Ah, Yes. Right This Way.

"It had a red cover."

"The author's name had a 'q' in it."

The main character has a cat and works in a bakery."

Oh boy! I love a good book-finding challenge!

All right, all right. Sometimes it gets a smidge irritating trying to read the mind of whatever random patron is giving me very minimal information.

Here's a tip: be prepared! We can only do so much.

Thanks to Google, I just type in whatever the patron says, then keep modifying my search terms and see what I turn up.

I once spent close to 20 minutes searching online to find a particular mystery series. Every time the patron (an older woman) remembered another detail, I typed it in. My, the satisfaction when I hit up on the correct title!

If the patron does have some helpful information, though, I like to think of it as a challenge to remember a particular author or title. (J.K. Rowling's new book published under a pseudonym? The Cuckoo's Calling. As if I wouldn't know that!)

I'm always happy to help a patron remember a particularly elusive title. I feel like Super Librarian! As he or she exclaims in awe over my skill, all I can do is bask in their admiration.

"It's no trouble," I say. "That's why they pay me the big bucks."

Source

Oh, I'll Get Her a Journal

I am a girl who owns many journals.

Journals, diaries, notebooks...whatever you want to call them.

I've got a lot. I consider myself somewhat of an accidental collector.

Cool notebooks are a pretty standard gift, after all. People must think, I don't know her very well...I'll get her a notebook! It's like lotion. So versatile. She's a girl, so she must enjoy writing down her feelings and moisturizing her hands.

And....it's true. I like both notebooks and lotion, by the way.

But I've never really liked writing down my feelings. I went through stages where I tried to keep a "diary" but I ended up destroying many pages after rereading. Ugh, feelings sound so stupid when you write them down. And what if someone found them and read them? No thank you.

As a result of me trying to write and then hating to write and then destroying what I'd written, I have lots of notebooks with half of the pages written.

There's nothing quite like starting a new notebook for class, Bible study, lists, whatever. Unless you're starting an old notebook. In which case I may need to tear out five pages of stupid thoughts first.

What is old (and already written in) is new again!

I wish I hadn't thrown so much of my writing away, every time I wanted to start a new notebook. I'd kind of like to read some things over.

Nah. *r i i i i i i i i i p*

Source

Summer + School - Books = Does Not Compute

I have a sad addiction to new books.

I mean, I work at a library. I see all that new stuff coming in, and my fingers itch to turn pages. Celebrity memoirs, health fads, picture books, the newest YA dystopian novel...I'm not super discerning when it comes to books.

Cruising the online library catalog is something I just can't keep myself from doing. I place holds like nobody's business! I have been known to have up to 70 items on hold at the library. Mostly new things.

So I just had to suspend my holds (about 50 now) since I'm too busy. Busy at work, busy at home, busy with school.

Too busy for new stuff.

Too busy for the latest in the series. Too busy for the blockbuster that was just released on dvd. Too busy for the latest paleo cookbook (I have dabbled).

When I am too busy for new library stuff, my life is topsy-turvy!

Everything is suspended for a month. Let me get myself together!

I remember my first summer working full-time. I was like, what is this "work" when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the ice cream cones are dripping on the hot pavement?

Now this is my first summer working full-time and taking classes.

My head says GET TO WORK YOU BUM while my heart says the hammock in the backyard would like to speak with you. right now.

I will push through. I will! But I've got to make tough decisions to stay focused. I must place my addiction aside.

And I say to myself, good luck with that.

The Energetic Librarian

I'm typically in a pretty good mood at work.

In fact, when I'm not, my coworkers tend to get concerned.

I'm a positive person, I have more energy each day from exercise and eating right, and I love my job.

Library patrons really respond well when I'm extra nice and interested in them. I know, I know. Not rocket science. Sometimes it can be hard to do, but it's gratifying seeing people leave with smiles on their faces.

Not to mention that being smiley and sympathetic helps keep people from seeing me as a mean librarian nazi.

