Anna Be.

The day starts with all of Mamie’s books on shelves or in drawers, except for the ones she took to bed with her. The day ends with half of her books scattered about the house. And always there is a stack reserved on my desk, waiting for a page to be taped, a flap to be glued, a spine to be reinforced. She lives, plays and sleeps with these books, and I rarely limit her activity with them. Librarians may be renowned for casting side-eye at patrons who damage books, but that’s not my job anymore. When I worked in libraries, I had a professional obligation to protect and preserve the books. Today my obligation is nurturing my daughter’s relationship with books… and they see some damage in the process. Lucky for Mamie and her books, I am not just any librarian, but one with a special interest in book repair and preservation. I began to learn the craft of book repair in my college work-study job 20 years ago. Later as a high school library aide, I loved the opportunity to nurse w...

I'm just going to cut to the chase: We are expecting a baby. Who has time for suspense and cute reveals when you have already been in survival mode for a few months? 2016 is going to be a busy, happy year in the Beyer house.  It's going to be a busy year for the house . I will have to vacate my office so Mamie can move into that room, giving up the nursery for the new baby. We also have big plans to build out our library with floor to ceiling shelves and a work space for Nick. And paint the outside of the house. You can imagine how much of this I will do with my own two hands when I currently need to sleep 15 hours a day and spend the rest of the day feeling green.