the cost of libraries.”
Will Shortz
“At one time I wanted to be a librarian. One of the requirements was that you had to be fluent in a second language. I didn’t think I could do that. Anyhow, I found this other thing that I could do.”
Amy Sedaris
“The [library] I go to used to be a women’s prison. They say you can still hear the women screaming. So, um, anybody have any questions?”
Jason Griffey
Referring to a flowchart of whether or not one needs a pan flute, during the Battledecks competition: “This is very similar to the chart that says, ‘Do you need to hold a meeting?'”