For instance, when it comes to:

• technological problems (*ahem* ebooks *ahem*)
• collecting library fines (you only have yourself to blame, but okay)
• tax forms (I hate this time of year...)

all unpleasantness.

But sometimes people just want a listening ear. They want someone to say I'm sorry, I know this stinks. I also am not a fan of the IRS, or the fact that downloading ebooks from the library site is SO MUCH more difficult than checking out a physical book.

I'm getting better at reading people, and being able to judge whether or not they can take a joke.

My favorite is when a person will tell me to keep the change, or drop some change in the donation container and the amount is really tiny. I like to enthusiastically exclaim, as a guy drops one or two pennies in there, that now we will finally be able to add our new library wing!

I know, I know. But I'm the sarcastically hilarious librarian! They can't help but love me! 

Source

Oh, Good, It's Dark Already

WELL, we have gotten some lovely snow. I am so pleased that, after such a disappointing previous winter, we got some serious snowstorms and big, fluffy flakes. Especially since most of it was right around Christmas!

And now, it can all go away. Seriously, time for spring.

January, February, March....these months are dismal. No Christmas to look forward to, only long, miserable days of coldness.

The library's pretty quiet, too. I mean, attendance dropped before the holidays. It always does. But it's taking a while for people to get back in. All my programs are low on people and the pages (high schoolers who work in the evenings) don't have much to shelve.

Quiet days at the library are so depressing! With my recent viewing of Les Miserables (okay, and all the subsequent continuous listening of the music), all I can think of as I wander aimlessly through the library is "empty chairs at empty tables."

"My, friends, my friends!" Why have you all left the library?

Not a fair comparison. But I won't deny I haven't thought about it.

Cabin fever, that's what we all have around here. Outside, people are just rushing to get inside. Inside, there's nothing to do either. Bring me some sunshine, quick!

One Man's Trash is NOT the Library's Treasure

For some reason, people think that because we are a library, we will happily take all their junk off their hands.

Let me give you some background:
We have two big book sales a year.
We accept book (and DVD and CD) donations all throughout the year in preparation for these sales.
We are very clear on what we will and will not accept. (for example, no textbooks or reference books)

Sure, we take book donations. But we sell them in our book sale. Do you really think we want to sort through your wet, smelly, or useless material? I love the smell of books as much as the next person, but I do not simply hold onto books because they're books. They're not meant to last forever, people!

That is what the trash is for.

I've had people actually get mad at me for not taking ten-year-old textbooks.

Throw them away.

Just because we are a non-profit organization does not mean we will be weeping tears of gratitude while you try to pawn off stuff that still smells like old attic.

For a sarcastic person like myself, it takes a great deal of self-control to hold my tongue in some of these instances. I almost started laughing when someone tried to give me this pile of large photos someone took of random scenery. Is this a joke? Am I being filmed right now?

Apparently, people would rather feel like they're doing something useful with their junk or crummy books. They would rather take them to the library than stick them out with the trash.

Well, I'm sorry to let you down, now that you've dragged this whole carton of books that smell like cigarette smoke all the way to the library. But guess what?

You might have had trouble throwing that stuff away, but we certainly won't.

Mrs. Darcy

I know I keep writing about introverts. Deal with it. I'm trying to space these posts apart.

I've had a revelation.

Darcy is an introvert.



It's so obvious! There I was, rereading Pride and Prejudice for book club, and suddenly the pieces just clicked into place.

In the past when reading the book or watching the movies, I tended to see Mr. Darcy how Elizabeth did at first. I never considered his personality. However, introverts have been on my mind recently, so it's all clear now!

Poor Darcy, everyone thinking he's so full of it. I know people have thought me stuck-up before, since I tend to remain aloof. Things are happening inside introverts' heads, people! They may choose not to engage in meaningless conversation at social gatherings! And here's Mr. Darcy, choosing not to dance (though the gentlemen were scarce...) because his preference would be to have quality conversation with people he's already familiar with.

Um, let's see, how am I at parties...quietly in the corner, duh! Having a good time in my own way, or else escaping since I'm out of my element. Darcy, you're like my kindred spirit.

