oh, you shouldn't have

o really, you shouldn't have.

Not everyone receives gifts well. Sometimes (as with me), it's a fundamental lack of good manners. In other cases (as with many lyberries), it's because someone else's idea of a gift falls short of what's optimal, and it's hard to be grateful when it means that you've got to put their crap in a pile that the state of Tennessee mandates you must retain for 3 years, and then you're just going to give it all to the public library for their book sale so the "gift" can boomerang right back to you... but I digress.

What's the proper protocol, then? Tell folks upfront and hope they listen. My professional reorientation as a book jerk makes me interested in how the Katrina-devastated libraries are rebuilding their collections, especially when I read things like the donation guidelines for New Orleans PL. Money talks and suckers walk; amen, brudder.

People, please take NOPL at their word here. Several friends outside of the Southeast have inquired as to how they might help, and this FAQ says it all. It's also a refresher for anyone who might have forgotten what much of the Lower 9th Ward still looks like (and that's just the lyberry). Consider giving generously - get yourself a sweet t-shirt for your trouble - and laissez les bons temps rouler, lyberry style!