Library Genome Project

My family must trace back its DNA to Alexandria. Libraries are in our genes.

As far back as I remember, libraries were a major part of our family. Libraries and bathrooms. In fact, we used to call the bathroom the library, when I was growing up in our one-bathroom home in Levittown, NY. As a peculiar corollary, many in the family had a peculiar need to use the bathroom, whenever we entered a library. We went to the library as other families would go to the movies. And our house was full of books from the library. More than anyone every would or could read.

My father certainly carried the gene and perhaps, as well, my mother. My brother became a reading specialist. My sister got a degree in linguistics, became a teacher and writer. And I became a publisher.

My wife, Disty, consumes books, but I wouldn't say she has the gene. But the gene is very dominant. Like right-handedness, dimples, or hanging, rather than attached, earlobes. The library gene was passed to my children, Andy and Chip.

Andy, a collector of books about everything, bought books and borrowed books and spent most of his time in libraries, soaking up knowledge and feeling comfort in the Petri dish of his ancestral genetic material.  When he went to visit Marlboro College, Andy returned excited that he had met the librarian and that the library was open 24 hours a day. Four years later, almost finished college, while he was home writing his final "plan of concentration", what to Marlboro is like a thesis to other colleges, he and I spent many days building shelves in his room to house his highly organized and amazing collection of books on his special interests: psychology, pharmacology, philosophy, poetry, sustainability, and, of course, Southeast Asia. He left for Southeast Asia a year ago this past May, with every book just so. A library-like organization. We all go into his room, since he died, and breath in his soul that lives in his books surrounding his room.

Tomorrow, we go to Marlboro for the first time since Andy's graduation last year, which he didn't go to because he wanted instead to head to Southeast Asia to get started with life. We go, tomorrow, to honor Andy with a collection of books in his name at a place that is marked with his genetic stuff—The Marlboro College's Rice-Aron Library. Tomorrow, we will dedicate The Andrew Pearson Zuckerman Collection on Southeast Asia. It is a wonderful gift from my mother, to whom and for which we are all so grateful. These few words will mark the collection: "Andrew Pearson Zuckerman (1984-2009) graduated from Marlboro College with High Honors in 2008. He wrote his Plan of Concentration on 'Poverty in Laos.' This collection honors his love of the Lao people, among whom he lived and died, and his love of Marlboro College, where his generous spirit will live on through his loving friends."

As my DNA dictates, I'll no doubt hit the bathroom before the ceremony begins.

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For anyone wishing to contribute books or money, contributions can be sent to: The Andrew Zuckerman Collection/Aron-Rice Library/Marlboro College/2582 South Road/Marlboro, VT 05344-0300

Follow the Reader

Yesterday, I attended a conference in Newburyport, MA sponsored by Firebrand, a company that provides back-end software that helps publishers track and generate marketing information on books and authors. We are just starting to use the software through our relationship with Ingram Publisher Services. Firebrand is a 20-plus person organization that has been around for 20-plus years and is now getting its due at a time when publishers are finding that generating accurate and enriched metadata and content is becoming more and more important. Not just from a marketing perspective: the tea leaves in the publishing cup are definitely reading a revolution in what we think of as a book. Fran Toolan, the warm and brilliant visionary who is Firebrand, put together an energetic program that is one of the greatest bargains in the publishing conference schedule.

The theme of this year's 2nd annual conference is: "Follow the Reader."  And it is described on the conference website:

Borrowed from the name of the popular blog hosted at NetGalley.com; it seems a very appropriate context for us all to be thinking as we take the time to explore the changes and challenges in publishing today.  After all, it is the readers, who serve as the ultimate arbiter of taste, and ultimately the people who support all of us through their purchases.  As technologies become simpler and more ubiquitous, we all need to keep our eyes on what READERS are doing and how they want to be served by our industry.

The keynote address was given by Andrew Savikas, VP of Digital Initiatives at O'Reilly Media, publishers of the famous computer books with the animals on the covers. Andrew made the case that publishing, at least for O'Reilly and their international audience of computer geeks and wannabe-geeks, the trend is clear. More delivery of books and other content to smartphones via apps and ebooks. With the world's population skipping the infastructure of the landline telephone, more than half the world's population has a cellphone. That means that for many remote populations, they now have the only library/bookstore they need, right in their hands.

As we begin preparing for our trip to Laos, I am inspired by the opportunity to deliver medical information to places where there are no doctors. As publishers are trying to solve their own problems, perhaps the greatest victory will be for, as an example, the mother in Laos whose child has just been burned.

Happy Birthday

Today is Andy's birthday. I woke up this morning thinking about the Lao medical dictionary I am working on with the monks from Wat Buddhabhavana. Disty is making a feast tonight for Chip, who is fasting today, and me and my mother, Selma, and my brother and sister-in law, Larry and Carol. I will spend most of the day reorganizing the library room where Andy is. We did some work on the west side of the house, and I needed to paint the windows and walls. That is now done, and I can put everything back into place. It will be peaceful spending time puttering around with his spirit swirling in my head. I guess that is surprising to me—how often I want to be immersed in the reality of his death, which means, mostly, in the end, celebrating his life.

I think I figured out how I am going to present the Lao medical dictionary online and in print. I built a mysql database for sukhapaab.org this morning, and I am now thinking about the sturcture of the tables and fields. What I am hoping is that it will be useful for Lao people. When I have a test of the dictionary, I will put a link to it here. I am hoping that will be in the next week.

Yesterday, I went to the Wat at 10 am for a meeting to discuss future plans for a senior/youth center for the Lao community. Ajahn Mangkone invited Disty and me to join the group. The Wat has been a place of great connectedness for me: learning Lao, giving service to the Lao community, and encouraging calm and happiness. Ajahn is an advanced soul; I will do anything Ajahn asks.

At this meeting, there was a long discussion of death and dying and how Lao people were much more in touch with the process, about the open cremation and how relatives would pick up the bones and personal articles, such as rings and jewelry, of the deceased with long chopsticks. I couldn't help thinking about Andy, as I saw him last, touching his hair and hoping he would be safe on his journey.

Where There is No Doctor

When we first decided to volunteer for Sukhapaab, I had a brief conversation with Susan Reba McIntyre ("Reba"), who is the Executive Director of Health Leadership International and Sukhapaab, about what might be involved in publishing for our first trip this coming November. She asked if I was familiar with Where There is No Doctor, published by the Hesperian Foundation. I was not. After I got off the phone with Reba, Disty, who was familiar with the book, produced a copy from Andy's library. Of course.

I later learned that, according to Wikipedia, "Where There is No Doctor is the most widely used health education book in tropical and sub-tropical developing countries. Based on David Werner's experiences at his Project Piaxtla in western Mexico, it was originally written in Spanish as Donde No Hay Doctor. It has since been revised and has sold over one million copies and been translated into over 100 languages."

Reba then sent me a Lao translation of the book, along with a Lao translation of Where Women Have No Doctor, also published by the Hesperian Foundation. The Lao translation was produced by the Mennonite Central Committee in Vientiane, capital of Laos. The texts were typed with a Lao typewriter. She told me that these were the essential materials they had used and would like to use in our upcoming November Lao training program. Furthermore, she sent, along with the books, cds of the books in pdf (they were typed with Lao typewriters, so no digital keystrokes were captured), Lao fonts, and miscellaneous other useful information. My role with Sukhapaab would be to figure out how to print and publish these in various forms. And in the process, create meaning for myself, Sukhapaab and, most importantly, the Lao people.