Letter to the editor: Library

Dear editor,

I went to the Guilford College library a few weeks ago to check out the new tent city.  While strolling through the various exhibits on the first floor, I noticed two newly published books of interest, neither of which had I heard about before, one a psychobiography of Bob Dylan, the other an edited anthology of essays by historians about the impact of the Broadway show, “Hamilton,” on the teaching of history about the founding fathers.

I checked both out, and each has given me considerable reading pleasure.  The book on Dylan is part of a series by Oxford University Press that includes a psychobiography of John Lennon and another about George W. Bush.  I’m considering once again teaching a course on psychobiography (the last time I taught this course five years ago), but our library does not own the books about Lennon and Bush.  We do, however, have a superb interlibrary loan option, so I ordered them.  Both arrived within a week, one from a school in Florida (FAMU), the other from a school in Massachusetts (Wellesley).

I write to praise our library generally, including the excellent and friendly service that those who work there provide, and to express my appreciation for the interlibrary loan program, which I have used a great deal over the years.  If the tents serve to bring students to the library, I’m all for them.  More importantly, I am happy that we still have room for books in the library, and that we can send away for those not in our collection.

–Richie Zweigenhaft