by Jeff Cann
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are possibly the lamest holidays in my house. We tend to under-celebrate all of those “Hallmark” holidays—Valentine’s Day, for example, is usually a pair of greeting cards purchased separately at Rite Aid on the morning of, and if not sold out, I always spring for a box of Russell Stover assorted creams. I never know it’s Boss’ Day until well after lunchtime, and by then, it’s much too late to do anything meaningful. I dash out for a scratch-off lottery ticket.
On Mother’s Day for my wife, I invest more money, if not much thought. Because it’s early May, we always visit a Garden Center for perennials or a bush. Not to point fingers at my wife, but Father’s Day isn’t much better. A six-pack of Brew Dog non-alcoholic beer and a box of Good & Plenty candy is a typical gift. Honestly, we’re not cheap or lazy; those holidays just never caught steam in our household.
Recently, in a library committee meeting, we discussed how to better market our Honor and Memorial Book donations. In the parlance of the library, this refers to books you can purchase and dedicate to someone in your life—a memorial book for a loved one who is deceased or an honor book for someone still living. I blurted out, “Oh darn, we just missed Mother’s Day,” thinking that buying a book to honor a wife or mother would be a slam-dunk marketing sell. Rita suggested Father’s Day instead. “People always tell me they never know what gift to buy for their father.”
Everyone loved her idea. An honor book donation, typically thirty-five dollars, creates a lasting legacy for the life of the book. Imagine telling your father, grandfather, husband, son, or friend that on the inside cover of a library book, we’ll affix a ‘bookplate’ indicating that the book was purchased in his honor. In addition, we’ll follow up your donation with a letter to your honoree letting him know about the donation and which book was purchased. We frequently hear from prior recipients how exciting it is to check out a book with its own bookplate inside the front cover.
When you fill out our online form to donate, please include a topic area so you can be sure your honoree will enjoy the book. These topics might be as general as ‘Best Sellers’ or as specific as ‘Baseball,’ but sorry, we no longer honor specific book recommendations.
Don’t wait; Father’s Day is right around the corner! Visit adamslibrary.org/memorials-honor-books today, and you can cross ‘buy an awesome Father’s Day gift’ off your to-do list.
Jeff Cann is Finance Director of the Adams County Library System