...with BookMooch and PaperbackSwap (and some nice shout-outs to Flux and Orca, too) at Maine Crime Writers:
I’m still operating on the same material budget I had when I took on the job as Hartland Public librarian in 2006. I don’t need to tell anyone what inflation has done to book prices, etc. since then. One of the first things I discovered when looking for better ways to build a collection was online swapping sites.
I love it.
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..."A whole camp full of soldiers"?
What do you mean, no? Haven't you, like me, watched it 346 times? What IS IT that you do with your time, exactly?
Anyway, it was this hilarious dreamy, sighing delivery, like she was thinking of the most wonderful, amazing, delightful thing in the entire world.
That's pretty much the tone I'm using now:
Click through if only to see the picture of the guy in charge of it: he's become Josh's new hero. (Well, for today at least. I'm sure that he'll go back to worshipping Vin Diesel tomorrow.)
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Over at BookRiot, they've recommended a few books about libraries:
I wasn’t after historically accurate, non-fictional fare. Instead, I looked for books that embodied the emotional resonance of the library, work that conjured the same aesthetic of literary appreciation and devotional reverence to the classics that I had always hoped to garnish by reading about them in the first place.
Which, of course, made me think back to some of the books I've liked that have dealt with libraries. And while I'm a sucker for pretty much any book in which a library plays a significant role (see Being Henry David or The Madness Underneath or Hattie Ever After), it's the SECRET LIBRARIES that kill me every time. I know I wouldn't have enjoyed Beautiful Creatures nearly as much without that secret library, and the discovery of the one in This Dark Endeavour was so fabulously creepy that it still gives me shivers.
My FAVORITE one, though, is Ursula K. Le Guin's Voices, which is the middle book in the Annals of the Western Shore sequence, which begins with Gifts and ends with Powers:
Ansul is a city once known for its great university, for its scholars, and for its books. You caught that, right? A city once known for its books. Because, you see, seventeen years ago, the Alds invaded and conquered Ansul, and the Alds believe that reading and writing are evil -- that they lead the way to demons.
I find it interesting, looking back at that old review, that I was so conflicted about the book: looking back on it now, I only feel affection. I'll have to re-read the series and see how it stands up!
What about you? What's your favorite library book, secret or not?
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At the NCAC:
This week the ACLU of Rhode Island released a report, “Access Denied,” showing that the use of internet filtering software is pervasive in R.I. schools and is hindering the educational environment. Filtering software paints with a broad and uneven brush and while the intention may be to block pornography and pornography only, it winds up blocking tons of useful, important and educational information.
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...but I am suddenly DYING to read this academic paper on Information Seeking Behavior.
It's quite possible that the title has something to do with my interest (though the subject is actually pretty relevant to my job!):
“New shit has come to light”: Information seeking behavior in The Big Lebowski.
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New enough that my jaw dropped so far and fast that I think I may have INJURED MYSELF.
From the Riverfront Times:
A federal district court has ordered the public library in Salem, Missouri to stop blocking patrons' access to websites relating to minority religions, which web filters had at times apparently classified as "occult" or "criminal," the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri announced today. As we reported last year, this censorship was brought to light when a Salem resident complained that she couldn't get onto websites about Native American religions and Wiccan faith.
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When a patron particularly enjoys an item, he or she will return the book into the “Awesome Box,” which will be clearly labeled with appropriate signage. Then, a library staff member will scan the book twice – once, checking the book in as usual, then another time to list that item on the “awesome” page.
Love it.
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I love this display idea. (In the unlikely event that you're unfamiliar with it, it's very simple: wrap books up (covering any identifying marks!) and attach descriptive personal ads to them.
Here are a few examples:
Anyway, you get the idea, I'm sure!
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Apologies for the radio silence: the new semester has begun, the students are back, and my last couple of days have been all about paper jams and showing new patrons the joys of Overdrive, Stat!Ref, Noodlebib, and every other online resource with a compound word for a name.
While you're holding your breath and waiting for my return to regular posting, feel free to peruse this NYT article about 'attack reviews' in the Amazon review system. (Or not. I mean, really, the only surprising thing about the article is that the topic hasn't been covered before. Or maybe it has. I don't know. Oh, look, a paper jam. Gotta go!)
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From my library director's FB:
Me to older man at computer: Are you a student here?
Man: Um...erm... I'm *going* to be.
Me: Ah. Well. I've had a complaint that you're viewing pornography on the computer. That's against our policy. I need to ask you to not do that.
Man: Oh. Don't do that?
Me: Yah, don't do that.
Man: OK. [leaves]
I'm almost hoping that he'll turn out to be one of the Usual Suspects from the public library (because it would be hilarious and make for good storytelling).
ALMOST.
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Me: I don't even know what that dude looks like.
Rockstar Work Study Student: Even after all of the IUDs you've ordered for him?
Me: Ummm... do you mean ILLs?
RWSS: Yeah, yeah. What's an IUD again?
Me: *points at general midsection*
Both: *fall over laughing*
It doesn't take much around here sometimes.
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