The Inefficient Library

Over the years, I’ve learned to read for insight as much as knowledge; allowing the mental space to make connections through what I read as much as absorb it.

Right now, I’m enjoying David Weinberger’s excellent “Everyday Chaos”.

He makes an interesting observation. It takes $150m a year to run Harvard’s Library, but every year only around 4% of the material it holds is checked out.

Some material has never been checked out.

For those with a market mentality, this is hugely inefficient. For those with a broader perspective, it contains a powerful truth.

If we only create stuff we intend to be consumed, we are both limiting ourselves and missing the point.

We are all unique, and have a tale to tell. It’s worth telling, even if there’s a real possibility nobody ever reads it.

Somebody might. And if they read it at the right time, in the right frame of mind, it could change everything.

Creativity and Love do not have to have an ROI