Village Books and the WWU Libraries are pleased to present WWU Connections, a brown bag speaker series highlighting the expertise of WWU faculty and staff. Join us for this engaging presentation and discussion. Western Connections is co-sponsored by Western Washington University Libraries.
Presenter Name: Rob Lopresti
Topic: How Overdue Library Books Caused the Civil War
Librarian Rob Lopresti will present a biblio-centric look at a genuine scandal that shook Congress in the months before the Civil War broke out. The tale involves missing books, a library without a catalog, the New York Times, and even the Dred Scott Decision. A light-hearted look at one of the many sideshows that led to the main event.
If you want a more straight-forward explanation you can find a version of what I will talk about here:
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/05182011/how-overdue-books-caused-civil-war
Rob Lopresti has been a librarian at Western for more than 20 years. He is also a novelist and the author of many mystery stories. Last year as part of the Western Connects series he spoke about "Catching a Map Thief."