Why “compassion”?
One of the best ways to foster compassion for others is to imagine ourselves in their shoes. And one of the greatest ways to imagine ourselves in someone else’s shoes is to read their story. This little library and archive is all about appreciating our stories, and our shared history, together. So, because of its potential to stretch and grow our compassion, our small library is called “The Compassion Collection.”
What’s in the collection?
The collection focuses on voices from marginalized populations (especially local voices), banned books, and other texts & materials that may be difficult to access in rural areas (books about queer health, for example). There’s also a Special Collection.
What’s in the Special Collection?
In addition to the standard collection items, we have several rare, signed, and first edition banned books (including signed copies of A Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood; A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle; The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver; The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende, and Palm Sunday by Kurt Vonnegut).
We hope that, as the OSPO grows and the building is restored, these very special texts can be on regular display in the post office for visitors to access, learn about, and enjoy.
(These books are currently stored in a safe storage archive until the post office building can be made secure for their display. If you would like to see them, we would love to share them with you! Please email Executive Director, Jessica Hume, postmostressofsinai@gmail.com to schedule access).