In the beginning of the book, Darcy is contrasted with his friend, Bingley. While Bingley finds friends wherever he goes and is basically the life of the party, Darcy is generally disliked and thought to be haughty. Bingley is the extrovert and Darcy is the introvert.

Hey, they're both great characters. And they need each other! After all, Bingley talks to many people with much ease, but Darcy is his most trusted friend. We see this when he takes Darcy's advise when it comes to Jane (side note: poor Jane, hiding her true feelings and not making it completely obvious she was falling for Bingley! introvert alert?).

Introverts are often misunderstood, especially because being an extrovert seems to be what's popular and desired. Darcy is misunderstood due to his quiet nature and judgments of people. He doesn't try to be more extroverted to fit in, he is who he is and doesn't seem to care when people criticize him for it. In Pride and Prejudice, people in Darcy's social circles were expected to be fun and talkative at parties. People who weren't were seen as awkward, and avoided.

"'I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,' said Darcy, 'of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.'"

I just think it's cool. I have not the talent either, Darcy. It's something I've just got to practice. Like Elizabeth said, she has to practice the piano because it's not something that comes naturally to her! Be who you are, but also pay attention to how you may come across.

It's Closing Time, Yo.

When I work at the library on Saturdays, it's usually pretty quiet. People drift in and out, study a bit, make a few copies, snag a movie for the night. But for some reason, around 4:45, fifteen minutes before we close, patrons decide to storm the doors. It has suddenly become a necessity to rush into the library: wild eyes darting around the shelves, relieved smiles when they see they have some time left.

No. No, no, no. We'd like to have everyone gone at 5, not have you read your newspaper until then before swinging by the men's room, thank you very much.

I don't have it much anymore, but when I worked in my college library I used to have this recurring nightmare. I would be walking around the library trying to close up and people would just keep coming in and coming in and I couldn't get anyone to leave. Students would keep wandering around trying to get books or study and I couldn't round people up to get out so I could go home.

Honestly, sometimes it's like herding cats trying to get patrons to vacate the premises. Seriously, all of a sudden the library is so important to you that you have to wait until 5:02 to attempt to check out your books?

And don't smile condescendingly like of course I know the library is closing when I remind you because you clearly. needed. a. reminder.

I'm so pleased you love your library and that you're visiting it. But we're open 71 hours a week. That's right, 71. Pick your time, my friend.

And if you do find yourself in a unique situation and have to run in at closing (our library is open until 9 on weeknights), it's nice to express how grateful and sorry you are. A little grovelling never hurt anyone, is all I'm saying.

I'm thankful I don't work in a grocery store or restaurant. I'm sure if I think getting people to leave the library is tough, these places have got to be worse. More people, more awkward situations, more late nights.

I try to be extra conscientious and leave early when I'm somewhere close to closing. These employees have lives, ya know!

Back Behind the Library

I'm tan.

Seriously, look - well, you can't look. But imagine. Someone who is usually pale and is now tan! Wow! I am impressed with myself.

I burned my way into quite a lovely tan this summer. This was partially due to Shakespeare in the Park. Also walking in the Memorial Day parade. Several long hot days of sunshine that toasted me right up.

To give credit where credit is due, let me also take a moment and thank my lunch hour. Couldn't have done it without ya!

Every day at the library I get an hour for lunch. On days when I work the evening shift this is actually dinner. But we still call it lunch. I just go with it.

And now finally that it's beautiful outside, I love to go and sit in the back of the library. It's secluded. There's no patron parking back there. No one bothers me. It's very important to me to have some alone time in the middle of my work day to get my introverted self recharged.

And how lovely it is to sit in the sun on a chair behind the library! There is also a hillside that I have practically fallen asleep on. Sitting in the grass can be fun as long as you don't think about how many ants are crawling all around you. I listen to podcasts, read magazines or books, and generally rest. Oh yeah, and eat my lunch.

My lunch hour is perfect; I go back into the library ready to handle the summer rush again (Sometimes randomly picking grass out of my hair). And I've been getting more and more tan. Score!

