Newsletter (Summer 2009)
SUMMER 2009 LIBRARIAN FUN
Monthly newsletter pertaining to the topic of librarians.
Headlines: Fact or Fiction
Which of the following are real, and which are not?
1. Headline: Librarian Rising Star on Race Circuit
2. Headline: Beloved Librarian’s Estate is going to the Dogs…Literally.
3. Headline: From Librarian to Liberation Leader
4. Headline: Librarian Background Fruitful for Winemaker
5. Headline: Librarian Overcame Shyness to Host Popular Radio Show
6. Headline: Librarians are on the Top Shelf of the Highly-Paid League
7. Headline: Jail Romance: Love Lost for Inmate
Keep a Watch Out for These New Films with Librarians
The Time Traveler’s Wife. Based on the book by Audrey Niffenegger, stars Rachel McAdams, and Eric Bana as the librarian, is scheduled to be released on August 14, 2009. You can read more about it at http://www.thetimetravelerswifemovie.com.
Herb and Dorothy (Documentary). In an earlier issue I wrote about Herb and Dorothy Vogel, a former US Postal Employee and his wife, a former librarian at the New York Public Library who were able to amass a renowned art collection on their civil servant salaries. Now their stories have come to film in a documentary from writer-director Megumi Sasaki. Be sure to keep an eye out for this documentary at film fests. You can read more about the documentary at www.herbanddorothy.com.
Sleep Furiously. Described as a “dreamy and lyrical portrait of a year in the life of a tiny Welsh hamlet called Trefeurig,” the films characters include “John Jones, a kindly mobile librarian who tooties across the verdant Welsh landscape in his jaunty yellow van…”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235072/.
Crime and Librarians
Sadly librarians are not immune from breaking the law. Whenever they do, the newspapers love carrying stories of librarians gone bad. But for every librarian who commits a crime, there seem to be an equal number of librarians who have fallen victim to crime.
All of the following headlines are real, expect for one. Can you guess which one it is?
1. Headline: Father Accused of Ramming Everett School Librarian
The father is accused of using his vehicle to knock down an elementary school librarian over a dispute as to which entrance he’s supposed to use when dropping off his child at school.
2. Headline: NW Woman, 61, Fatally Stabbed in Long Island Attack.
The woman, a retired school librarian from Northwest Washington, was stabbed multiple times by an intruder.
3. Headline: Texas Librarian Lynched over Banned Book
A note claiming the librarian was killed for allowing “filth” in the library was found on the body of a slain public librarian.
4. Headline: New Kensington Man Who Assaulted Librarian Released
The man assaulted the library director of the Greensburg Library when the director asked his staff to call the police after his wife was confronted about trying to steal a book from the library.
5. Headline: 3 Held for Death of Retired Librarian
This story from Vaniyambadi focuses on a retired librarian who was beaten to death by three suspects during an argument about organizing a temple festival near Alangayam.
Librarian Characters Appear on Stage
This year librarian characters have appeared in at least two plays in England. In Daniel Jamieson’s play Cobbo, lonely librarian Annie develops an affectionate relationship with a swan with a human past. You can read a review of the production at http://tinyurl.com/mneoa8.
In Alphabetical Order, Michael Frayn’s comedy is set in a newspaper library. You can read a review of the production at http://tinyurl.com/mf9op6.
ANSWERS: Headlines: Fact or Fiction
1. Headline: Librarian Big Star on Race Circuit
Fiction. This is not a real headline, but there are librarians who do race competitively.
One example is young adult librarian Sandy Nosse (http://tinyurl.com/kua6sb).
2. Headline: Beloved Librarian’s Estate is Going to the Dogs…Literally.
True. The headline is from an article that appeared in the May 26, 2009 the Beaumont Enterprise regarding the late Maurine Gray and her collection of more than 3,000 inanimate dogs. You can read the article at http://tinyurl.com/qt8ulz.
3. Headline: From Librarian to Liberation Leader
True. This headline appeared in the March 29, 2009 Sunday Tribune (Durban. South Africa) about Sibusiso Ndebele.
4. Headline: Librarian Background Fruitful for Winemaker
True. Appearing on June 5, 2009, the article focused on Jim Livingston who started the Hartwood Winery back in 1989. You can read the article at http://tinyurl.com/oljaku.
5. Headline: Librarian Overcame Shyness to Host Popular Radio Show
True. On March 7, 2009, the Ottawa Citizen (www.Ottawacitizen.com) ran a story on the late Jane Crosier, a former high school librarian who later hosted a radio program about books for radio station CKCU FM.
6. Headline: Librarians are on the Top Shelf of the Highly-Paid League
True. This is not a headline you see too often. The first sentence of this article which ran on May 5, 2009 in the Daily Mail (London) reads “University librarians’ wages speak volumes about the feather-bedded public sector in Ireland, according to a study of equivalent pay levels across Europe.”
7. Headline: Jail Romance: Love Lost for Inmate
True. The Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia) carried a story about a Kiwi prisoner who used a jail radio to make a romantic phone call to the prison librarian. You can read the story at http://tinyurl.com/mf3grz.
ANSWER: Crime and Librarians
Thank goodness Headline #3 is fictitious.
You can read more about the other stories if interested.
Father Accused of Ramming Everett School Librarian (http://tinyurl.com/mryqgd)
NW Woman, 61, Fatally Stabbed in Long Island Attack (http://tinyurl.com/lj65tl)
New Kensington Man Who Assaulted Librarian Released (http://tinyurl.com/lozweo)
3 Held for Death of Retired Librarian (http://tinyurl.com/mupd38)
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!
