Newsletter (Mar 2008)
MARCH 2008 LIBRARIAN FUN
Monthly newsletter pertaining to the topic of librarians.
Two Classic Twilight Zone Episodes on YouTube
If you haven’t seen them in quite some time, or have never seen them, be sure to check out these two classic Twilight Zone episodes now on YouTube. “The Obsolete Man” episode (www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPrpxwj-lwI&feature=related) which first aired in 1961 stars Burgess Meredith as a librarian condemned to death for being an “obsolete man.” And in the “Time Enough at Last” episode (www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LyhtEEwzAc&feature=related)
which first aired in 1959, stars Burgess Meredith as a bank employee. He loves to read even though his wife and boss think it’s a waste of time. He happens to be locked in the bank’s vault when an H-bomb is dropped on his town. And if you don’t know the ending, you’ll have to watch the episode.
Another New Librarian Memoir
Later this month Scott Douglas’ memoir Quiet, Please is scheduled for release by Da Capo Press. Douglas is a librarian at the Anaheim Public Library (California). His memoirs sounds like it will be an amusing read. More information can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2p6njs
Truth Stranger Than Fiction: Killer Librarians
A headline on the front page of the 2/28/08 London Guardian read “Dead Librarian Wrote Murder Confession.” The article reports thata nine page handwritten note confessing to the murder of a teenage girl whose body was found in a Liverpool alley thirty eight years earlier was found in the home of 77 year old Harvey Richardson after his death.
On the subject of killer librarians, the February 23rd Montreal Gazette reported Toronto reference librarian Joseph Pannell, convicted of killing a Chicago police officer in 1969 was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine.
Despite these two librarians, let’s not forget those librarians over the years that have been killed on the job. They paid the ultimate price for serving their communities.
What’s the Worst Thing You Can Do in a Library?
I can think of a lot of bad things that I’ve seen happen in libraries. But part of the caption below the Dr. Sansom’s Extreme Facts comic that appeared in the February 23rd London Guardian reads “…before you joined the Bodelian Library you had to make a promise. You had to promise not to make a fire in the library….You should never make a fire in a library. If you want to cook sausages, do it at home.”
Library Movie Update
Last month I told you about the forthcoming film “The Public,” which centers on homeless people seeking shelter in the public library. A major portion of the movie will be filmed in the Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library, with filming scheduled to begin in May of this year.
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.