How to Check Out a Book at the Library

Sure, you've done it before. But have you done it correctly?

Step 1: Pick out your book. Pick out a mystery, a graphic novel, a memoir, a book of poetry. Browse the stacks until you find just the perfect read. Ask your friendly librarian for suggestions if you find yourself whining that everything you pick out is boring.

Step 2: Pick out another book. What if the first book isn't quite what you thought it would be? Or you read the first book too quickly? Honestly, it's just foolishness to leave the library with a single book. Be smart and get a back-up.

Step 3: Go to the circulation desk. Be mindful of those around you. Don't cut anyone else off. And it's nice to offer your spot to a harried mother with seven children hanging off her. Other than that, wait in line for your turn. Or, if your library is dying because no one wants to read anymore, step right up and enjoy the great service of three librarians all wanting to socialize and thank you for still coming. Haha...

Step 4: Present your library card. Don't be surprised that you are asked for it. If you're a patron of excellence, you have your card in your hand right away. Don't be the person who doesn't have your card...or your driver's license...wait, you're driving without a license AND without a library card? Good luck out there, man.

Step 5: Don't forget your receipt! It's given to you for a reason. Don't lose it and then feign innocence when you return items late (I mean "if"). And don't take your receipt, look at it, and then ask when your items are due. What do you think I'm handing you exactly?

Step 6: Walk out the door with your FREE books! And don't forget to come back now, you hear?

I mean, you'll have to. To return them.

Xtreme Library Workout

Get up!

That's right - I'm talking to you! Put down your bag of chips and get up! It's time to sweat, tone, and strengthen...in the librarian workout!

Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking that librarians are pretty sedentary. Not so. At MY library, you get a workout.

So let's do this! Take off your cardigan, put your glasses on top of your head, and let's do the librarian workout:

1. The Book Squat: Of course the book you need to shelve is on the bottom shelf. It seems like they all are, sometimes. No matter, use those glutes to stick that book right where it belongs, according to the dewey decimal system. And one and two and three and four!

2. The Literary Lunge: Whether you're carrying a large stack of DVDs or arranging material on the holds shelf, you are bound to lose your balance. In such occasions, simply lunge to grab falling items. This is a library, so you can't let too many things hit the ground at once. And don't forget to follow-through!

3. The 10-Shelf Dash: Pick up your pace, swing those elbows, and stride through the library. Don't forget to walk by the gang of unruly teenagers "doing homework," the sketchy guy at the computers, and the kid eyeing the spinning rack of periodicals. There's nothing like a brisk walk around the joint to remind everyone that you've got your eye on things.

4. The Chair Hover: Picture this: you just helped a patron at the desk and are now heading back to the office to sit down and continue working on that program flyer. But just before you hit the seat, another patron steps up to the desk. (How do they time it like that?) Engage your lower half and pick yourself back up before your butt even TOUCHES that seat.

5. The Cruisin' Cart: Do your library muscles still need a little help, even after hefting all those books? Give the book cart a push! After you've loaded it, of course. My dream is to one day be able to ride a cart through the library, but that's unfulfilled currently. Want to know how many times I've thought about doing that? 75. Oh - 76.

Hope you enjoyed a taste of the active life of a librarian. Don't forget to stretch!

It's More of an Art Form, Really.

Yesterday I spent some time reading shelves.

How much time? Not sure. Time has no meaning "in the stacks".

In a public library, books get touched a lot. Shuffled around. Picked up and stuck back in the wrong spot. And hey, that's okay. Sort of. We want people to be using the books; that's what they're there for. Unfortunately, we also want books to be in their proper place. Do you know what it's like to look up a book on a computer and have it say it's on the shelf, then take the patron to the shelf and not be able to find it? Awkward. We have to be able to find the books in their proper spots.

That's where shelf reading comes in.

Shelf reading is reading the spine label of each book to make sure everything is in order. Fiction books are arranged in alphabetical order by the author's last name. Nonfiction books are arranged according to the dewey decimal system.

