Oh, gross!

I think I just threw up a little.

Fresh off the book truck . . .

Does this title strike anyone else as slightly ironic?

Go read a banned book!

Happy banned book week! To celebrate you could follow the Polite Librarian's suggestion. Or support the online Children's Book Art Auction to Support Free Speech for Kids' by the American Booksellers. Click here to learn more. Or checkout (did you catch that pun?) the ALA site and have fun looking up which of your favorite books have been banned. Let's hear it for intellectual freedom!

An enjoyment to get greedy about

I am so going to make these for my next library potluck! Great idea from Hungry Happenings.

Reina Del Cid rocks my world

The musician is Reina Del Cid. This is her original song, titled "Library Girl." I am just posting it because it is awesome and you should be exposed to it. Enjoy!




Lyrics:

Shelving books on the night shift
It takes some time, but I guess I like it
Dewey's decimals keep me company

Out the window, you are dancing
With those girls who can't stop laughing
Lip-gloss, too hot, fake-baked drama queens

You were drinking a margarita
I was reading My Antonia
I got to thinking that

I don't fit inside that world
And I'm not like those other girls
Oh no, I'm not, I think a lot
But please don't be afraid

Just 'cause I navigate the media
And use encyclopedias
It doesn't mean that I don't need
A boy just like you to talk to

Set my cup back on its saucer
At the coffee shop, reading Chaucer
With my iPod on my favorite track

The girls you're with get turtle lattes
Decaf, skim-based, extra frothy
But you and I both drink our coffee black

You were talking about ACDC
And I was playing my Puccini
I got to thinking that

Repeat Chorus

You can buy me a margarita
And I will lend you My Antonia
You can take me to ACDC
And I'll play you my Puccini
It doesn't matter that

I don't fit inside that world
I'm not like those other girls
Oh no, I'm not, I think a lot
But you are not afraid.

That I navigate the media
And use encyclopedias
It doesn't mean that I don't need
A boy just like you to talk to

Unexplainable? Maybe. Un-trackable to a librarian? Never!

Library folks are particular in their ways when it comes to data gathering and organizing. We like to be detailed and be clear, even regarding information that can defy precision. Can YOU catalog a football? A librarian can. Librarians apparently have a category and a way to track everything - including what is described (by the librarian) as "unexplainable".

So far, this is my favorite example of such quirkiness. Classic clear, precise explanation. And even an example of best methods. Fantastic. After you get past the giggling at how serious they take their instructions, have some fun poking around the rest of their blog.

I talk in my sleep

I have been told that I sometimes mumble when I sleep. Occasionally even talk a little bit. A little humorous, possibly annoying to my husband or sisters I have shared a room with before. But no big deal really.

Unless I slip upstairs at work to find a quiet study carrel for a quick rest of my eyes on my fifteen minute break. And then accidentally fall asleep. And wake myself up by talking in my sleep.

Classy

I work in the library of a small, private, Catholic college. A representative of one of our book vendors came today to show the librarians a new database. To do so, he pulled up the Religion section of the the database as an example. He was surprised by something in the results. And in showing the Religion section to the Catholic college librarians, he used the name of Jesus as an exclamation.

This post was brought to you by the letter

Well, *oming into work today was TOTALLY worth my time.

I was running late anyway, whi*h always starts off the day on a high note. And then I hurry in and get settled at my desk. I try to log into Millennium (our library *atalog program). At whi*h point I find out that the letter * on my keyboard is no longer working. Just one letter. Arbitrarily the letter *

(Have you figured out whi*h letter it is yet?)

You might think that you *an get around using this letter. And I was able to do so through one rather strenuous and stilted sounding email sent to my *ampus te*h support desk. (An email that has not been responded to yet. Sadly I had to resort to a follow up phone*all. That always makes me feel like a te*hno-phobe who *an’t even send an email for help. But really, I just *an’t get a response.) Anyway. You *an get around using the letter *. For a while. I don’t spend a lot of my work day writing about animals (*ows, *i*kens, *rusta*ians, *anaries) or pie flavors (*o*onut, pea*h, *herry, *ho*olate). However, it is a useful letter.

In fa*t, not having use of the letter * has shown me that it is a*tually the unsung workhorse of the alphabet. You *annot re*eive, pro*ess, or *orre*t anything without the letter *. I *annot sear*h for book titles – whi*h is most of what I do all day long. I either sear*h for books online to pri*e quote or pur*hase. Or I sear*h our library *atalog to see if a book is on the shelf, lost, or *he*ked out. YOU try using a library *atalog without the letter *!

And of *ourse, as I figured out five se*onds into my morning, I *annot log into most of my programs or internet vendor *he*kout *arts without the letter *. But I don’t work entirely on the *omputer all day, every day. I do have other a*tivities, I mean, tasks. So what else do I do?

I pro*ess invoi*es. Blast! Not only *an I not spell pro*ess or invoi*e without the letter *, but I *an’t log into Millennium to do so. Neither has the other half of my shipment arrived. I thought it would *ome yesterday afternoon. It didn’t. And this morning’s mail delivery *ame and went with no new boxes of books for me. I *an’t pro*ess new books if there are none here to pro*ess.

So I sort through the latest build-up of *atalogs. It is my job to sort and route relevant book and media *atalogs tot ea*h individual librarian for the subje*ets that they sele*t and pur*hase books for. It is a little tedious, so I usually put it off for a while. And after the holiday, I really anti*ipated a huge sta*k to have to re*y*le . . .er . . . *arefully sort and route. Of *ourse I don’t just toss half of them on sight. Why do you ask? Hmmm, strange. There are relatively few *atalogs. Ok, so that only took five minutes. I know, I will re-do the display! There is a bulletin board outside my *ubi*le. I use it to post interesting multi-subje*t *atalogs. So everyone *an see them.

So I set up a display of independent film post*ards, fliers, and *atalogs. I also usually send an email to the librarians when a new display goes up. But how to do so without using the letter *? I de*ide to use an * instead (as I have also *leverly done here as well). I add a P.S. to let them know that I am not really trying to *urse at them all through inter-offi*e email. Good thing the group email address for the library staff does not start with the letter *, or I would not have been able to pull it up.

Now what? (Fingers drumming on the table top.)

Am I really dead in the water with 5 ½ hours to go? And how on earth did I fill up the last 2 hours? Oh yes, *hasing down the helpdesk for a new keyboard. That still hasn’t arrived. I *ould *all ba*k and offer to pi*k it up from them myself. But I really don’t want to *all and pester them again and be that person. My whole day has ground to a halt all be*ause of one stupid, little key, one 1.5 *entimeter square pie*e of plasti*. What do I do for the rest of my day?

I guess I will write a blog post. You all don’t mind going without the letter *, do you?