What's Your Pivotal Book?

An exhibit entitled “Pivotal Books/Personal Reflections” will open on 11 August 2008 in the gallery at Perkins Library.  While the Duke University Libraries are sponsoring the exhibit, which will run through October 2008, we are asking members of Duke community (students, faculty, employees, alumni, and friends) to recommend the books that will be displayed.

What book has had a lasting impact on your life?  What book transformed your thinking on a subject, or was inspirational or the catalyst for a significant idea? What book has comforted you or sparked your creativity?  We are looking for poetry, essays, non-fiction, and novels.—We are even willing to display the childhood favorite that gave you your first sense of the power of books and reading. Our goal is to exhibit a selection of books that represents the range of viewpoints and experiences of the diverse members of the Duke community.

Write an informal recommendation of no more than 200 words describing the book’s impact on you.  Please send your statement by 15 April 2008 to Ilene Nelson at ilene.nelson@duke.edu as a Word document attachment in an email message.  We will display your statement with a copy of the book in the cases in the Perkins gallery, if the title you recommend is selected for the exhibit.

• ilene.nelson@duke.edu
• 660-5816