A US library exhibit reveals a “semblance of humanity” in lost items in books

OAKLAND, Calif., September 2 (Reuters) – Photographs, to-do lists, plane tickets and whimsical drawings by children are part of thousands of lost and forgotten items in library books painstakingly collected by a librarian in California for years.

The items are now part of a collection called “Found in a Library Book” at the Oakland Public Library, whose main downtown display cases are stocked with sticky notes, maps, drawings and bookmarks.

Among the items are a ticket to an Oakland Athletics baseball game on April 25, 2013 and a ticket to a Heineken beer event on November 19, 2002.

Every item found in a returned book throughout the library system is sent to librarian Sharon McKellar, who began collecting the items 10 years ago. A few days ago she opened envelopes containing Polaroid photos, two sticky notes taped together with a list of ingredients on one and a list of Bible verses on the other, and a single square sheet of toilet paper.

“I like to imagine where these come from,” said McKellar, who has been with the library since 2003. “It just feels like a really interesting archive of our community, the city and the people who use our libraries and the diversity within it, and just a sort of insight into humanity and who we all are and how we’re all connected.” “

Reporting by Nathan Frandino; Writing Deepa Babington; Edited by Sandra Painter

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.