The Librarian’s Book of Lists

The Librarian's Book of Lists

A must-read for the aspiring librarians or lover of libraries and lists. This book includes silly lists like In the Library with the Lead Pipe’s Brett Bonfield’s list of library-inspired Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavors, and thought-provoking lists like, Michael Gorman’s five new laws of library science (#5 – Honor the past and create the future.)

You may also get a kick out of the haunted library list or the 25 largest libraries in North America (by volume) list  as well.In the spirit of the holidays, this would make an excellent stocking stuffer or “thinking of you” gift for your favorite bibliophile.

90 Percent of US Doesn’t Know CTRL+F

An older co-worker taught me keyboard short cuts, and drilled me on them. At my previous position, I developed the habit of using our system-specific ones for circulation functions but when I moved, it was a new game. She taught me the universal ones and I picked up the new system’s. I also learned that not everyone over 50 is computer illiterate – the most important lesson.

The reality of a small town

Originally published: August 2, 2011

I could tell something was up with the children’s librarian when we changed guards for the evening shift. (She wasn’t as chatty as she was usually is.) One of our patrons, a teen, almost drowned Monday night. He and his family are avid library patrons. They maybe very local, but they known the importance of the library. He had been swimming the deep water by the bridge and got caught in the current – he remains in critical condition.

At first I didn’t know who the teen was. Between mentally drifting and spending very little time in the children’s room, children’s room facts are committed to memory. But on my evening run, I remembered him.

Just like that, there was a face for a name and my heart sank.

He’s a sweet kid and I hope I see him again in the library. In my five-ish years of working in libraries, this is a first. Scores of people use the library every day, but I’ll remember maybe a dozen faces – tops. This teen made it into the dozen. In this regard, I might not be cut-out for small town life.

In a small town (or even a close community), you interact one-on-one with everyone. You know a little bit about what’s going on with them, and they know a little about you. Sounds nice? Well, then the Great Inevitable happens and…you just have to go on. Or that what I surmise is going to happen. Still, the library is pretty somber this week.

 

To Timbuktu: Nine Countries, Two People, One True Story

To Timbuktu

If only I could remember WHAT recommended me this treasure. Travel? Journal? Pictures?! Some of my favorite topics complied in equally as enticing yellow cover. (But you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover!) Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg met in Morocco while study abroad with their respective colleges. They fell in love, and made the distance work. Upon their graduations, they had only one plan in mind: Travel. Scieszka ‘s words and Weinberg’s illustrations weave a cohesive story about their post-graduate travel through Asia, Indonesia, and Africa.

At no point does the text disintegrate into a fairy tale, where all of Casey and Steven’s plans fall perfectly into place and they face no hardships. I read on-edge when they experienced identification problems in Mali, but devoured their descriptions of the local cuisine and cultural commentary. I particularly enjoyed reading about the first leg of their trip teaching Chinese schoolchildren English. I definitely empathized for Casey and Steven as they developed lesson plans and tried to connect two cultures by one language. They rise to every challenge they face though, as visitors and as young adults.

My friend Michael is studying Asian Studies at Temple University- Japan campus, and loves it. He is constantly nagging me to visit him in Japan “one of these days”. Of course Japan and China are different, but the travel-bug persists.

Thumbs: 2 out of 2! (and a stomach)

Thanks for not being useless

Three years ago, my adviser laughed at me because I told her my career plan was to become a librarian. That reaction fueled a two-year animosity between us. She retired in the fall,  so my new adviser is the chair of the Political Science department.

I didn’t have any expectations for him. At this point, I am on track to graduate spring 2012 and squeeze in an internship as well. We had to have a sit-down meeting for registration clearance though. He was pleased with my registration plan, and asked me the same question my previous adviser asked two years ago…

“So…what do you want to do with a Political Science, Pre-Law degree”

“I want to be a librarian.”

To my surprise, he did not laugh. In fact, he told me that TWO other Poli-Sci major from our department had gone on to library science (that he knew of). TWO! In your FACE, McQ!

A wave of relief washed over me. Political science and library science actually overlap (At least in the realm of public librarianship…) and I thought it was strange how law school was so expected of us. The opinions of my adviser or other professors didn’t matter to me on this subject before though. Frankly, I am going to what I want to do and they can deal with it or not.

It was nice to hear encouraging words though.

 

Persepolis

Persepolis

There were two British international students at the university last spring. Liam and Lucy (Yes, those are their real names) furthered my world view just from the stories they told me about their home life. That sensation, paired with my recent binge on graphic novels and gearing up for Script Frenzy, inspired me to read Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis.

Persepolis, followed up with Persepolis 2, are excellent texts for anyone interested in getting into the art of illustration and story-telling. What Satrapi created is in no way “text book”. The fact of the matter is that she’s created a model of what can be accomplished from hard-work, and a very interesting life. Her story compelled me to read it to the end, and it wasn’t just from the subject matter, but her voice. I felt connected with it, which is incredible since my story is a 180 to Satrapi.

Life stories, and memoirs, I have now realized, are my favorite “genre” of writing. My aunt once told me that “No one is interested in what’s going on with anyone”. That’s a good quote to keep in mind when you publicly embarrass yourself, but something I couldn’t lead my life by. I like to hear stories, and learn about people. I like to form bonds, and laugh.

Thumbs: 2 out of 2

Secret Identity

Secret Identity

Marvel will always have a special place in my heart, but I have been coming to terms recently that I love DC. Between Alan Moore for the Neo-Victorian Literature and the purchasing librarian being DC-centric, DC is slowly winning me over. At the end of the day, a graphic novel is a graphic novel (or some may still say “comic book”), but old grudges die hard.

Secret Identity, by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen, ran in 2004 as a miniseries of Superman. Clark Kent is the protagonist, but he is not the familiar Man of Steel. In fact, he detests Superman through his adolescence- until he develops his own Superman-esque powers. It’s only then he dons his own bodysuit and saves humanity on the sly does he accept his namesake-destiny. He battles numerous threats, and the US government, but there isn’t an opponent greater than the one he faces everyday- himself.

This Clark Kent is real. Well, as real as any fictional character based on a fictional character is going to get. He is a human who was given his powers by a meteor landing near his hometown in Kansas when he was a teenager (We see what you did there…). We feel his nervousness when he falls in love with the aptly-named Lois, and his exhilaration as he advances in his writing career. All of these human concerns are balanced with a sense of paranoia of the US government trying to locate him, and just wondering how he became what he is.

As the title implies, Identity is paramount to the miniseries. The struggles that this Clark Kent face are closer to home to the reader than one might experience with the original. You don’t receive the play-by-play of his daily struggles, but the series is four volumes that reflect on his life stages within his human identity and his “other” identity. In this, I found what I enjoy so much from Marvel. The human aspect.  Civil War is slated for this break…

Thumbs: 2 out of 2

 

Will Grayson, will grayson

Will Grayson, will grayson

Hands down, one of the highlights of last summer. Anything John Green and David Levithan pen, individually, is beautifully orchestrated with humor and heat-string-pulling emotion and this collaboration is a must-read for fans of both authors. Will Grayson, will grayson is the best of both writers in one novel.

The title characters, both of whom are young men named Will Grayson, are as individual as the authors who bring them to life. The story is told in alternating chapters, with carefully cultivated styles, of the writers’ selection, to distinguish the Will Graysons apart. You’ll laugh at the incredibly beautiful coincidences of life and laugh, having no idea what else to do, at the cruelty that life also hands the Will Graysons.

I’ll sing the praises of Green and Levithan until they no longer merit them.

Thumbs: 2 out of 2