So you stand there and examine each book. Yes, it's tedious. But it's also gratifying. Some of those nonfiction sections just get so messed up. And once a few are out of order, more books are shelved out of order.

I get into a kind of rhythm there, reading and straightening and becoming hypnotized with the numbers. No time to think or worry about life, just time to process the numbers. It's a beautiful thing.

And when I can look back and see the rows of books that I've correctly arranged, it gives me a great feeling of satisfaction. Sure, it will all just get messed up again. But for a brief time, it's all right.

Perfect.

Hey, Girl!

I was kind of a dork when I was little.

All right, I'm still kind of a dork.

My nose is usually stuck in the pages of a book. It's comfortable there. So it shouldn't really surprise any of you that, growing up, I often felt a closer connection to book characters. As opposed to, I don't know, real people.

It's cliche but true: reading transports you. In reading I've gone more places, met more people, and done more things than I'll ever be able to go/meet/do in real life. That's the bookish magic!

There were plenty of characters I read about that I looked up to, or wished I could know for real. Especially actual characters in history, or at least characters set in times earlier than this boring present.

I definitely went through stages where I was obsessed with certain cool females throughout history. Annie Oakley. Harriet Tubman. Helen Keller. Rosa Parks. Joan of Arc. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Clara Barton. Pocahontas. I read biographies, I read novels. I wished I could be as brave, as strong, as important.

As for the fictional girls, well, they weren't quite always quite as inspirational. But they were spunky, creative, and hilarious. Anastasia Krupnik. Anne Shirley. Ramona Quimby. Mia Thermopolis.  Jo March.

These stories shaped me growing up. I learned things. How to be patient, how to solve problems. How to fight for what you believe is right, and how to deal with pesky siblings. How to go on an adventure and how to get into trouble!

I'm so thankful for these females - real and imaginary. The more I read, the more I meet.

Thank you, ladies!

What Do YOU Know?

Here's something annoying:

people attempting to discuss something they haven't read.

Why people will try to enter into a dialogue with someone about something they have only heard other people's opinions on....well, it's beyond me.

Specifically, it bothers me when people pass judgment on a book without having read it. I'll tell you what I think of the book, but I'm not going to really respect their opinion. Because they really can't have an informed opinion on something they haven't read.

Recently, this has happened to me talking to people about books such as The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Twilight. A few people have been sort of shocked that I would be into a book such as The Hunger Games, since children are forced to kill each other. I can almost feel them getting a little high and mighty, like, I would never read such trash!

Okay, sure, think that. But I can't really have a discussion with you if that's all you know about the books. Or if that's all you think they're about. I can try to tell you my opinion, but I always suggest you read the books. Plenty of people's minds have been changed this way. Out of the dozens of people I've talked to who've read The Hunger Games, I've only talked to three who didn't like it. And to them I say, hey, you gave it a try but it wasn't for you? Great. Tell me why, so I can understand.

But when people try to talk confidently about something they've never read, I know they're just regurgitating other people's opinions. Take Harry Potter, for instance. Some people have just heard so many times that there's something wrong with these books because of the "magic" they contain that they practically back away in fear if I mention them. Seriously? Have you looked into it yourself?

There was this one guy I was trying to talk to and he had all these opinions on why Twilight was stupid. I also happen to believe Twilight is stupid (I tend not to use this word...). However, I have read all four books and have specific reasons why I think this. This guy hadn't read any of them, and his reasons for dissing the series weren't grounded in anything. It was obvious he didn't know what he was talking about.

So what kind of discussion is that? One person has read the book and one person hasn't? It's not a discussion at all.

Read the book and get back to me.

A Night in the World for Books

Well, THAT was fun.

Guess what I got to do? Give out free books!

I know, I know - "Laura," you say, "You give out free books every day! You're a librarian, which is the best job in the universe. Thank you for your dedication, by the way."

To this I say, you're welcome. Also, sure I give out free books, but people have to return them. On Monday I gave out 20 copies of one of my current favorite books, The Hunger Games. For keeps!

