24 February 2013

Going Medieval: When Library Fines Aren't Enough

In Stephen Greenblatt's Pulitzer Prize winning "The Swerve", he goes into fascinating detail about the value of books, particularly prior to the advent of the printing press. In one passage, he describes how monasteries would sometimes protect these precious items by placing curses on them.

Reading one of these I couldn't help but think there might be some librarians who would be tempted to put this to use.  So, in case the 10 cent daily fine isn't doing the trick, I've made the curse into a handy sign:

 


Warning: Before posting this at your circulation desk, please check to make sure your library doesn't have a policy prohibiting eternal damnation.

3 comments:

tanita✿davis said...

DUDE. I looked at this and immediately thought, "BOOKPLATE!

Minh said...

Bookplate! You're right!

LinWash said...

Ha ha! Love this!