The New Year has begun and I am returning to my work on the National Diary Archive which was interrupted by the intense labor of moving and then re-creating my used, out-of-print and rare bookstore, The Eclectic Reader, in Fort Collins, Colorado. In September of 2011 we moved 12,000 books and their bookcases and miscellaneous store furniture into a retail location close to home. It was an amazing transformation from a blank canvas to:”voila!” – a used bookstore. Although it took more than seven days, I am pleased.
You may visit The Eclectic Reader on Facebook.
So this will be the year of setting up the archive. If no one shows up to help, I will do it myself, “begin it now.” My philosophy on this is summed up in this quote cobbled together from various sources, (but definitely not Goethe):
“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decisions, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
I am planning to have a website and a non-profit status by the end of 2013. I do not anticipate being so lucky as to have a physical building for the archive unless it’s free. Donations will be temporarily archived either in my garage (where the bookstore used to be) or within the current bookstore.
To start the year off with a bounce, I will be teaching a journal writing workshop on January 20th, from 1-3 p.m. here at The Eclectic Reader followed by a free social gathering for journal writers and a discussion on the creation of the National Diary Archive.
Contact Cynthia Manuel at The Eclectic Reader at 970-493-7933 or bluemoon47@qwestoffice.net
National Diary Archive 
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