The Monowi, Nebraska Library

This L.A. Times article was brought to my attention on the Well-Trained Mind boards yesterday. Monowi, Nebraska has a population of one, but a library of 5,000 volumes. This is the story of one man's love of reading, and the donation of his personal book collection to create a public library.

Some quotes:

"Tavern patrons got used to seeing Rudy's books piled every which way, under the 50-cent bags of chips or on top of the bar, or over by the collection of beer steins painted with Clydesdale horses. Elsie reads too. She loves historical novels. But in 49 1/2 years of marriage, she never could catch up with Rudy."

"He always said you were never locked in one place when you read books. You could be under the ocean or exploring space or shooting cowboys and Indians in the desert."

"There's a proper library an hour's drive away, in O'Neill, with 28,500 volumes, a computerized card catalog and dozens of magazines laid out alphabetically... That's the place to go if you need a book. Rudy's Library is where to go if you love them."

Added later: I noticed that Mental Multivitamin is linking to this article, but her post is complete with my idea of beautiful home decorating. What a book collection!