COLUMBIA
LIBRARY
COLUMNS
 

Books as Living Memorials
 

WHEN a friend or business associate dies, individuals
and organizations feel a desire ro express sympathy
in a way which is thoughtful and appropriate. The
sending of flowers is the usual tribute, and, because of their
beauty, or because they were loved by the deceased, or even be¬
cause, though beautiful, they are ephemeral—like human existence
—flowers will often express feelings in a way which nothing else
can.

On the other hand, the laying of a wreath beside dozens or
hundreds of others sometimes seems too easy and too trite a way
of conveying a message of sympathy. Furthermore, flowers are
not always desired by the family. Troubled by rhis, a member of
the Council of the Friends of the Columbia Libraries—Mrs. Franz
Stone—suggested that a much more expressive and enduring
tribute might take the form of books presented to a library in
memory of the deceased. She further developed the idea in a re¬
cent letter: "A very important aspect is the thoughtfulness shown
by the selection of a book or books. It is not a cold and imper¬
sonal gesture which can be executed by lifting the telephone. A
business concern as well as an individual can show appreciation
of the quality of an individual by choosing Book Memorials in a
field in which that person either excelled or showed particular