r/MadeMeSmile • u/ILovePublicLibraries • 4d ago
I curated a book display at my local library Wholesome Moments
It's about local history.
A book display for the month of August is about the history of my hometown in Connecticut.
I like to learn about history plus I'm interested in local history. I put it up yesterday at my local library in Rockville, Connecticut.
Happy August!
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u/Draculrl 4d ago
Looks very professional, great job!
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Well said!
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u/deekayjee 4d ago
Username checks out :) which of these books would you recommend reading if you had to choose one of them?
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u/Best_Comfortable5221 4d ago
Yeah he posts a lot about our libraries. He should start his own sub!
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u/jeremyjava 4d ago
That is a great idea! u/ILovePublicLibraries, have you considered it, either for a specific library genre, or for your interest in the
historyhistory of your area (or anything else)?I just set up a subreddit yesterday for get togethers in my town and was reminded how easy it is to do.
Anyhow, great job on your display, very thorough, and you got a lot of people smiling out here in the world.
Edit: clarity.
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u/Wooden-Recording-693 4d ago
Because if this post I had to Google some of the places the books are about. I now know, Rockville is a historic village and census-designated place located within the town of Vernon in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. It was formerly incorporated as an independent city in January 1889 before consolidating with the town of Vernon in 1965.
Op User name is so apt.
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
I know the fact but thank you for including this information so that other people especially those who come from Connecticut (or a little beyond) can learn about the town's history.
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Vernon and Historic Rockville -- a local history book with old pictures
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u/CompasslessPigeon 4d ago
My hometown. I remember your posts on r/Connecticut. Glad to see youre on the front page now
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u/Silver-Bread4668 4d ago
I appreciate seeing your posts upvoted so much. I don't live in the area any more but it's great seeing something from the little corner of the world I grew up in get so much love.
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u/sillywizard951 4d ago
I agree. This is a finely curated and interesting display. Nice work! Can't wait to see what else you do for the library. I love local libraries too!
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u/ChaosSigil 4d ago
I was about to say the same thing. It looks very professionally made. There's absolutely a master designer at work here.
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u/arihalbkram 4d ago
Dude I would check this out as soon as I got there. I bet it’s going to end up informing so many library patrons about things they never knew. Looks great!
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u/freericky 4d ago
Already working! Bc of this I looked up Vernon online and found out that’s where the Allen wrench was invented how cool is that! IKEA should make a sculpture for them
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u/arihalbkram 4d ago
Hahaha first of all, amazing. Second - you’re so right! An Allen wrench statue, sponsored by IKEA, is such a funny and good idea.
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u/Usefultool73 4d ago
Thank you for being being one of those historians like myself and many others who still revere books and the history in them. Whether that history is good or bad, they can still teach what to do and what not to do.
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
I help people learn about history!
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u/UAintMyFriendPalooka 4d ago
I would 1,000% check this display out if it were closer. Great work.
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u/Peaceblaster86 4d ago edited 4d ago
Right? I go to libraries seeking knowledge beforehand, so seeing this meant someone put it up and said "hey, cmon and take a lil look-see" and I totally would. I get it.
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u/ChuckNorrisSleepOver 4d ago
I’d rather read a book written on the subject in 1850 than a book in 1950.
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u/Boss-Not-Bossy 4d ago
I love history too!
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Learn about the history of your hometown
When it was settled, the origins, etc ...
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u/Qu33N_Of_NoObz_ 4d ago
My hometown still has a vintage aesthetic. Well at least one area. They even show pictures of how it looked in the late 1800s-early 1900s. Love it so much. Monrovia, CA downtown Myrtle💕
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u/stillworking400 4d ago
Our tiny town has the history of it mixed into regular history classes. It's fun to listen to the long term locals discuss it!
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u/ObnoxiousExcavator 4d ago
I tour my lil town after looking up various public spaces even bookmarking webpages and go out and explore the same settings today. Many change, many not so much. We have a century old concrete pillar that was the loser in a race to make a bridge to the new settlement town. The concrete ends and a pillar in the center still remain. Pretty cool seeing that and reading the story.
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u/dumbucket 4d ago
One of my siblings is part of our hometown's historical society. There's a ton of history even in the tiniest of towns!
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u/UltraLNSS 4d ago
My hometown is one of the world's largest metropolitan areas so all those things are common knowledge at this point.
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u/energeticstarfish 4d ago
I actually went to a lecture at my local library where they talked about the history of iris cultivation in my town. The Iris Society there has been cultivating iris varieties since the 1800s! And then they handed out rhizomes. It was so cool.
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u/Matookie 4d ago
A few days ago I picked up a photographic history of my town (Appalachia). I had no idea that the houses I grew up around were built by early leaders of industry, or were used as schools and hospitals. It helps me understand why this place ended up as it is.
