this is a story about libraries but it’s also about found things and human connection and love, actually.

it all started in oakland, california, about 10 years ago.

sharon mckellar was a librarian then, and one of her favourite parts of the job was finding things inside the books. things like love letters, recipes, kid’s drawings, photos, receipts, to do lists, anonymous poetry. the list appears to be endless.

when sharon started finding them, she put a call out to her colleagues across the 18 library locations in oakland to send her anything they’d found and she couldn’t believe how many pieces were coming in, so she began to catalogue them.

there are currently over 350 notes – a lot of them post-its, which, if you know me at all, you know i relate to in a big way!

find it at: oaklandlibrary.org 

instagram: @oaklibraryfound

x.

instagram: @thisisitactually

twitter: @jenibesworth