262 Comments
Commenting has been turned off for this post

I'm so excited for our first-ever Seed Pod! Here's my post to kick things off: I asked my fellow Substackers what they love about libraries, and I got 17 wonderful responses back! As I began to lay out the post, I realized that I had a collection of love letters to libraries on my hands. An auspicious start if ever there was! In the spirit of lifting each other up, I welcome your likes, shares, comments, and restacks. https://creativeletters.substack.com/p/16-love-letters-to-libraries

Expand full comment

This was a wonderful post, perfect for an introduction!

Expand full comment

and to books as a collective noun- worlds of possibilities of learning joy, tears life- a space to lose yourself to find yourself - bliss of blissness

Expand full comment

That is soooo cool !!!!

Expand full comment

I love this idea Robins et al! I am excited to see what people come up with!

Expand full comment

love the Robin et al - bibliography - you are right on trend here!

Expand full comment

Great theme!

Expand full comment

Just started working on my contribution! Thank you so much for taking the time to bring this community together.

Expand full comment

Yay! I can't wait to read it, Lizzy!

Expand full comment

Love this!

Expand full comment

Wonderful, Rachel! Now I want to have a "reading meal" too!

Expand full comment

Loved it Rachel! 💜

Expand full comment

I love the idea of reading meals and we seem to have the same taste in books.

Expand full comment

Love this idea. This would be extremely random (and very off brand) for my readership, so I don't think I can participate. But I just wanted to offer a comment of support for this idea!

Expand full comment

Thanks, Kevin! Luckily you can support the Seed Pod even without writing about libraries by liking, sharing, and commenting on others' posts in this thread. 😊

Expand full comment

Nice! Will do

Expand full comment

I love this great idea and theme, but could I re-post an article I wrote in February for my Substack, adding the blurb and the badge? It is about books, reading, and libraries are mentioned too.

Expand full comment

Hi Portia, go for it! Reposting is a great way to repurpose existing content and expand your reach as a creator.

Expand full comment

Thanks, Robin!

Expand full comment

Loved your post, Portia! a fellow library mouse

Expand full comment

Great idea!

Expand full comment

Being part of a community is so fun. I love this idea. Here is my tangent connected to a library. IYKYK

https://open.substack.com/pub/applesinaseed/p/bigger-on-the-inside?r=43ceb8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment

Love it! What a great analogy for libraries.

Expand full comment

I love this idea so much! <3

Expand full comment

I have no idea what is meant by "Then use this thread to share the link and a short comment about the post." but here goes. https://chrisgartland.substack.com/p/go-back-to-the-beginning-09282018-782

Expand full comment

You did it perfectly, Chris!

Expand full comment

Gotta say as a school librarian, I love this topic! ;)

Here's my post: https://jessiemay.substack.com/p/libraries-are-the-second-defense

Expand full comment

Jessie, you are my childhood hero!

Expand full comment

I’m glad you had a great school librarian! It’s a job I’m lucky to have, being able to very directly encourage kids to learn about what they love!

Expand full comment

Great idea. Hmmmm. I'll have to break out another prompt book and pull something together that will fit. Looking forward to sharing.

Expand full comment

I’m excited for you to share it, Vince!

Expand full comment

Really cool idea and I'm excited to see the different themes. Here is my small edition. https://open.substack.com/pub/dontdieafool/p/libraries-are-awesome?r=gnlur&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment

Thanks Jesse! Libraries ARE awesome!

Expand full comment

My very first Substack post was a tip encouraging my readers to get library cards https://open.substack.com/pub/jotjustonething/p/jot-unlock-a-world-of-free-learning?r=ae2fb&utm_medium=ios

Expand full comment

Awesome, Teri! I can see we're of like minds. 😁

Expand full comment

This is such a great idea - looking forward to reading everyone's contributions. Here is my own take on it: https://open.substack.com/pub/wordsandstories/p/dont-it-always-seem-to-go?r=2j3m2w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment

Thanks for joining the pod, Linda! I, too, am a huge fan of my digital library card.

Expand full comment

This is very exciting.

Expand full comment

I love libraries going back to when I was in high school and worked after school and during summer hours in the local public library. Then in college, I worked a few hours during the week to make some extra money working in the library. I have warm and wonderful memories of those days. I have also spent hoursin various libraries working on term papers working on my doctoral dissertation and just wondering around through all the isles perusing all the books. I am very excited about this and I’m looking forward.

