The Legacies, One Year Out

One year ago today, after a few days of discussion on Talk about the potential of adding Thomas Jefferson's major library to LT, the I See Dead People's Books group was formed, marking the beginning of what we now know as the Legacy Libraries project (here's our very first Talk thread, wherein I make some very silly suggestions, just going to show how vitally important the collaborative process has been to this project).

We've come a long way since last 3 September. More than 100 LT members working together have completed twenty-seven libraries; thirty-two more are currently in the process of being entered. That amounts, as of this morning, to 47,773 books - a pretty impressive year's work by any standard.

Since my last blog-update, some very interesting Legacy Libraries have been completed, including those of Mormon church founder Joseph Smith; Thomas Jefferson's childhood friend Dabney Carr; authors Theodore Dreiser (left), Robert E. Howard, and Charles Lamb (below right); and English scientist/theologian/historian/educator Joseph Priestley (above right).

The Legacy projects have also begun to attract some publicity and media attention, which is always welcome in that it draws more focus not only to the importance of these libraries but also to the value of LT in making these collections possible. I and several other members were interviewed for a piece in this month's Fine Books & Collections magazine (on newsstands now) and on Monday morning I spoke with Clare Graves of the BBC Scotland program "Book Talk" about the projects (you can listen here for the next few days; we're in the first fifteen-minute segment).

Here's to many more years and many more libraries - onward and upward! As always, if you're interested in helping out on a library or would like to start one for your favorite historical reader, stop by and jump in.