Here’s an innovative idea from the world of libraries, even though it may not be that new. You may have read about it in The Abortion, the 1966 Richard Brautigan novel. Of course, that was the fictional version, which was strange enough. But a man named Todd Lockwood operated a real version, which is stranger than the fiction that inspired it.

The real-life Brautigan Library in Burlington, Vermont, contained a couple hundred unpublished works from 1990 to 2005. And you could have added your work, for a fee, which amounted to a lot less than the cost of publishing.

Then in 2010 the Brautigan collection was resurrected in the Presidio Branch Library of Vancouver, Washington, the home state of Richard Brautigan.

What about this concept of preserving unpublished creative effort? I think it says more about the business of publishing than it does about library science. But it also raises the question, Does the Brautigan Library encourage mediocrity? Is it any worse than the mediocrity-ridden Internet?

Certainly, it offers an archive for the unacceptable. That is, works that probably would not pass at least one arbitrary testÑcommercial success. And just how important is the test of success? After all, work that a lot of people are willing to buy, is often by definition, mediocre.

So maybe there should be a place for ideas that may never fly. Who knows what other ideas they could lead to? Maybe there should be a catalog for recipes that never make the menu, songs that no one will ever sing, poems that no one will ever understand.

Just in case there’s something the mindless tide of public opinion overlooks. Just in case all that really counts in being truly creative is doing your very best. Or at least trying.

See also:

• Brautigan’s library finds a home The New Fillmore
• Brautigan Library Update

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