I have always called myself (laughingly…sort of) a book hoarder.  I may work in a library, but that has never prevented me from collecting books at home.  I have five bookshelves full, not to mention the books that have overflowed into boxes, waiting patiently for me to find more room for new shelves.  How many boxes?  Let’s not get into that.
Last night, my husband and I watched a show on television about people who truly do hoard everything.  They just cannot throw things away, and continue acquiring more stuff until their homes are buried, literally and their marriages and families are broken, damaged and some outright destroyed.  So maybe I’m not a true hoarder.  I mean, I can see every floor in every room of my home.
But one interview between a hoarder and a psychologist really struck a chord in me.  The hoarder was explaining that she had to keep a particular glass jar (in spite of having boxes and boxes of empty jars) because it was the perfect storage container for the soup she intended to make.  “If I get rid of that jar, then the dream of making soup dies.”  Now, I understand that!  At one point in my life, I wanted to rewrite fairy tales and folktales for children.  I collected many books of fairy tales from many different countries and cultures.  I was (and still am) fascinated that so many cultures have a Cinderella story, or a Sleeping Beauty story.  So I have a lot of collections of fairy tales, for research purposes.  If I get rid of all those books, will my dream of writing children’s books die?
Not at all!  I can donate those books to the library, let other people use and enjoy them, and when my dream is ready to be fulfilled…they will be there, ready for me to check out. 
Another interview between hoarder and psychologist also made me think.  The psychologist picked up a small stuffed character, and said, “What if I said I was going to take this with me when I leave today?”  The hoarder looked at the toy, and asked, “Are you going to take care of it?”  “Ah..I can’t tell you that,” said the psychologist.  The hoarder said, “Well, I would have given that toy to him in a heartbeat if he needed it and would take care of it.  But if he was just going to toss it…I couldn’t let it go.”
My books are friends, old friends.  If I give them away, I want whoever gets them to love, appreciate and …well, to hoard them like I did!  I don’t want to just throw away all my books.  I want them to be used.  So I could understand that sentiment as well!
The bottom line here is that television show got me thinking about all my books, how I view them, and the relationship I have with my collection.  Can I share it?  Absolutely.  We have five libraries in this county, and especially the new Linwood Library, which is trying to build a collection for its community.  I’m going through all my books, deciding which ones would be most useful for the libraries. 
I urge all of you to do the same.  All five libraries gladly take donations; money is tight, and we can all build up our libraries while creating more space in our homes.  It’s a win-win situation!  It may be hard to let some of these old friends go, but I know that I can go back and check the book out if I need to spend some time with it again.  Even if it falls apart, and the library has to pull it from the collection, there is always the interlibrary loan option.  Someone, somewhere, will always have a copy of “Pride and Prejudice.”  Not to worry.