Cramming for the GED

I saw a sign years ago that I would like to put up at the library. It states “Poor Planning on Your Part Does Not Constitute an Emergency on Our Part.” Such a sign would have been handy the other day when a patron came in requesting, as she put it, books about reading, math, social sciences, and biology. As my assistant worked to find books fitting this very generic description, the patron indicated that she was really in a hurry because Continue Reading »

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

For good reason, library policy states that only parents or legal guardians can sign for library cards for children. I have met many well-meaning grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others to whom I’ve had to recite this policy. As an extra precaution, we ask not “Are you the child’s mother?” but “What is your relationship to the child?” When someone does claim legal guardianship, we ask for Continue Reading »

What’s in the bag?

My boss tells the following story from her days as a reference librarian. One day a patron approached her and asked for a book about snakes, particularly snakes in that region of Florida. After she had retrieved some snake books, her eyes fell on the paper bag that the patron had placed on the counter. “What’s in the bag?” she asked. Continue Reading »

Why I hate the Accelerated Reader Program

Recently, a mother came up to the desk with her third-grade daughter. The daughter had selected a book about horses that she seemed very eager to read. The mother asked me if it was on the Accelerated Reader list. It was not. “Well,” she said, “there’s no point in my daughter reading this book if she can’t get points for it.” The child was then made to put the book back on the shelf. Need I say more… Continue Reading »

Reading on the job

I supervise four library assistants, and I encourage them to read as many children’s books as possible. My rule about reading on the job is simple: If we are slow, by all means read a book; but, it must be a children’s book. One of my assistants is a college-aged girl who recently discovered Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat who thinks he’s a chihuahua. It is hysterical. Continue Reading »

Spam Sandwiches

The Trap by John Smelcer grabbed my attention because of it’s cover. Drops of blood on the snow near an animal trap led me to want to learn more about the story. Survival stories can be quite riveting, and I was in the mood for a fast-paced and gripping read. The story, set in Alaska among a Native American community, is beautifully told. The grandfather’s fight for survival is excrutiating to read about because as the reader you feel his pain and frustration. Continue Reading »

Chicken Walks in to the Library - Ha! Ha!

A chicken walked in to the library, went up to the librarian, flapped her wings and said, “Bok! Bok!” The librarian reached behind her, grabbed a book, and placed it under the chicken’s wing. And, out the door, the chicken waddled.
A few minutes later, the chicken returned. She placed the book on the counter, looked at the librarian, flapped her wings, and said, “Bok! Bok!” The librarian shrugged, reached for another book, placed it under the chicken’s wing. And out the door the chicken waddled. Continue Reading »

Not all information is good information

Go to martinlutherking.org and you will find offensive and inflammatory material written by Klan sympathizers. Countless students will no doubt discover this page quite innocently as they prepare to do school reports. This web-page is a blatant example of why Google is not a replacement for libraries. Students often think that whatever material they find on the Internet is factual information. Sometimes adults also fall victim to this kind of thinking and fail to Continue Reading »