Expand full comment

Thank you! Are you planning to contribute? 😁

Expand full comment

No promises but I will try

Expand full comment

Let the books be open! Thank you Robin Cangie and Robin Taylor for this wonderful cooperative opportunity. My love of libraries goes back to my childhood and the house that was converted into The Bennett Public Library in Billerica, Massachusetts. Perhaps that's why I was drawn to the subject and my interpretation:

https://amymcgrathhughes.substack.com/p/angels-demons-and-first-editions

Expand full comment

Great post and photos, Amy! Did you actually get to visit the Good Omens set?

Expand full comment

For this article, sadly no. Yet, there are many more avenues to travel. I hope to be there one day.

Expand full comment

Can I start a seed pod on 9/11 with my own topic?

Expand full comment

Yep, and you don’t even need our permission! Seed Pods are a community project. The blurb and the badge are available for anyone to use, and anyone can start their own Seed Pod on any topic that interests them. Next month, we’re actually releasing a guide on how to create and manage your own Seed Pod. I should note that community-created Seed Pods won’t be SmallStack-led and hosted in the way that this one is. The idea is that anyone can follow the Seed Pods model to run their own collaboration.

Expand full comment

Serendipity - my featured Square Peg Woman is known as the Mother of English Prose (Chaucer got the Poetry prize) The original manuscripts were found in the British Library, that is LIBRARY- under magic and witchcraft!

The imagined interview will be available for your delectation from 9pm UK time on 4th September Wednesday and will proudly display the Small Stack blurb.

https://drlucymmorleywilliams.substack.com

Expand full comment

So excited to see it!

Expand full comment

This is a fun prompt! I can't wait to read what all of you offer. Here's mine:

https://open.substack.com/pub/maryaustin/p/rediscovering-the-magic-of-childrens?r=3ghbv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment

What a wonderful post, Mary! I really want to read Jungle Cat now. 😸

Expand full comment

You will not be disappointed, Robin!

Expand full comment

Terrific post, Mary. Wonderful recommendations. And I very much love the idea of libraries ensuring you're never lonely. Rings true for me too.

Expand full comment

Thank you, Holly!

Expand full comment

When I saw the theme was libraries, I was excited for the fresh motivation to finally finish this poem that’s been lingering in my drafts:

https://open.substack.com/pub/thecreativecourageproject/p/cant-believe-my-luck?r=sqait&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Expand full comment

What a wonderful poem, Ryn! This resonates so much: "The idea of cultivating an Abundance Mindset in a world that manufactures scarcity is a challenge for me. And I can’t deny the power of accepting abundance where it exists freely." Same, same, same.

Expand full comment

Loved the poem and the notion of libraries as the embodiment of abundance.

Expand full comment

This is so inspiring I sat down and wrote about a favourite library straight away. I could write a love letter to the particular library in this piece—but it kind of is a love letter. https://open.substack.com/pub/lisanbolin/p/solace-between-the-pages?r=37rlo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment

Dang, that is one magnificent library! And such a great story, too. Thank you for sharing, Lisa!

Expand full comment

It is stunning! 🤩 thanks for the lovely topic

Expand full comment

I hadn't even heard of this Seed Pod, but it popped up in my feed, and my post today happened to be about libraries. Serendipity! My post is on opening a bookshop with no experience other than basically living at my local library growing up. I'm looking forward to diving into all your wonderful posts about libraries.

https://escapetothebookshop.substack.com/p/how-much-experience-do-you-need-to

Expand full comment

How fortuitous! I'm so glad you found us. 😊

Expand full comment

Love the serendipity!

Expand full comment

Hey Small Stack folks! :) Sharing here my little contribution. Thanks for picking out a great theme - I was able to integrate it into my original plan for my weekly post. And I think doing so made it even better! So excited to read everyone's work, too.

https://open.substack.com/pub/buhaycopywriter/p/the-libraries-that-made-us-the-writers?r=aowli&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment

That's so cool, Regina! I also read and loved many of the same books you named in your post. Thank you for sharing!

Expand full comment

Thanks as well, Robin & Robin, for making this pod possible. :) I enjoyed the exercise!

Expand full comment

Scheduled my contribution for later this week, so excited!

https://www.thelizzycoshow.com/p/smallstack-seed-pod-libraries-edition

Expand full comment

Can’t wait to read it, Lizzy!

