Newsletter (Jan 2008)

JANUARY 2008 LIBRARIAN FUN

Monthly newsletter pertaining to the topic of librarians.

Book Quiz

I admit it. I love reading books about librarians, or that have librarian characters in them. And I suspect many of you do too. So see if you can match up the book excerpts below with the book title.

Excerpts

1. The Librarians keep as few people as possible informed about the true nature of the world. Most governments don’t know that they’re being manipulated.

2. The librarians were very busy with other patrons, but Leeola knew just where to find some answers for Melvin. She sat down at the computer with Melvin and they found the answers together. She couldn’t help it. That’s how librarians are.

3. The staff is invariably professional, courteous, and unobtrusive. They are almost always educated – not just disillusioned college grads who could find nothing in their own fields but majors in Library Science, a degree as arcane as alchemy or predicting the future by reading the entrails of a recently slaughtered lamb.

4. I was not expecting to see the most beautiful creature in all existence, standing behind the circulation desk, but I did, and I still haven’t fully recovered from the shock. It’s not that I accepted the stereotype of the librarian, hair in a bun, spectacles on a chain about her neck, dark dress, austere manner, etc.

5. Mrs. Beamster is the librarian. The kids call her “THE LAMINATOR.” They say she laminates you if you talk in the library.

6. …her goal was to make his library “pre-eminent, especially for incunabula, manuscripts, bindings and classics.” She thought their only rivals were the British Museum and the Bibliotheque Nationale, but hoped someday to claim “that there is neither rival or equal.”

7. I bet you think all librarians are mousy little old ladies. Hair rolled up in a bun. Beady eyes peering out at you over the tops of those funny half-glasses. An index finger permanently attached to the lips mouthing “Shhh.”

8. She would love to leave him to figure it out on his own, but her good manners and a lifetime of being helpful prodded her conscience. She was a librarian; it was her duty to help him with the virtual library.

9. I know you know a lot about art and speak fluent French and German; I had no idea you were a librarian. You made it impossible for me to find you in the present; you said it would just happen when it was supposed to happen, and here we are.

10. When Elaina continued not to show up, I continued to take her place and became Mr. Stowe’s librarian.

Book Titles

1. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, by Brandon Sanderson. Scholastic Press. 2007.

2. The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians, by Carla Morris. Peachtree Publishers. 2007.

3. Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library, by Don Borchert. Virgin Books. 2007.

4. How I Fell in Love with a Librarian and Lived to Tell About It, by Rhett Ellis. Sparkling Bay Books. 2003.

5. An Illuminated Life: Belle de Costa Greene’s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege, by Heidi Ardizzone. Norton. 2007.

6. The Librarian, by Larry Beinhart. Nation Books, 2004.

7. The Librarian from the Black Lagoon, by Mike Thaler. Scholastic. 1997.

8. Library Lil, by Suzanne Williams. Dial Books for Young Readers. 1997.

9. Open Season, by Linda Howard. Pocket Books. 2001

10. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. Harcourt, 2003.

(Note: The answers will appear in next month’s newsletter.)

Librarian Earns Champion Couch Potato Title

Stan Friedman, a Manhattan librarian proves librarians do more than just read. Earlier this month he won the ESPN Zone Ultimate Couch Potato Competition after outlasting his fellow competitors in watching more than twenty nine hours of continuous sports. Among other things his prizes included, you guessed it, a recliner and a television.

Librarian Passes Century Mark

This past year I’ve sadly read about the passing of numerous dedicated librarians who were well loved, but who weren’t well known beyond their local community. Their accomplishments during their lifetimes were nothing short of amazing, and their passing is such a loss to the profession. So I was delighted when I saw an article in the January 13th Pasadena Star News about a former librarian, Molly Lord, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday. A former librarian in Ohio, and in Long Beach, California, she’s quoted in the article as saying “Honey, you just take every day as it comes, and suddenly you’re 100.” Who knows, one day we may each wake up and realize we’ve turned 100 years old!

Another Librarian Memoir in Print

In The Orphans’ Nine Commandments, librarian William Roger Holman recounts the story of his life, starting with his childhood as an orphan after being abandoned by his mother. A former librarian at the University of Texas, Holman, now in his eighties, has written a historically fascinating memoir. Having recently read Don Borchert’s Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas in the Public Library, it’s interesting how these two librarian memoirs are so different. The Orphans’ Nine Commandments was published by Texas Christian University Press in late 2007.

Librarian Becomes Health Products Entrepreneur

I’m always fascinated by librarians who leave the profession and become successes in unrelated fields. So an article in the January 12th South China Morning Post caught my eye. It focused on Ada Tam Kuen-kuen, a former Canadian librarian who in 2003, with no business background, decided to start a health products business in Hong Kong. Today she’s managing director of an international business that imports and markets health supplement products. I’ll bet she used her excellent librarian skills in her new venture. Given the research, analytical, planning, and trend spotting skills librarians possess, I have not doubt that librarians who become entrepreneurs will find great success in their new ventures.

Bookhunter

A couple months ago I saw a blurb on the Warrior Librarian’s website (www.warriorlibrarian.com/ARCHIVE/index251.htm) about the online comic Bookhunter by Jason Shiga being available in print. Since Shiga is based in Oakland here in California, I just had to get my hands on a copy of the book. And to my delight, it arrived in my mailbox this month. The story, set in 1973, focuses on the efforts of a team of Bookhunters (i.e. library police) in their efforts to recover a priceless book stolen from the Oakland Public Library. You can read the comic online at www.shigabooks.com/.

Another Book Related Game

If you like the game Liebrary (www.liebrary.com), and the board game Booktastic (www.booktasticgame.com), you’ll want to check out the board game Bookchase. It’s advertised as “the world’s first board game about books which comes with your own bookshelf, library card, bookshop, and your own set of tiny books to collect.” I know I can’t wait to see this new game. You can find information about it at (www.bookchase.info/about.php).

For more information about librarians…

Be sure to purchase a copy of my new book, Casanova Was a Librarian: a Light Hearted Look at the Profession, by Kathleen Low, available from McFarland (www.mcfarlandpub.com), Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, and other retailers.

Thanks for reading along with me!

Send an email to Casanovawasalibrarian@hotmail.com with “Librarian fun” in the subject line and you'll receive interesting librarian related information in your email inbox once a month.