<\/p>\n
The Durango Public Library has gone hip.<\/p>\n
Show them your tattoo, and librarians will offer recommendations for books, movies and music you might enjoy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to show the library is for everyone,\u201d Director Sandy Irwin said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t invent this; we borrowed it from the Multnomah (County) Library in Portland, Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n
People of all ages have been taking the library<\/a> up on the offer, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do better when we learn somebody\u2019s story behind the tattoo,\u201d Irwin said. \u201cOne woman came in with a bird, and she shared the story that she got it when she first got married, and they got tattoos together. They\u2019ve divorced now, and she said now the bird makes her think of \u201cForest Gump,\u201d when Jenny says \u2018Dear God, make me a bird, so I could fly far, far, far away from here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Irwin recommended Wild by Cheryl Strayed for this library patron. Subtitled \u201cFrom Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,\u201d it\u2019s a true story about a woman who recovered from losing her mother and her marriage ending in divorce by hiking more than 1,000 miles alone.<\/p>\n \u201cShe said she\u2019d read it, and that it\u2019s perfect for her,\u201d Irwin said.<\/p>\n Brian Loring\u2019s tattoo, a knife with a tiger head, is considered an American traditional theme. Made famous by Sailor Joey after World War II, particularly with sailors, it is characterized by bold colors and thick lines.<\/p>\n That inspired Assistant Library Director Colleen Galvin to suggest graphic novels for Loring because \u201cit is a bold way of telling a story,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Another visitor had a tattoo of the house with balloons from the movie \u201cUp.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s about an older gentleman who had some anger issues and just wanted to escape,\u201d Irwin said. \u201cSo I recommended Revenge of the Radioactive Lady.\u201d<\/p>\n Written by Elizabeth Stuckey-French, the book features a senior protagonist who lost a baby after a doctor gave her a radioactive cocktail in a secret government test and the woman\u2019s plan for revenge after 50 years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s dark but uplifting and very funny,\u201d Irwin said.<\/p>\n Most librarians love to read, but just in case they\u2019re stuck for a suggestion, cheat sheets have been prepared for them in general categories for the most common tattoos. Categories include Celtic-themed, animals and Asian-themed.<\/p>\n For those sporting military tattoos, recommendations include books going back as far as The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, about the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway about the Spanish Civil War and the World War I classic All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. Books are also esoteric, such as Sun Tzu\u2019s The Art of War, or reflect experiences by war photographers \u2013 It\u2019s What I Do: A Photographer\u2019s Life of Love and War by Lynsey Addario \u2013 and women \u2013 Love My Rifle More Than You by Kayla Williams.<\/p>\n Movies on the theme include \u201cThe Bridge on the River Kwai,\u201d \u201cBlack Hawk Down\u201d or \u201cInglorious Bastards.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, some tattoos are in places where people don\u2019t want to show them,\u201d Irwin said with a laugh, \u201c so then they just describe them to us.\u201d<\/p>\n For those seeking recommendations who can\u2019t get into the library, fear not \u2013 they have you covered via social media.<\/p>\n Post your tattoo \u2013 G or PG only \u2013 on the library\u2019s Facebook page, and they\u2019ll post back some possibilities. The more information given about the background of the tattoo and why it was chosen, the better the recommendations will be. The library hasn\u2019t received any tattoos via Facebook yet, Irwin said, but staff members check the page regularly.<\/p>\n As the tattoo program promotional period continues until Nov. 10, library visitors can also pick up temporary tattoos, Irwin said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we will still do it all the time,\u201d she said, \u201ceven after the promotion ends.\u201d<\/p>\n