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I look up from some catalogues I am looking through.

A grizzled old man stands in front of me.

Ya know, the public library was the greatest service ever invented!

I smile and nod.

Keeps boys like me out of mischief.

He pauses for a moment of contemplation...I won't be in the pub so long.

Is it Real?

Is it a real cell phone?

The girl is about three, she is wildly gesturing...

She's making quite a lot of noise.

We have a no cell phone policy.

But I can't tell if she's pretending.

The actual phone is buried under a mop of hair, what if it's Fisher Price?

How embarrassing.

She is so young can hardly form words, it's mostly babble...

People are turning to stare....She's right in front of my desk, I have to do something...

I give her father a desperate look, and he asks her to hush. She finishes up her conversation and says "I love you, goodbye."

It was a real phone.

Get thee to a Library young lady!

Very small girl approaches desk shadowed by tall willowy teenage brother.

Hi, I need some books about following rules.

Oh okay.

Begin looking...Anything specific? - what about listening, honesty...

She looks at her brother.

He looks at her.

Ah, I guess all of those things.

Brother says, "Right answer."

I get her started at the shelf with some books to find, secretly hoping her brother will help.
Instead he heads over to use the internet. We find a few dreary books.

Did your parents send you to the library?

Yes. I'm in trouble.

Then I ask, "How about getting some good books too?"

Okay.

Do you like ... Rosemary Wells?

YES!

Okay... A few were just returned, I'll go get them.

We look around, I replenish the displays with good books while she trails along looking at them.
Later on I notice her having difficulty at the checkout. Over due fines.

Well, she checked out only one book : Learning How to Say Please. How depressing.

Scared to take anything else out.

Too Many Books, Too Little Time

I finally have a day off! This auxiliary has been going full tilt! I must admit that I did have Sunday off, however I was preoccupied with planning a baby time for 0-12 month olds, and with my minimal experience with this demographic, feeling fairly anxious. So today is a REAL day off. I have so far managed to wake up, and eat chocolate in bed (dark) while reading Anderson Cooper's Dispatches from the Edge. I'm only on page 27, and it's a smooth easy read. I'm finding it a little sentimental and over the top so far...but he does make a living sensationalizing the news. Almost every paragraph ends something like this:

Post-new years reporting he heads out to cover the tsunami: "At dawn I board the plane, the first of several I'll take to get to Sri Lanka. When I sit down, the flight attendant tells me I still have confetti in my hair."

Or, "On the plane the flight attendant asks a Sri Lankan passenger if she's comfortable.

"I just lost three people in my family," the passenger says.

"Oh, that's terrible," the flight attendant says, pausing for a moment. "No duty-free then?"

On every page you find human disaster juxtaposed against something contrite or trivial. Or, simply reflections on devastation, and short diversions into Cooper's personal history, particularly so far, the loss of his father as a child.

I don't want to be too critical, because I really am enjoying it and I can see the widespread appeal this type of book will have. I perhaps find foreign war correspondent Asne Seierstad's books to be a grittier, less sentimental and more political version of this genre. However, Seierstad is Norwegian and approaches international conflicts with a much more neutral tone, part of her appeal, whereas Cooper is everything CNN stands for. America. The Great.

Anyways, overall I'm really enjoying it. A nice recreational read.

Other books I've read of late and don't have time to comment extensively on:

Girlfriend in a Coma
Finally I've read a Douglas Coupland book. I quite enjoyed the first half of the book, but then playing with reality, ghosts and time travel doesn't really appeal to me, so the second half kind of bothered me. The characterization was superb, but it seems like the message of a lost generation of youth, obsessed with consuming rather than really living was expounded on in excess. It was set in West Vancouver and featured some sort of apocalyptic events which was kind of interesting. Plus, imagine going into a coma at age seventeen pregnant, and waking up when your daughter is a teenage girl and you are grey haired. And guess what? Your boyfriend waited for you all those years. Yeah.

Tomorrow When the War Began (YA)
This is the book by John Marsden (author of Winter) that I mentioned a few years ago. It's been reissued (originally from 1993) with an enticing gorgeous cover and I couldn't resist the title. Again, it was a little slow to start, but I loved the Australian regionalism and the concept. A group of teenagers head out camping in the backwoods and when they return there is no one left. Their country has come under siege and their families are being held at the fair grounds. Mass destruction, fires, dead livestock, evidence of guerilla warfare, no power or hydro, etc. are just part of the intrigue. To add to the plot a number of boy-girl relationships intertwine as well as the discovery of an old hermit's shack with the fragments of a forgotten mans' life. I quite like that the female protagonist is a very strong and independent character.

