take up a library book is a unique reading experience , with any particular copy having rifle through several other hands . Sometimes , those patrons leave something of themselves behind . And one California bibliothec is cataloging it .
According toSFGATE , Oakland Public Library librarian Sharon McKellar is defend a digital repository of the thing left in returned books . DubbedFound in a Library Book , it ’s a absorbing compendium of ephemera : notes , photos , drawings , improvised bookmarker , ticket stub , and more .
There are course photo , vintage vacation snap — McKellar wo n’t stake anything that looks current — and illustrations courtesy of younger visitant . One , “ Robot Daddy , ” is self - explanatory . Another , “ Mr. Poopy - Loopy Stinky Butt , ” could be the beginning of a book franchise .
Among the more unusual item : a prepaid headphone card for Vietnam ; a dental check - up checklist ( with skillful marks ) ; and a proof of purchase that implores the owner to “ please keep on your receipt , " advice that obviously went ignored .
Much of the cloth lacks context , which is part of the charm for McKellar . “ mightily now I ’m staring at a Southwest Airlines baggage tag end and to me , that ’s a nothing thing and they used it as a bookmarker on a plane , ” she told SFGATE . “ But you do n’t know . Maybe that ’s in reality a significant object to somebody for whom that plane ride was a journey of great importance and you just do n’t know that . It ’s captivating . ”
McKellar has been collecting the material since 2013 and averages one fresh item per week . To advertize engagement with the program library , she ’s considering hold a story contest where writers would submit a fictional tale behind the objective .
Books have long beena source for surprises . In 2018 , a lock of hair believed to belong to George Washington was find in an farmer’s calendar . In 2019 , a winning lotto ticket was rediscovered in a book by a family who had forgotten all about it . It was worth $ 750,000 .
[ h / tSFGATE ]