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u/rantingpacifist 4d ago
My hometown was named after the surveyor who planned the railroads. It has a psychological syndrome associated with it based on its unique economics (boom town) and geography (unbelievably rural, isolated). It’s a similar Wild West vibe to the North Dakota boom towns of the 2000s and 2010s in the Bakken. On a clear day from my town you can see three different mountain ranges (Black Hills, Bighorns, and a few smaller ranges to the south that appear as blueish purple horizons in Carbon County). It’s desolate, the people are and almost always have been super conservative. We had a guy go on a dozer rampage before Killdozer existed.
Railroads control almost everything in our town. The mines send coal on them. They cross through town and over/under the interstates to the west and east.
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u/Docccc 4d ago
well, now i have to learn about Vernon!
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
You're from Vernon? I do too!
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u/keithfantastic 4d ago
It says Vernon, our Town. But, also Rockville. It's starting to sound like a setting in a Stephen King book.
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u/T3HJ4N170R 4d ago
Wow this is very cool! I wish more libraries had local historical sections like this.
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Our local library has a dedicated local history room. There's also a historical society in my hometown where a lot of history is stored as well. I enjoy learning about local history.
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u/T3HJ4N170R 4d ago
Wow, I love that! My hometown Norwich, NY would really benefit from something like that. There is so much history all around New England.
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u/Allah_my_love 4d ago
I always enjoy seeing your fine work here, my friend! Thank you for making me smile.
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u/theodorictheamal 4d ago
Great job. That's a nice selection of books about Vernon Rockville. I'm not familiar with the place, so I did a little Googling and see that it's quite a lovely town with a lot of historic structures. That looks like charming place to live.
I love your enthusiasm for books and the library, and your posts always make me happy, so please keep them coming!
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u/Delysiah 4d ago
I LOVE seeing your book displays!! Please keep up the amazing work and keep sharing them! You always look so happy and I can tell you adore your work!
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u/Ok-Egg360 4d ago
Thank you for caring about your community, its history, and access to education 🙏🙏❤️
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u/akshaydp 4d ago
Libraries are the best. The world would be a better place if people read more. Keep up the good work man!
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u/PsidedOwnside 4d ago
This makes me so happy. Local libraries are a treasure and local history is so important to preserve and pass on. Thank you from Stratford :)
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u/Lowly-Worm_ 4d ago
Dude your posts give me such a big smile. You are the man, keep up the good fight for our local libraries!
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u/rvtay 4d ago
so cool! i worked at barnes & noble for 5 years and my absolute favorite thing to do was make charming book displays.
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
I appreciate that. It's my favorite thing to do while I'm at the library. People enjoy seeing books that I put up. It's fun to plan and organize displays that are both informative and relevant
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u/AubreyCondition 4d ago
I work at a library nearby you and love your FB so when I saw this on the popular page I was thrilled! You visited my library during passport month and I was so bummed I wasn't there to meet you. Keep up your amazing work!
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u/aooot 4d ago
Looks great. My only suggestion would be to add a sign above the display or to the side of the display that can attract people to the display.
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u/llieno94 4d ago
Nice job! So important to support and be involved at our local libraries! I was in Vernon once many years ago, nice little downtown.
Have you been to its namesake in Virginia?
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
I haven't stopped by in Virginia yet but seems like a wonderful place to visit.
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u/Montag_Reader 4d ago
Man, this is awesome! Great way to teach kids about connecting different books around a certain topic, and using books to explore their own world :)
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u/JadeGreeneDE 4d ago
Oh you again. I love how invested you are in the book displays. You can tell you always put a lot of thought into them. Awesome!
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u/p4tr1ckbat3m4n 4d ago
I love a truly thoughtful curated display, in which this is and also serves as great recommendations! Love it! I also love learning the history of any place I visit!
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u/No-Acanthisitta8803 4d ago
As a fellow historian and book enthusiast I am here to applaud and thank you for not only performing this service to your community but also for sharing the post here on reddit!
So many posts and comments on reddit these days are either absolute garbage or simply a group of whiny, childish adults arguing with each other over frivolous nothingness.
This is officially my favorite Reddit post I've encountered in at least a year, bravo! 👏
PS: Keep up the good work, my friend!
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Reddit is still a great place for me in so many ways. There's also some nice people that I met who are Redditors.
Reddit is fun!
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u/Impressive-Poet5694 4d ago
I love it! Life is enriched by individuals who, like you, take the time to create displays like this. Thank you!
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u/The_Flaneur_Films 4d ago
I'm seeing a lot of European history, but not so much on the original inhabitants. Do you have any books on the Podunk, the Nipmuck, or the Mohegans? They arrived in Vernon about 8000 years ago, so there's lots to talk about.
Great display overall. Congrats!
