By Theresa VargasWashington Post Staff Writer Sunday, August 19, 2007; A01”
What do you do with 32 sodden Bibles?”Michael Taft pondered this one afternoon recently with two colleagues from the Library of Congress. They were part of a team that visited Virginia Tech just weeks after the massacre in April to advise the university on how to preserve the tens of thousands of condolences from around the world that arrived in response to the deadliest shooting by an individual in modern U.S. history.
Thousands of tiny origami cranes had been received. They were on vivid paper that, when strung together, dangled in spectrums that contrasted with the darkness of the moment. There were piles upon piles of letters, banners and stuffed animals. A U.S. Coast Guard crew had sent a signed life preserver as if to say someone was waiting to pull whoever needed it from that murky time.
The Bibles that Taft spoke of had been left at one of the many makeshift memorials, open to the public — and the elements. They would not be saved.” You can’t preserve everything,” Taft said. “That would be impossible.”
Read more of the original WP Article: Preserving the Outpouring of Grief