Booked! The Timbers Army Lending Library

Beginning on Saturday, April 12th, before our home match vs Chivas USA, the Timbers Army will open the Booked! Lending Library to 107ist members. And with the opening of Booked! coming up in just a week and a half, Fanladen will be open prior to our Cascadia match this Saturday the 5th for one last chance to donate books and other media before they open.

Booked!, an idea borne of a twitter conversation, was designed to share the written word about the beautiful game and create another way for us to build our soccer community. If you are a 107ist member you can borrow 2 books at a time, for a period of three weeks, and develop your knowledge, understanding, and love of the game. From an idea one year ago, to reality in less than two weeks, learn about the program from the man in charge, Todd Diskin. I had an email exchange with him ahead of the opening to ask him about Booked! and how we can help.

*Editor's note: responses have been slightly altered to reduce duplication of information and for brevity.

Tell us about Booked! What is it?

Booked! is the official lending library and literary arm of the Timbers Army and 107ist. This is a very good summary of the library:

http://timbersarmy.org/announcement-booked

Where did the idea for Booked! come from?

Portland is not only a great place to be a lover of soccer, but also a lover of books, great writing, and libraries. The connections between the game and literary arts seem to make obvious sense to us.

Many stateside lovers of the game can point to a book or article that helped bring their love of the game to life. For me, my love of the game started with an OPB show in the 70's called "Soccer Made in Germany". But it was this book ["The Soccer Book" by Richard Widdows, 1982] that made [me] realize soccer is more than kicking a ball, and is filled with complex strategy and technique. One thing that made me want to learn and study the game was "The Soccer Book" has all of the NASL stars of the day and amazing illustrations of the great World Cup goals.

Like all good ideas, the one for Booked! came from Twitter! The name was created by nevets and our twitter account @Booked107, originated on 8/1. We also have our book collection available to review here: https://www.librarything.com/catalog/Booked107

Where does Booked! fit within the overall vision of the 107ist?

Overall, it's about uncovering many ways to build community in Portland. The venn diagram intersecting soccer lovers and book lovers is pretty cool and filled with all kinds of super interesting people. We feel that reading fuels a deeper understanding and knowledge of the game.

Because the work of Booked! is so strongly connected to the work of the 107ist, only 107ist members will be able to check out books from the library.

What kinds of media will be available through Booked?

We have focused mostly on books, but recently agreed to accept other forms of soccer [related] media including magazines, programs, DVD's, and other such items. We open to most anything as long as the focus is on football and footballing history and culture.

What can the community do to donate and help support Booked?

Dig through your bookshelves, boxes, and other places you store stuff. Donate your books and other media to our library! I have recently gone to scouring Goodwill for books that could use a good home. We want to build a robust collection, including back stock, for lending.

We will be taking donations this Saturday at the Fanladen (1633 SW Alder) before the match against the fishing village to the north and we will be ready to lend books on [the following Saturday] 4/12 before the match against Chivas USA. Donations are always gladly accepted.

We would also love to have folks who are interested in getting involved to let us know.

Does it stop at just Booked! or are there ideas to get further involved in the community? Such as literary events centered around Booked! or any types of outreach programs to schools and young children.

Yes! We have a vision for Booked! to be involved in a broader literacy advocacy in our schools and community as well as potentially hosting literary events at the Fanladen, [such as] author's readings, book clubs, etc.

We see ourselves being involved in literary events, like Wordstock. Wherever the confluence of books and soccer lies, we hope to be involved.

We will also be hosting a Booked! night on the first Friday of each month beginning in May. To start, it will be a time for Booked! volunteers to do inventory and maintenance of the library, talk shop, and make the library open for lending and donations. I am sure that in the near future Booked! Night! will grow to include other literary activities like a book club or other such stuff.

Is there anything else that you would like to share regarding Booked?

Let us know what you think and if you have some great ideas. We intend on growing slowly, but anyone who has an idea and wants to back that idea with some action will find friends with us. We love doers.

April 12th will be the first day lending begins and our first Booked! Night! will be Friday, May 2nd. We will likely have some kind of fun, open house event [on May 2nd].

We greatly appreciate the support!

If you have any further questions or would like anything clarified you can reach Todd Diskin at todddiskin@gmail.com. Donations are accepted from anyone, but in order to borrow a book you must be a member of the 107ist in good standing. If you aren't a 107ist member, consider joining and help grow the community!