Weaving Connections

Literary Synchronicity

June 11, 2026 / / 0 Comments

I’ve had this experience frequently where I’m reading something that connects directly to something else I’ve recently read or heard about or thought about. I’ve decided to call this phenomenon “literary synchronicity,” and I think the story I told in my first post about the editor of The Encyclopedia of Community surreptitiously taking my picture at a protest after I had recently cited her book for INFO 200 falls into this category. Now I find myself with another instance of literary synchronicity on my hands, this time related to INFO 287.

Our current module includes a reading from Wholehearted Librarianship in which Professor Stephens discusses the book Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence:

Screenshot of the following text: My summer reading pile included a preview of Annie Spence’s book Dear Fahrenheit 451 (2017). Spence is a former student of mine who went on to be a public librarian. Her new work is a collection of personal “letters” to books of all kinds—for example, Dear Color Me Beautiful or Dear The Hobbit. There is also a dash of “It’s You, Not Me” breakup-style notes for soon-to-be weeded titles that are destined for the book sale. The book is a funny, insightful, and personal approach to readers’ advisory and a clever meditation on why some books are deselected. Librarians could use the book and Spence’s approach for programming, sharing their own letters to books, and encouraging readers to pen their own.

I haven’t read this book yet, but it has been sitting on a shelf above my desk for about two years, ever since I rescued it while weeding books that had been de-selected from my library’s collection. It even made an appearance in the banner of my main SJSU iSchool blog.

A shelf of books about reading and writing organized in rainbow order.

I think this probably means it’s time for me to crack it open and read it! Especially since I’ve expressed that the module on storytelling is the one I’m looking forward to the most. One day I’ll start to keep track of all of these connections, but I figured I’d at least I’d share this one here!

Hi, I’m Laura!

June 3, 2026 / / 2 Comments

Hi everyone!

My name is Laura and I live on the East Coast, where I am a library assistant at my local public library. This is my third semester as an LIS student. As an introvert, my intention has been to ultimately wind up in a cataloging/technical services position—but I have found connecting with patrons at the circulation desk much more fulfilling than I originally imagined! I extended myself beyond my comfort zone last year when I started up a new monthly book club, which has been a lovely way to get better acquainted with some of the patrons I serve. (Also, I love occasionally challenging them with genres they don’t usually read—there sure were some strong opinions about Marie-Helene Bertino’s Beautyland, which is one of my personal favorites!)

In a previous life, I studied geography and the ways that people interact with places. This was when I first learned about “third places,” a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg. Libraries are quintessential third places—welcoming to all, free of charge, and a place to meet up with others in the community. It seems that the universe wants me to examine libraries as third places—after reading the chapter on information communities in the Encyclopedia of Community last semester for INFO 200, the editor of that book (unbeknownst to me) snapped a picture of me at my local No Kings rally and later included it in her blog entry about her experience there. Turns out Karen Christensen, in addition to editing the Encyclopedia of Community, also worked closely with Ray Oldenburg and will soon be publishing the follow-up to his book about third places entitled The Great Good Place. Small world! On a trip to Ireland a few weeks later, I happened upon a delightful exhibit about third places by The Rat Project that featured a zine that cited Oldenburg’s book. Noted, universe! Got it.

A small zine that reads 4) Third places can bring youth and adults into association with one another. 5) Third places help care for the neighborhood. 6) Third places foster political debate. We can better test and refine our opinions by interacting with others, not by simply listening to the pronouncements of television commentators. "A Place on the corner," real life alternatives to television... 7) Third places help reduce the cost of living. Where people meet regularly natural support groups or "mutual aid" societies tend to form. 8) Third places are entertaining. And the entertainment is provided by the people themselves. 9) Third places give the gift of friendship. Not the singular, lifelong "best" friendship necessarily, but the tonic of friends met in numbers. 10) Third places are important for retired people.

A zine featured in The Rat Project exhibit in the Test Space of the Limerick City Gallery of Art.

INFO 287, The Hyperlinked Library, feels like a fabulous chance to explore libraries as arenas of community-building, collaboration, and conversation. I am particularly drawn to the ways in which stories and storytelling can bring people together and facilitate knowledge sharing, so I’m especially excited about that module. From the introductory INFO 287 materials, I get the sense that this course will be really grounding for the rest of my LIS coursework. I am an avid believer in centering library work in compassion and human connection, so I think I’ve come to the right place! I’m really looking forward to connecting with and learning from all of you.

The term "Third Places" was created by Ray Oldenburg, the author of The Great Good Place (Paragon House 1989). These notes were taken from Planning Commissioners Journal Number 25, Winter 1996-97. A zine by Caoilfhinn.

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