Today is....

National Library Worker's Day!

So go say thank you to all those librarians out there!

I'd like to thank Donna, Karen, Linda, Angel, and all the others at my branch library. Also Mom & all of her former coworkers who were amused by my lack of restraint and eagerness to check out as many books as I could carry!

Book Expo America is Coming Up

Laura has been dying to go to this as long as I've known her. I'm kind of interested, but had never really given it that much thought since it's an industry show and almost impossible to get into unless you work in the publishing industry. Not to mention the expense- the registration is something like $400. But then we found out that this year they're offering a $45 one-day pass to booklovers not in the business.

Well, that still wasn't quite enough to tempt me...until I did my taxes the other day and discovered that I'm actually getting refunds this year! WOOOOOOOOT! Laura is doing hers this weekend, but suspects she will be getting one as well. So we decided we're going. Luckily we seem to travel well together.

Now for the fun part. *eyeroll* BEA is in NYC. Yeah...that's gonna be expensive. The hotels offering discounts to the Expo guests are all $200-300 a night. We're going to have to stay at least 2 nights. (the day pass is for Saturday, June 1, so we'll have to fly up on Friday and come back Sunday) I'm playing around with different sites, hoping to score a lower price, but it's not looking too promising right now. The lowest I've found so far was $189 and somewhere out on Long Island. (The Expo is close to Times Square)

Ticket prices are a booger too. So far it's looking like $230-300 each to fly, and that's if we fly into Newark, which means getting transport into NYC. Normally I'd be willing to drive to where I'm going, but the idea of drving in NYC (with MY roadrage?!?) sends cold chills down my spine. And since Laura sucks at navigating (sorry, chica), the odds of us getting hopelessly lost are pretty good. So flying is our best bet, especially if we wind up at a hotel near the Expo. I'm not too sanguine about the NY subway system, but we may have to use it for some of the things we're hoping to do while we're there.

Things to do while we're there- we both have ideas for that. I'm sure Laura will be posting hers on her blog, but here's mine:

1. Have a pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli. I have been dying to do this since I saw them on an episode of Man Vs Food.

2. Visit the Strand Bookstore

3. Visit the NY Public Library and take a picture with the lions (shock, right?)

4. Find a stitch shop.

5. Visit Chinatown


Any other suggestions or travel tips?

Freaking out the librarians

Most of the regular staff at my library branch know that I work for the police. On the weekends, the library is usually staffed by part timers and/or people from other branches. Sunday was one of those occasions.




I noticed 2 squad cars out front when I pulled up to get my books yesterday. Went inside and didn’t see anyone, so I didn’t think anything else of it. I needed to use a computer, so I went upstairs, headed for the first free one I saw, and didn’t pay attention to anything else until it was time for me to check out.



As I walked up to the circulation desk, I heard a voice behind me. “Let me know if this one gives you any problems. She’s a known trouble maker.”



I grinned, recognizing the voice. “Push off, pig!”



The kid working at the desk looked ready to faint. Officer E & I continued to banter for a minute before we realized that he thought the cop was serious & I was smarting off to him. E finally explained that we work together and he was just giving me grief. You could see the clerk visibly relax at that point.



E told me that they were there because someone reported an internet predator was there. They got the guy, and the detectives were upstairs examining the computer the scum had been using. “We all saw you come in.” Somehow I missed 4 uniformed officers and 3 detectives (all of whom I know VERY well) because I was so focused on getting online and getting done. Ooops. Although I wouldn’t have gone over and said anything if they were clearly working on something- I know better than to do that. But it apparently gave them all a good laugh that I was so oblivious.

Love Letter to the Library

I read this article on BBC.co.uk : http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/willgompertz/2010/11/are_libraries_out_of_date.html

Go ahead and read it, I'll wait. 

Ok. Are libraries passe? I don't think so. Nor should they be phased out. My mom was a career librarian and gave me my love for reading. Even before she went back to work, we took weekly trips to the library to stock up on books. Back in those days, books were a luxury we couldn't afford to buy on our own and the library was always there for us. Once she started working there? I was like a kid in a candy store. Dad & I would go to pick her up (he worked nights, so he was free to keep an eye on me after school while Mom was at work) and I would frantically grab books to take home. If I was a good girl, I was allowed in the back where I could plunder through the newly returned books for treasures. If the librarians were busy back there, I'd browse through the stacks and carry a pile up to take home. 

