6 ms·

Boy Lifts Book; Librarian Changes Boy's Life

145 points by zjj 17y ago

edw519 17y ago
The 8 levels of good deeds, as organized by Maimonides: 1. Giving begrudgingly. 2. Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully. 3. Giving after being asked. 4. Giving before being asked. 5. Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity. 6. Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity. 7. Giving when neither party knows the other's identity. 8. Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant. By continually adding books, Mildred Grady fulfilled both numbers 6 & 8. May her memory live on through her good deeds and the good deeds they spawned.
- pageman 17y ago
  yup. this is so Les Miserables ...
- tiredandempty 17y ago
  if you want to achieve 6 & 8 now, sign up for http://kiva.org http://kiva.org anonymously and lend money to entrepreneurs.
jacquesm 17y ago
That's one hell of a story.
kqr2 17y ago
Cover of the book he originally lifted: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/y/frank-yerby/treasure-of-pleasant-valley.htm http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/y/frank-yerby/treasure-of-...
- jim-greer 17y ago
  Another version, a little more risque, as he described it: http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/pocket-books/180-1.jpg http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/pocket-books/180-1.jpg
tc 17y ago
The story unwittingly demonstrates a case where zero-tolerance policies could have created frighteningly different results. In some alternate universe, the story reads: The librarian noticed Olly tucking the book under his jacket. Following school policy, she called the police. Olly spent the night in jail and was suspended from his school. Bitter and vengeful, he never went back. His street cred soared, and soon Olly was accepted into the local gang....
- yan 17y ago
  I'm not saying they're a good idea, but countering an anecdote with another isn't a very good way to affirm your point. I doubt letting everyone go who tries to shoplift a book from the library in hopes of them becoming characters more fit for a movie plot will do much good either. That said, you still received my up-vote since it made me think more of zero-tolerance policies and reading books in general. I remember reading a story on the Kindle's popularity with women. A lot of women it interviewed said they enjoyed the literary anonymity the Kindle afforded them in public places, as they generally didn't feel comfortable reading romance and pulp novels in public places like the subway. The article felt to be in similar vein; someone discovers something that catches their eye but feels shame in seeking it out. I guess what we really need to test are programs that expose youth to a wide variety of material and the freedom and anonymity to pursue those interests :).
  - tc 17y ago
    The problem with zero-tolerance is that it too often equates to zero-thought. It drives out space for humans to exercise good judgment. And since rules often replace judgment, I think they should be evaluated in the same way we evaluate judgment -- how do the rules fare at their worst [1]? In any case, I edited to make the anecdotal nature clear. Better? [1] It feels somehow more 'scientific' to point out that some rule works 99.9% of the time, and to thereby dismiss anecdotes as non-evidence (not that zero-tolerance even comes close to meeting this standard). But if a rule unjustly destroys the lives of 0.1% of people who interface with it, I still consider that a lousy rule.
    - 17y ago
Maven911 17y ago
I am quite amazed that reading was considered uncool...even in the 50's
- dstorrs 17y ago
  Back in the 80s, I very clearly remember being the only person in my grade school library during recess (granted, it was a very small school), and one of very few people who carried a book around with them in high school.
- radu_floricica 17y ago
  There was an article recently about John Ogbu, either on HN or reddit. Can't find the same source, but from a bit of googling: http://www.ogbu.com/ http://www.ogbu.com/. Main point: black children tend to be behind at school because the home and peer culture is at least not supportive, and at worst against education.

145 points by zjj 17y ago

The 8 levels of good deeds, as organized by Maimonides: 1. Giving begrudgingly. 2. Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully. 3. Giving after being asked. 4. Giving before being asked. 5. Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity. 6. Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity. 7. Giving when neither party knows the other's identity. 8. Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant. By continually adding books, Mildred Grady fulfilled both numbers 6 & 8. May her memory live on through her good deeds and the good deeds they spawned.

pageman 17y ago
yup. this is so Les Miserables ...
tiredandempty 17y ago
if you want to achieve 6 & 8 now, sign up for http://kiva.org http://kiva.org anonymously and lend money to entrepreneurs.

jacquesm 17y ago

That's one hell of a story.

kqr2 17y ago

Cover of the book he originally lifted: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/y/frank-yerby/treasure-of-pleasant-valley.htm http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/y/frank-yerby/treasure-of-...

jim-greer 17y ago
Another version, a little more risque, as he described it: http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/pocket-books/180-1.jpg http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/pocket-books/180-1.jpg

tc 17y ago

The story unwittingly demonstrates a case where zero-tolerance policies could have created frighteningly different results. In some alternate universe, the story reads: The librarian noticed Olly tucking the book under his jacket. Following school policy, she called the police. Olly spent the night in jail and was suspended from his school. Bitter and vengeful, he never went back. His street cred soared, and soon Olly was accepted into the local gang....

yan 17y ago
I'm not saying they're a good idea, but countering an anecdote with another isn't a very good way to affirm your point. I doubt letting everyone go who tries to shoplift a book from the library in hopes of them becoming characters more fit for a movie plot will do much good either. That said, you still received my up-vote since it made me think more of zero-tolerance policies and reading books in general. I remember reading a story on the Kindle's popularity with women. A lot of women it interviewed said they enjoyed the literary anonymity the Kindle afforded them in public places, as they generally didn't feel comfortable reading romance and pulp novels in public places like the subway. The article felt to be in similar vein; someone discovers something that catches their eye but feels shame in seeking it out. I guess what we really need to test are programs that expose youth to a wide variety of material and the freedom and anonymity to pursue those interests :).
- tc 17y ago
  The problem with zero-tolerance is that it too often equates to zero-thought. It drives out space for humans to exercise good judgment. And since rules often replace judgment, I think they should be evaluated in the same way we evaluate judgment -- how do the rules fare at their worst [1]? In any case, I edited to make the anecdotal nature clear. Better? [1] It feels somehow more 'scientific' to point out that some rule works 99.9% of the time, and to thereby dismiss anecdotes as non-evidence (not that zero-tolerance even comes close to meeting this standard). But if a rule unjustly destroys the lives of 0.1% of people who interface with it, I still consider that a lousy rule.
  - 17y ago

Maven911 17y ago

I am quite amazed that reading was considered uncool...even in the 50's

dstorrs 17y ago
Back in the 80s, I very clearly remember being the only person in my grade school library during recess (granted, it was a very small school), and one of very few people who carried a book around with them in high school.
radu_floricica 17y ago
There was an article recently about John Ogbu, either on HN or reddit. Can't find the same source, but from a bit of googling: http://www.ogbu.com/ http://www.ogbu.com/. Main point: black children tend to be behind at school because the home and peer culture is at least not supportive, and at worst against education.