Expand full comment

Was fun - 1 to expand on an old post; 2 not cringe while rereading that old post 😅 and 3 great to support the community here!

https://open.substack.com/pub/wirepine/p/libraries-and-ai?r=2fcl4a&utm_medium=ios

Expand full comment

Great post, Andrew! You brought me back to my college days and the hours I used to spend reading newspapers on microfilm. Oh, the eye strain!

Expand full comment

lol not sure that’s a good thing! My other not-so-found memories of university libraries was wandering through endless stacks in the basement 🙀

Expand full comment

I already had the perfect story to add to the prompt! It's about the time I got locked in the library as a freshman in high school! This was before anyone had a cell phone. https://open.substack.com/pub/thebananashow/p/library-memories-that-time-i-got-212?r=1vh42t&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment

Whoa, what a story! Thanks for sharing, Annie! You kinda sound like you were a teenage badass. 😉

Expand full comment

Haha thanks

Expand full comment

Also, thank you for doing this! It's a great idea!

Expand full comment

My contribution to Seed Pod 1: How I Rediscovered Libraries as a Parent https://dadtechrescue.substack.com/p/rediscovering-libraries-as-a-parent

Expand full comment

Woohoo! Great to have you. P.S. Awesome substack name! 😁

Expand full comment

is it bad behavior if we don't label it exactly? the badge and the wording doesn't fit the vibe of my page, but I'd love to make it my own (and i wrote something already!)

Expand full comment

If you want to modify the wording a bit, go ahead! Please don't make any changes to the badge, but feel free to omit it.

Expand full comment

thanks!

Expand full comment

I have loved thinking about what to share about a library and how magical it can be. This is my second contribution and maybe not my last. It’s just too fun to stop. I have loved reading all of yours as well!

https://open.substack.com/pub/applesinaseed/p/silence-in-the-library?r=43ceb8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment

I am so delighted to read this!

Expand full comment

Tam, this is definitely the most adorable Seed Pod post I've seen so far! 😍

Expand full comment

What a great idea!

Expand full comment

Thank you for the inspiration and the community collaboration. Here is my contribution: https://open.substack.com/pub/nerdyqagirl/p/libraries-are-my-gateway-drug?r=3cupkn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Expand full comment

Library acrostics goes firmly into the category of, "Why didn't I think of that???" Brilliant!

Expand full comment

Hello, here is my Seed Pod post featuring libraries. Reading through all the nostalgic posts in this thread was a treat, but it made me realize that mine was a little different. I think I took the idea of libraries as inspiration rather than a central topic, so it's more of a featured guest in my post.

Let's keep on writing about libraries! This Seed Pod will be running until Sept 22!

https://bigcheshir.substack.com/p/i-am-a-library

Expand full comment

This is one of the freshest and most fascinating explorations of our libraries theme that I have yet seen. Thank you, Cheshir!

Expand full comment

This was a cool take on the theme! Thanks for sharing it with us Cheshir!

Expand full comment

I loved this so much Cheshir!

Expand full comment

Lovely idea, I have written something for 16/9 in line with my regular schedule, hope that's ok! I will post it here

Expand full comment

That's awesome, Johanna! Looking forward to reading it.

Expand full comment

I won't be participating this time, but this is a fantastic, community-and-sharing-orientated idea and I certainly will in future - thank you!

Expand full comment

Thanks John! I look forward to your future participation!

Expand full comment

This was fun. Now that I wrote this I should work on the original project - a press release. Never underestimate what people can offer. It isn't always about the coins in the donation box.

https://stacyboone.substack.com/p/cumulative-point-value-10864

Expand full comment

Your post is such a great reminder of the libraries and communities and reinforce each other. Thank you, Stacy!

Expand full comment

Dig this. And have published my SeedPod post on my stack.

Expand full comment

Awesome, Nicolas! Feel free to share the link here, too, so we can all easily read, like, and comment. 😊

Expand full comment

LIBRARY LOVE

This SmallStack Seed pod theme of love and libraries opened new doors of discovery 💗

I fell back in love with the transformative, healing powers of imagination.

And the desire to create a collection of imaginative experiences, a repository for others to explore.

Yay! In a few weeks, I'll complete a free library of 52 5-minute practices here on Substack.

Tomorrow's post explores the ancient framework behind this library. Happy to be in this Seed Pod! 🙏🏼

Expand full comment