A Story About Short Stories

One thing every public library has to do is “weed.”  There is only so much space in the library and, with new books and other materials being added to the collection everyday, “something has to give”—i.e., we have to make room for the new stuff.  Weeding simply means discarding items from the collection.  There are a number of factors to consider when weeding: the condition of the book, how often it has been borrowed in its lifetime, when it was last borrowed, and, in cases where it’s relevant, whether or not the information it contains is up-to-date and reliable.  Today I weeded our collection of short story anthologies.  Short story anthologies are not among the most popular items in the library.  People who like fiction are more apt to borrow novels, so our short story collection is relatively small—a little more than 500 volumes.  However, having not looked at the collection for a while, I was amazed at the variety.  Of course, there are anthologies devoted to mystery stories, to fantasy and horror, and to short stories from around the world, but I think most people would be surprised to know that we have collections of stories about railroads, cats, dogs, college, boxing, the sea, the Korean War, World Wars I and II, and the Revolutionary War, not to mention collections about gambling, smuggling, spying, wine, flying, “escapes and hurried journeys,” and even one about revenge!  For those whose attention span is even too limited for a short story, we even have a collection called “Short Shorts: An Anthology of the Shortest Short Stories.”  So, the next time you’re at the library, check out our short story collection.  Even if you don’t borrow anything, the titles themselves can be very entertaining.  A few of  my favorites: “The Roots of Evil: Weird Stories of Supernatural Plants,” “The Hounds of Hell: Stories of Canine Horror and Fantasy,” and it’s companion volume, “Beware the Cat: Stories of Feline Fantasy and Horror.”