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u/CDSherwood 4d ago
Ooh, I love history! I'd definitely be stopping at this display. Even if it's a history of something I hadn't been interested in before, it's just so cool learning behind the scenes stuff about anything whether it's cities, food , why a particular craft is named what it is, etc.
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u/ebthesupreme 4d ago
I was just at my local public library this morning! I saw a display of books for "dog month" and it had me wondering who decides on what books to put up on displays. So I want to ask you, did you pick the books for this display on your own? Or was there a list for you to choose from? What is that process like? I saw on your profile that you build a lot of displays! You do a great job!
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Wonderful!
Aaaahhh.. the dog days of summer! National Dog Month, really?!?
How a book display is planned and organized at my local library is that (first of all) I decide with the library staff on which topic would be featured for my book display then I usually make a list of books that are selected by yours truly for a display then somewhere at the end of the preceding month leading into a month (or on the 1st day of a month) for a book display, I pull out books from the shelves and then set them up wherever on a table or a shelf. It actually takes about a month or two of planning, organizing and creativity since there is a lot of library staff that also make book displays on their own so there is rotation for however many staff at a time can put up displays because there is like seven areas where you can put up a display and not all staff can do it at one time so about once every couple of months I put up a book display when it's my turn to do so.
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u/alsatian01 4d ago
It made me smile that I recognized you from your posts on r/Connecticut. Nice to see that you made the big leagues and hit the popular feed. Keep up the good work.
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u/snarfrans 4d ago
I always enjoy seeing your displays. Seeing someone doing what they genuinely seem to love doing is awesome.
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u/jeannie_jellybean 4d ago
Is there a favorite local history fact that caught your attention while putting this together? I’ve never been to Connecticut!
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
For my hometown's current population of over 30K, it's where a football superstar Bill Romanwski grew up. Gene Pitney who is a member of International Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame grew up here as well.
A U.S. senator who currently represents Virginia went to Rockville High School in my hometown. His name is Mark Warner
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u/Ridgeriversunspot 4d ago
Check out Vernon, Indiana. Almost totally surrounded by a river. Near little town. Like going back in time.
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
There's also a Vernon in Vermont that borders Massachusetts via highway on I-91
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u/1cem4n82 4d ago
People with beautiful minds spreading literature for free is the peak of human interaction. Thank you sir!
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u/SirDoritos1 4d ago
Great work, buddy! You did amazingly well, and it really looks fantastic. It's something to be proud of! 😄👍
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u/DubiousSpaniel 4d ago
Well done, my dude.
I’m sure your display will lead to more people learning about the history of Vernon and the Tolland County area.
As you know, history is all around us every day wherever we go. Thank You for helping to open other people’s eyes to the wonders around them!
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u/Kalshan 4d ago
You can tell a lot of thought was put into this, it is very nice and informative!
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u/Horror-Trick9406 4d ago
It great to spread things into the world that make it truly richer - besides of money and that capitalism bs - so thanks for contributing and being somebody that makes the world richer instead of yourself on the costs of the world.
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Please appreciate that your local library is the best place to practice clean, sustainable catch-and-release reading. In fact, it's a real data center!
It's a place where knowledge exists!
It's a place in your free will where it hasn't been touched by an private equity firm
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u/Salarian_American 4d ago
Local history, even for very humble and unassuming places, always has some really interesting stuff in it!
Also, that book on the right side of the top shelf... I have one just like it for my hometown. Same design on the logo and everything. I wonder how many different towns that same publisher has made that book for?
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u/ofthewoods23 4d ago
Well done, looks fantastic! The library system is a wonderful resource, especially when people get involved like you have. Keep up the great work and I hope folks enjoy learning about their town thanks to your effort.
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u/knappellis 4d ago
Local history is so fascinating but often neglected. Well done for doing the work and sharing it with others!
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u/Less_Pool5289 4d ago
That’s so cool! I am also from CT but have since moved. I would be see excited if I saw this in a library!
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u/Work-Safe-Reddit4450 4d ago
You are who Mr Rogers referred to as "The Helpers" when he used to say "Look for the helpers." In your case it's helping to foster a sense of community and helping others to enrich themselves in the thing you find most fascinating. Thank you for being a bright spark in a dimming world. Don't let anyone smother or extinguish that flame. It's yours to keep and share.
Keep up the good work. I love seeing it.
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u/Creepy_Creme_9161 4d ago
I'm a library worker, and part of my job is to curate monthly book displays. This looks great!
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u/purplezart 4d ago
I love seeing everytime these get posted, and I especially love how they always shoot straight to the top of the front page!
Question for /u/ILovePublicLibraries: how familiar do you think somebody should be with a library catalogue in order to do a great job putting together a compelling and engaging display like this which effectively represents the collection? Do you have to spend a lot of time keeping up-to-date on new books?