Nelcott is My Darling (YA)
Again, this book by Golda Fried is supposed to be YA but it was classified as an adult novel at this library. It got a lot of flack because it was basically about a girl who goes to McGill for first year and is obsessed with losing her virginity (or not). I found the main character inherently insipid, wimpy, and unlikeable. Read no further if you don't want the ending spoiled! She dates a loser and it isn't until the end of the book that she hooks up with a nice guy (not even Nelcott!) and within minutes IT happens - 176 pages leading up to a few sentences - "Then she lost her virginity. It was simple. It was changing positions around on her bed. It was really quiet with no rock music to save her." Well that's just swell. Not only does this book not satisfy any potential teenage curiosity or provide any delicious details - on the opposite end of the spectrum it doesn't even mention things that maybe a teen might think about such as uh, protection? I didn't mind this book at first but in retrospect, I think I kind of hate it. Even better, my tax dollars funded it - yup, completed with the assistance of a Canada Council Grant as well as an Ontario Arts Council Grant.

I'll Sing You A One-O (YA)
This novel by Canadian Nan Gregory was quite delightful. The author has written three picture books, and this is her first novel. Unfortunately I believe this is actually J-Fic. At first I though the protagonist was autistic, then I though she was perhaps simple for her age, but soon enough I realized that however old she is, her thoughts are along the lines of a child in perhaps grade six. I think this novel is perfectly suited for that age as it explores the twisted logic that leads a girl to believe she can obtain an angel to help her by doing as other saints have done in the past. She ends up stealing to give to the poor, finding herself in hot water with her new family (recently rescued from a group home she dearly misses) as well as landing herself and her brother danger on the downtown eastside. I even shed a few tears.

Other recommended reads from the past few weeks:

Getting Near To Baby by Audrey Couloumbis (J-Fic)
An Obvious Enchantment by Tucker Malankey (Adult Fic)
Snip Snap What's That by Mara Bergman (J Pic)
Miss Bridie- Chose a Shovel by Leslie Connor (J Pic)
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende (Adult Fic) - author of House of the Spirits
When You Are Happy by Eileen Spinelli (J Pic)

Eddie Longpants

Notable Picture Book of the Week:

Eddie Longpants by Mireille Levert

Eddie get teased about his height. His teacher Miss Snowpea overhears. Her reaction: "She feels anger rising inside her. It makes her insides growl and her toes curl up." I think this is a great description of emotions that a child could definitely appreciate. When Mrs. Longpants comes to school to meet the teacher, Miss Snowpea goes onto the roof of the school. This way "they look at each other straight in the eye. They say nice things. They smile big smiles. They shake hands."

Anyways, the dialogue is quaint and simple, the book is designed to be held sideways so every two pages are actually one page (I love this for storytime) and there is a lovely ending full of divine retribution for the bullies but also a peaceful pact. Plus it's Canadian! Three cheers!

Let's All Join the Choir!

There is a group using the meeting room.

The singing is driving me insane. At first it was novel.

I can't make out the words, but it sounds...like "I can't go on, I can't go on, I can't go on" in a hymnal type chorus.

What in the world is going on?

I'm serious,the refrain repeats over and over and over, they have not paused in like fifteen minutes. Who can sing that long without running out of saliva?

I thought a doctor was giving a lecture series. Is this singing meditation? Are they in a trance or is a record on repeat? Maybe it's a cult.

Perhaps I'm a litte persnickity about noise right now. Last night I used a mop handle to bang the ceiling at 1:30 am. The music turned off. At five am my upstairs neighbour got up again though and started crashing about. When do they sleep? It's a sad state of affairs when your workplace is generally quieter than your apartment is in the middle of the night.

Things I've said at work this week:

"I know this must be frustrating, but it's not pleasant for me either." (said to angry intense man)

"Um...my birth order? Well, I'm a first born child." (said to kind woman discussing a book)

"Yes, I guess they are pretty proud of me." (Answer to question from elderly man : Are my parents proud of me?)

"Unfortunately you do have to open your email account to send an email." (baffled man who want to write anonymous letters to the newspaper)

Happenings this Week:

• I was invited to an amateur comedy night for mentally ill people by one of the participants.
• A sixty-year-old man gave me his phone number and email address.
• I heard all about the problems of pregnancy in the first trimester and the need for proper nutrition.
• A homeless woman explained the difficulties of making money as we searched for grant proposal information and business books.
• I was asked how long it takes the average person to walk 1 mile. My results were confounded by the fact that the patron asking used a walker.
• A woman very recently widowed after 66 years of marriage came into the library as per her usual routine to visit and chat with staff who offered condolences.

I'm sure many more weird and wonderful things occurred but after working at 5 libraries in 6 days, the lines of separation are lost.

Small Victories

Small girl approaches desk.

Do you have books on mice and chinchillas?

Yes. Do you have a pet mouse?

No we have some mice running around in our house.

Oh no!

mischievous smirk followed by giggling.

My parent's try to kill them, but I feed them cornflakes!!

