I found this assignment to be extremely exciting and interesting. Upon receiving instructions, I knew immediately that I wanted to find something by one of my favorite poets, John Keats. I found the Keats section and determinedly looked through every single book there. Alas, nothing was left behind for me to find. With a heavy heart I turned away from the Keats shelf, disappointed in the Victorians, and saw the Dickens shelf right behind me. I thought to myself why not give Dickens a try? After looking through a few books, I found the first volume of the Works of Charles Dickens, and inside I found an inscription! Once I was finished with my happy dance I took a closer look at what the inscription said: Amy Louise Cooper June 28th 1888. This was probably a gift to Amy, and she was given it on the 28th of June 1888. The book itself was published in 1868 in New York. I flipped through the other volumes of Dickens’ work on the shelf and found her name in two more, meaning that she or a family member must have donated the books, possibly after her death. I felt a strange connection with Amy, as if I gained some sort of access to her personal life. Now, I will not hesitate to mark up my books! Maybe in the future a student will find my books in the library while doing research on the 21st century.The importance of this assignment is that it forced us to actively seek out 19th century books and to crack their spines and look through the pages. I ended up telling my sister, who devours books on the daily, about this project and I sent her on a mission. I told her to go to our local library and look through the 19th century books in the collection. I advised her that patience and time were required for this task, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!
