Rolling Stone guitarist, party guy, one of the Glimmer Twins and so much more, Keith Richards, tells The Independent with a mention (and image) in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that he has a “secret longing” to be a librarian.
He even made an attempt to organize his personal library using Dewey but it was, “too much hassle.” Ouch!
Perhaps Forest Press/OCLC could do it for him or LibraryThing Founder and CEO Tim Spalding and his staff could organize a flash-mob to get the job done.
The Independent article not only has a great title, “It’s Only Books ’n’ Shelves But I Like It,” but contains more about Richards book collection.
Here are two examples:
1) Keeps Favorite Books Close at Hand With Others “Languishing on Dusty Shelves”
2) Lends Out Book To Friends
Where is all of this “info” coming from and why now? This October, Richards will have his autobiography titled Life, published and apparently it revels these revelations and more.
Finally, both The Independent article and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer summary include the following quote from Richards. In a word, wow!
“When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equaliser.”
With such positive (and yes, important) comments library organizations like the Public Library Association and ALA should be working contacts (and perhaps other librarians around the world) to get an interview specifically on libraries and/or invite Richards to speak (and maybe even play a turn or two) at a conference.
Rock On!
Source: The Independent, Seattle PI, Wikipedia