What Dan read: Ohio library honors a late regular with a dedicated book section

Dan Pelzer’s children, John and Marci, wanted to honor the memory of their father after his passing at the beginning of July at age 92. On a specially set up webpage, called ‘What Dan Read’, they posted a 109-page list that he had been keeping since 1962, which contained the title and author of every book that he had read as well as the date he logged the entry.

To say that Pelzer was a prolific reader would be an understatement. In total there were 3,599 books in the log. Most of the books he read, he checked out from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, which decided to honor their frequent patron and his passion for reading.

The book list that’s become an inspiration

Pelzer began his list when he was stationed in Nepal as a volunteer with the Peace Corp in 1962. There he had access to a library with 150 or so books. After returning home, he continued to frequent his local libraries, partly out of his great love of libraries, but also out of financial necessity to feed his voracious reading habit.

As a low-paid social worker at the Department of Youth Services he jokingly told the The Columbus Dispatch in 2006 that financially speaking, he “was two steps ahead of the sheriff in those days.” He found the time to devour so many books moonlighting at a number of security-guard jobs during nights.

The What Dan Read list includes books from just about every genre as his desire for knowledge was insatiable. “I’ve never met a person as curious as him,” his daughter told The Columbus Dispatch.

He didn’t shy away from tackling even the most challenging reads and would see tomes through to the end. “The worst” for him was James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’. He said of the Irish writer and poet’s masterpiece that it was “pure torture.”

His list is now serving as an inspiration for others. The Columbus Metropolitan Library shared with the public on social media that they have set up ‘What Dan Read’ stands and published online the titles that patrons can borrow.

These are located at the Whitehall and Barnett branches of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, where he checked out most of his books, along with the central branch where he would often take his children when they were kids.

“Dan just reminded me of something magical about the library,” Barnett Branch Manager Eternity Ballour told WOSU, the public media outlet. “He loved his library and he impacted his library and now he’s impacted all of America with how much he loved this library and how much he loved to read.”

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