April 23 was World Book Night, and I was beyond thrilled to participate. Months ago I heard that WBN was going to happen for the first time in this country, in addition to taking place in the U.K. and Ireland. Hopefully it will keep spreading! I was accepted as a "giver" after filling out an application online after hearing about it on http://www.hypable.com/.

Thousands of givers gave out books on Monday. We got to choose from a list of 30 books. (For a complete list, click here.) I had to pick my top three choices, and I chose The Hunger Games all three times. Luckily that didn't count against me and I got it. :)

I received a box with all the books along with some bookmarks and an awesome pin. WBN's purpose is to share the love of reading...especially with non-readers. The kinds of people who wouldn't typically pick up a book. So though I was going to be handing them out in the library, I wanted to give them to people who weren't there for books. I know you may think of people just coming to the library for books, but many many people come to study/use computers/use copy machine/tutoring/movies/etc. So I looked for those people.

So here's who I gave books to!

• 4 high school girls working on a school project
• 1 teacher to use in his classroom
• 7 ladies using the community room for a craft program
• 1 girl at the library to be tutored
• 2 ladies knitting
• 2 men only picking out movies
• 1 partridge in a pear tree (not really...)

Then it was 9 pm. The library closed and I had 3 books left. I failed!

Not quite.

• I stopped by my gym and gave the remaining 3 books to the guys working there. Success!

Truly a special day to be a part of. I heard some great stories of people giving books out all over the country. Just google "World Book Night 2012" to read more. I'll definitely be applying again next year, though I might trying reaching out beyond the library.

It was like Halloween, only with books! If you're interested, stay tuned next year and definitely give it a try. Worth it.

Library Lending, Not Amazon Spending

I don't buy books. I borrow them.

This may seem weird since reading is pretty much my life. But why buy books when I have all the free ones I want every day at the best job ever? I'm not a book hoarder, that's all. I'm fine with borrowing and giving back.

I love looking through all the newest books at the library. Kids' picture books, memoirs, YA sci-fi, cookbooks, historical mysteries...I like to read and know about the wide variety we have available. My holds list contains dozens of new books I like to have my hands on before anyone else.

With all that's available to me, why spend money on books I'm not going to read again? Because I don't typically read books again. There's too much out there.

Ready for the exceptions? Here they are: Harry Potter and The Hunger Games (That's 10 books total). In the last couple years, these are the only books I've gotten and now own. I'm gearing up to read through the Harry Potter series again, actually. Every other book I read has a barcode and a spine label.

So much to read! So much to experience! And it's all available at the library. What other habit is so cheap, I ask you?

I love books, but I'm not attached to them in the way some people are. Those people like to own them, to collect them, to arrange them on shelves, to never ever get rid of a book...that's not me. At the library I realize you have to get rid of the old to make room for the new. Books come, books go, and I snag them as they travel through to different people's homes.

What a journey!

Thanks for Listening

"Library workers should celebrate National Library Workers Day by passive aggressively muttering 'You're welcome!' after refilling the stapler, unjamming the printer, and unclogging the public restroom's toilet for unthankful library patrons." -A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette

That's right, yesterday was National Library Workers Day! I had fun wishing my coworkers a Happy National Library Workers Day (a real mouthful!) and celebrating my job. I'm a geeky library lover, so a day like this is special to me. Our library Board got us pizza and brownies for lunch, so I spent the first half of the day focused and alert and the second half sleepy and full. Yum...

This sarcastic blog post I got from A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette makes me laugh because I have a tendency to at least think this from time to time.

Seriously, when did people get so rude? I say thank you for EVERYthing. I don't care if a person is being paid to "just do their job," I still say thank you. Someone's helping me, usually by doing something I'm unable to do for myself. So I say thank you for being skillful, for being prompt, for being helpful. Even if a person's rude to me I say thank you.

But so often in the library people don't say thank you. Especially over the phone, maybe because it's easier when you're not looking someone in the eye. There's an awkward pause over the line when I don't know what to say to end the call. "Well, bye!" I can't very well say "you're welcome."