I watched my first videotape at the library. Back then, our library had 3 viewing stations so that people who didn't have VCR's at home could still see movies, and I think they were one of the first libraries in the state to offer that. Anyway, the first one I watched was Star Wars. There were also a few listening stations for LP's and audiotapes. I learned about old radio serials from the AV department and checked out all of the Amos & Andy tapes, as well as other programs. I picked out albums based solely on the cover art (hey, I was a kid) and discovered jazz and blues and a handful of comedians. (mom didn't censor my book choices much, but she kept an eagle on on the audio selections- not that the library had too much of anything hardcore. public funding and all that) Oh, and the magazines! I didn't know that there were that many magazines available. I quickly figured out that most of them didn't appeal to me, but just knowing that they were there was enough.

When I got older, I was hired as a library page. This is basically a glorified term for shelver. I felt all grown up- I had to get my social security card for payroll, the librarians who had always seen me as "Marie's kid" now treated me like one of them, and I still got to take home as many books as I could carry, plus I got PAID! Shelving allowed me to find books I might not have seen otherwise. When I went off to college and was given a choice of jobs for my work-study financial aid, I immediately chose to work in one of the college libraries. My bosses were amazed by my shelving prowess and amused by the stacks of books I constantly took back to the dorm.

Post college, I eventually wound up working in bookstores. I'd still be there if A: they paid more, and B: I hadn't thoroughly come to loathe working retail. I like books, people I'm not so crazy about. With the employee discount, I bought books out the wazoo. I stopped using the library as much because it wasn't as convenient and I hated waiting for them to buy the new books that I wanted to read. (still do. I realize that they have to spend their money on books that will appeal to the largest number of people and can't buy EVERYTHING, but it makes me crazy when they don't get a new title in for months, if at all)

Although I no longer work retail, I still buy a fair amount of books. But I also use the library a lot more. It took a few years for me to find a branch that I liked- the main library here is mostly staffed by some of the most lazy, obnoxious people I've ever met. (alas, they're in a union, so they can't be easily fired) There are a handful of VERY nice people there, who I miss talking to, but I got tired of dealing with the others and eventually quit going there. The branch closest to my house had a rotating staff when I started using it and I had numerous problems there at first, but now they have a permanent staff who are some of the most delightful people I know. They know me by name (and I know their names) , are amused by my omnivorous reading & music habits, and we share family stories and book recommendations all the time. I use the computers there a few times a week (no printer at home, and can't print some things at work, so I go to the library for that too) and attend a few of the programs when they fall in hours I'm not working. We even held a book club meeting there once. (the club disbanding shortly after that was a coincidence- My friend Laura and I keep trying, but can't get one off the ground.)

It makes me crazy when I hear people say that they don't know what good libraries do. Let's see- free access to books/magazines/music/videos, free access to computers (limited time, but they're free!), free classes in computer skills/creating resumes/job searching online, a safer place for kids to go after school, school tutoring/homework assistance, storytimes and other programs for small children...the list goes on. Anyone who doesn't want to go through formal education can still learn about almost anything under the sun by reading library books.

Two years ago here in Louisville, one of the most hotly contested issues was a proposed library tax. It was an occupational tax that would have cost most people about $5 a year, if that. The money it would have raised could have increased the collection, built new branches, remodeled some of the older branches, and been a real asset to the community. It got voted down. I partially understand why- our mayor was known for taking money earmarked for projects and throwing into his own pet issues, but a lot of people said they voted against it "because I don't use the library, so why should I pay for it?" Well, going by that logic, I don't have kids and am not going to, so why should I pay taxes for schools? Some people don't drive- why should they pay taxes for roads? What if you need to use it some day and it's not there? For $5 a year, it would have been a bargain.

Anyway, now that I've rambled on forever, the point that I was trying to make is that I love libraries. Friends and family members laugh at mom & me when we go on vacation and one of the first things we want to do is go check out the local library and the bookstores. On my first trip to Toronto, one of the first things I did was pick up a handful of fliers from a library and mail them to Mom in NC. When we went to London, we didn't get to a library, but by gad we went to as many bookstores as I could drag Mom into. (And I learned the valuable lesson of go to the British Museum first, hit the Charing Cross Road bookstores last or you will spend the entire time you're in the museum waiting for your arm to fall off under the weight of all the books you foolishly bought and have to lug around until you go back to your hotel!) We went to Washington DC and toured the Library of Congress (beautiful building- if you've never been, GO) and got official library cards from it. (one of my most prized possessions) And if anyone ever succeeds in dragging me to NYC, you can best believe that I will be going to the NY Public Library and getting my picture taken with the lions!