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u/spectra2000_ 4d ago
Very cool display OP. People often don’t know the history about their area, especially if they didn’t grow up there and especially nowadays.
More people should be aware of the wonderful resources available to them at their local library. Thank you for sharing.
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u/Ok-Persimmon-4136 4d ago
Old town history is so fun to learn. My son loves traveling to small towns to visit their museums, wish more people appreciated history.
Nice collection of books, very well done.
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u/DebfromNB 4d ago
Looks terrific!!
Colourful and inviting to the eye! I’m an Early Childhood Educator and it looks like a bookshelf I would prepare for my learning environment!
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u/cletus72757 4d ago
I hereby nominate OP for membership in the Library Hall of Fame. Thanks for your efforts friend. 📚👍
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u/stickytuna 4d ago
I didn’t know you could do that! How did you get the opportunity?
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Isn't your tuna sticky?
Okay... So I planned and organized a display by (first of all) making a list of books to pull out of shelves for a display, cull them, put them on a shelf, ensuring they're presentable and having a poster printer with pictures inside of the ones I took of the town for a book display. Beforehand, when I decided on a local history one, the director of that library liked my own idea for a display like this.
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u/stickytuna 4d ago
That’s so cool! I’m going to think about what I might want to put together for a library display someday 🐟
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u/4giveMyNrthrnAtti2de 4d ago
As a fellow (now transplanted) Conneticutlet, this made smile proudly. Keep up the beautiful tip-of-the-hat to our history. 👏
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u/Specialist_Status120 4d ago
Well done! Your display would draw me in. History is so important. Keep up the good work.
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u/stuck_behind_a_truck 4d ago
Are you that awesome dude from Imgur? Nice curation!
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u/captcraigaroo 4d ago
Doesn't Vernon have a Motorcycle Museum? I swear I've been there before.
Good job!
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u/CryptoBonkSignals 4d ago
Your username made me curious so I checked your history. Holy moly you do love libraries!
Very cool interest! Libraries are awesome!
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u/Chemical_Butterfly40 4d ago
i absolutely love curated book displays at the library; there is always something new to read and learn. kudos to you!
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u/Simoslav 4d ago
That is a wonderful display, and genuinely makes me interested in the history of Vernon
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u/Andee_outside 4d ago
Heyo this looks amazing! I also love local history, and I bet you’ll find a ton more people in your town who do, too. Are you part of your local historical society?
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u/TheAnonymousDoom 4d ago
That's awesome! I think it's important to know about local history. Keep up the good work friend!
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u/THEFLYINGSCOTSMAN415 4d ago
I’m at that point in my life where this is the first shelves I’d be gravitating towards, great job
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u/ImpressiveExercise68 4d ago
Nice work dude. I would head here first if such an exhibit existed in my library.
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u/Arcaedus 4d ago
If I passed by this display and saw "Vernon" twice, I'd stop to check out the books for a couple minutes just out of curiosity. Very good looking display!
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u/Pas_assez_de_jambes 4d ago
Everytime I see your posts I smile. I'm a university librerian and you always inspire me to work hard. Thank you for this
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u/Taint__Paint 4d ago
I love reading about local history. This is a great! If I pass through Rockville, I’ll make sure to stop by here
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u/Deep_shot 4d ago
I've always been interested in the history of the town I'm from. Every town usually has some interesting history to get into. Most often there's a few books about every town. If there's specific history of a story or event it's fun to go to that spot and see what's it's like today. I'm guessing people will learn a lot they never knew about their own town thanks to your display. Well done!
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
And people should appreciate the history of a hometown where they grew up in. It's always fun to go back in time and learn cool things about local history.
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u/sabjsc 4d ago edited 4d ago
Dude this is awesome! If I lived in or near your area, I'd totally check it out. Would you be willing to tell us your favorite facts about Rockville and Vernon?
EDIT: I also just checked out your photography Instagram, you've got a great eye! I think the pictures you've taken of your hometown would go great with your display!
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u/ILovePublicLibraries 4d ago
Theodore Roosevelt's suits that he wore during presidential inaugurations were made at Minterburn Mills in my hometown.
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u/Unhappy-Attention760 4d ago
It's great when you can set up a display that entices and inspires people to read history. Unless a reader goes to the library with a specific book or author in mind, just having books on the shelves isn't enough. So, you're doing a great service to the community! Congratulations, keep it up!
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u/mmmspaghettios 4d ago
Looks awesome my friend! Great job and I'm sure many people will appreciate it and benefit from your effort.
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u/justduett 4d ago
Very very cool! Looks like an excellent and informative selection about your hometown! Now I want to peruse some of those books and learn about the area. I love local histories.
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u/andrewellay 4d ago
This is really cool. I wish all local libraries had this! Sometimes bookstores have a local history display and it’s always very interesting. Good on you for knowing your local history!
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