Or when people are annoyed because they waited until the last minute to do a school project and there aren't any books left. Or tax forms aren't available because the IRS wants everyone to go online and they didn't send us copies. People have to *gasp* make their own copies and actually pay for the ink and paper. By the way, why are you doing your taxes now?!

I'm sure all my lovely readers always say thank you. Never forget to! It's always appreciated. It should be automatic, but for some it's an afterthought, if a thought at all.



Hey, THANK YOU for reading! My blog has gotten almost 10,000 views, in fact I'm only about 75 away. Why not go back into the archives and check out some older posts maybe you haven't read yet and bump up my views? It's an exciting number to reach, and I couldn't have done it without all of YOU.

7 Secrets Your Librarian Won't Tell You

You ever read Reader's Digest? It may be for old people (as evidenced by the certain types of medical advertisements), but I read it when I can get my hands on it. I've seen articles about what your waiter/house cleaner/mall Santa/flight attendant won't tell you, and I keep waiting to see a librarian version.

As I have yet to see one, I thought I'd create my own. If you read this blog, you probably already know more than the average library patron. But here's a quick list of secrets for you anyway.

1. We talk about you. It's a customer service job, and we get to know the customers. We talk about you if you're nice, we talk about you if you're mean, we talk about you if you're weird. If we don't talk about you, you're really, really average.

2. We will work with you. We want you to have a good library experience. If you have legitimate reasons for wanting us to reduce your fine, speak up! If you can't pay everything all at once, let us know. Our job is to make you have happy at the library so you'll come back. And bring your children. And friends. And donations.

3. We don't get to read books all day. We all have responsibilities other than standing at the desk and waiting on you. To stay up-to-date on current books, we put them on hold and check them out and read in the evenings just like everybody else.

4. We won't shush you. All right, sometimes we will. If you are being unreasonably loud, we'll ask you to keep it down for the benefit of people around you. But more and more, public libraries are becoming community centers. We want people to come visit, so we encourage things like live music in the library once a month. If you want an ultra-quiet study room, try a university library.

5. We know a lot. What we don't know, we'll find out for you. Seriously, take advantage of your librarians! Make friends with us, give us cookies, get to know us. When you have a major paper to write and need research assistance, you can count on us.

6. Being a true librarian requires a masters degree. Yes, this is a real job. People on staff at libraries often have multiple, varied responsibilities. We help you find books, we help kids with research, we run programs, create flyers, manage book and monetary donations, keep up with social media, catalog items, repair books, prepare crafts, learn the new technology so we can teach you...we do it all. (The plan is for me to earn a masters degree in the near future, fyi.)

7. Sure we're concerned about libraries "dying out." But most of us are hopeful. After all, time and time again people have said the library wouldn't make it. Like when the internet got big, for example. But we're still here and we're making ourselves needed. More people than ever are coming to the library for job searches, eBooks, school projects, community events, story times, even just reading the newspaper. I feel passionately about what the library can do for every person in the community, and I'll talk to anyone who'll listen about it.

Well, that's all I got for now! Maybe there will be a part two in the future.

Enjoy your library.

The Smarty-Pants Librarian

All right, all right. I kind of like to be a smarty-pants.

No doubt most of this is because I'm the firstborn in my family. I know it all and you'll do what I tell you!

But I really like to know everything first. Obviously this is impossible. Other people are much more informed than I am. I'm not online as much as others; I don't have internet on my phone for instance. But I love to stay current on especially book, movie, and tv show news. Culture, entertainment, publishing. I consider it my duty as a librarian.

Jo Rowling is writing a new book for adults? On it. Nathan Fillion (from the tv show Castle) to star in the next Percy Jackson and the Olympians movie (which they better not ruin like the first one)? Got it. Hunger Games movie news, Harry Potter eBooks, online fandom debates? Sooo yesterday.

My secret is http://www.hypable.com/. This site is rockin'. I've been a fan ever since it began, not too long ago. Years ago I found http://www.mugglenet.com/, which is a Harry Potter fan site. I stayed up-to-date on all the latest HP news there. Then, several people from that site created Hypable, which covers dozens of different fandoms. Not to mention general news items having to do with publishing, tv, and movies. I like to know all these things, and share them.

I read all types of books, from celebrity memoirs to historical mysteries to young adult dystopian to kids' novels to rhyming picture books. Nothing makes me happier than being able to chat with a library patron about something they're checking out. Kids are shocked a "big kid" is reading the same authors they are. Adults appreciate an "expert's" opinion on their movies. And I can discuss The Hunger Games with pretty much every teen.

I like to know things. I like to be current. I like to be the young, hip librarian who's always looking towards the next trend. I want to be on top of things and be able to inform.

That's just how I roll.

Hungry for Some GAMES!

I have something to say:

I KNEW it! I knew The Hunger Games was going to be the next big thing.

The surgeon's assistant at the dental clinic where I got my wisdom teeth out will totally back me up on this. Back in the beginning of December, when I got my teeth out and afterwards when I was in the recovery room coming out of a sleepy stupor, I talked up The Hunger Games big time for some reason. I said that this series of books was "the next big thing." I also said a lot of other things, most of which I can't remember and may not have made sense. Anyway...

I remember at the end of my second-to-last semester at school, around December 2009, I breezed through The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I'd seem them around and thought I'd give them a try. I read YA lit all the time, so this wasn't that unusual. And these books were awesome and I mean AWESOME. I read the second one on the day of a huge oral exam that I should've been studying for instead. Then, when the final book Mockingjay was published summer 2010 and I was able to get it from the library (because that's how I roll.), I was crazed with anticipation.

What was with this series? Why was I hooked? Well, rereading the series during these past couple weeks, I remembered why I fell in love with the story. First, the suspense makes the novels. Everyone I've talked to just can't put them down. You barely realize you're turning pages and finishing chapters, it all just drives to the end in one breathless stream. I was pulled in by the story, which I touched on in an earlier blog post here (back in November, where I also promised it was going to be big! The title of the post is called "The Next Big Thing," for goodness sakes!). Suzanne Collins writes about a futuristic dystopian society, but it all seems so relatable. It's not weird and "out there," it's a story about love and death, sacrifice and justice.

I know a lot of people have been comparing it to Twilight and Harry Potter. Personally, Harry Potter will always be the best to me. The story, the characters...perfection. The Hunger Games is good in its unique ways, but it will never be Harry Potter. But that doesn't mean it isn't great.

And all the nonsense about a "love triangle?" Well, it's nonsense. Katniss, the gutsy heroine of the Games, is no Bella. Is she swooning over a vampire and a werewolf, while managing to do, um, nothing productive or helpful? No. She's trying to provide for her family, save the lives of her friends, and ultimately bring down a corrupt government. The romance portrayed is realistic and tough at times. Definitely complicated, and not by the fact that her boyfriend wants to drink her blood.

The books were fantastic, and die-hard fans like myself were eagerly anticipating movie news. Last March we found out which actors would be portraying favorites like Katniss, Gale, Peeta, and President Snow. I listened to my fan podcasts and wondered if these movies were going to be good. Book to screen adaptations have certainly failed before. But as the months rolled past, things looked more and more hopeful. Lionsgate's ad campaign for The Hunger Games has been unlike anything I've ever seen. From the animated, fiery movie poster to the Capitol nail polish to the social networking to the trailers...it's been stellar. It's created so much buzz for the films. Forget the film just doing well, it's going to EXPLODE!

Reviews have been coming in from critics already and they are very promising. I have never been this excited for a movie before, never. My brother and I will be lining up for the midnight premiere tomorrow night expecting something terrific. And I don't think we'll be disappointed.

I've been so proud to be a part of this fandom since I first read the books. Yes, I do sometimes want to say to people reading them now that I read them beFORE they were this big. But mostly I just tell everyone to read them. And everyone is. Old, young, guy, girl. It's an exciting time to be a librarian. Kind of what it must have been like when Harry Potter took off.

So read the books! Go see the movie! And get caught up in the next big thing.