Winter: Stupid Bits and Clever Bits

It's about time I read some John Marsden, a widely acclaimed YA author. The only book still on the shelf today: Winter. I got off work 3 hours ago, and I just finished it. Short and satisfying. A bit simplistic and vague in bits (kind of like listening to a story being told with a few of the slower bits missing) but I quite enjoyed it. I am now eager to read some of his other titles that have one other awards such as Tomorrow When the War Began, which was chosen as an ALA Best Book of the last half-century.

This book is about an orphan who has been haunted by her past for the last twelve years. Set in rural Australia, she is mysteriously compelled to return to her childhood home at age sixteen. She is strong willed and hot tempered, however she still manages to make more friends than enemies and discovers a startling truth.

Excerpts:

Stupid bit: "Like with most Internet searches, I spent some time chasing shadows. I was scrolling through newspaper archives, concentrating on one date, July 9, 1989...I realized my best hope lay in the death notices, the little classified ads that people put in when someone dies." - Okay, sure all the archives of newspapers are freely available on the internet, including local papers dating back 12 years...uh huh. But CLASSIFIEDS as well? This librarian is incredulous!

Clever bit: A friend's father says to Winter, the protagonist: "Fantastic. When I was sixteen I modeled myself on my guinea pig. Hid in my pen and shut up. My God, you'll be running the country in another twelve months. Do you want a coffee? You probably live on rum and milk." I think this portrayal of her as a protagonist would appeal to any teen. Well, it appeals to me!

Anyways, I'm not sure if I can believe this character. Sixteen and ranching on her own in the middle of no where, taking singing lessons and auditioning for college fine arts classes. Gosh she's got it together for her age. I wish I had it that together. Last night I dropped my pants in the toilet. It wasn't my toilet either.

The Value of a Good Book

I recently attended the Festival of the Written Arts on the beautiful Sunshine Coast. My sole intention was to see Miriam Toews, the author of my favorite book: A Complicated Kindness. She read well, with as much dry sarcasm and wry wit as I expected from her writing. At several points I erupted into uncontrollable giggles - slightly out of discord with the mainly "grey-topped" crowd. During the question period there was a great deal of interest in the topic of the Mennonite culture. Surely that is a central theme, but I was more interested in her writing methods, ideas, etc. Now, I am a novice with author readings - but is the question period always hijacked by book-club-know-it-alls?

I'm such a novice that I didn't bring my recently re-purchased copy of her book for signing. Re-purchased because I lent the original to a random guy I dated over the holidays. After an abrupt end to things, he emailed a week later to ask if I wanted to a) talk or get together b) get my book back. Answer: resounding NO. Pride intact. Minus one book. As a good friend said, (something like) - "What an ass! Of course you want your FAVORITE book back!" Luckily the Lithe Librarian has now fallen in love with the Lithe Biologist who understands the value of a good book.

By the way- today I discussed this book lending story during a lovely gab with a co-worker and discovered that she is distantly related to Miriam Toews (no wonder this co-worker is so fun! - nah, actually it was a long string of relatives involved). You know you're a famous Canadian author when...!

Bottled Up

Bottle Collecting by Edward Fletcher, 1972.

Chapter 1 - "finding bottle sites - libraries - newspapers and magazines - town hall records - talking to old people - rivers, streams, canals and ponds." (Yes it really says all this in the table of contents!)

Chapter 7 - a group project - "the key to the success of a group project is organization; and the first step towards organization is to decide exactly what the project's aims will be. A family may decide to excavate the entire contents of a dump associated with an abandoned and isolated house..."

"Visit it often (the library) and tell the librarians what you are looking for; they will be delighted to help you in your research. Ask the librarians for Victorian diaries by local writers and any old maps or photographs that are available and any local records that are stored there."

Let me just go grab those delightful diaries that we can pour through looking for reference to a bottle dumping area! That's what I would write about in my diary! This book has managed to evade weeding for 34 years! In the Victorian era, this particular neighborhood was a forest - nope, no dumps or bottle factories. I think this book isn't terribly relevant in our country, but I may be wrong (it was published in the U.K.). I observed that during the seventies, books seem to have been written about every possible mundane hobby from silhouette cutting to aluminum foil art. Someone pointed out to me that these were simpler times, pre-internet so how else would you find out about these topics? True, and now these little gems brighten my day!

...Am now considering starting a collection of odd books.

Outdated interior design books.

Should we be encouraging people to update their homes to what was in vogue in 1993?

Of course, just because we have the book doesn't mean we promote the content, we are simply allowing people to exercise free will and furnish their homes in outmoded and distasteful styles...
Every single book, the good, the bad, and the ugly have high circulation in this section - I can't weed anything!

I couldn't even weed:

"My Name Isn't Martha, But I Can Decorate My Home (Book One of A Series)"

Tragically, we only have the first book in the series.

Other Happenings...

Don't Like Dewey?

Where is the adult non-fiction section?

It starts at zero, right behind me.

Oh. That's a lotta books (dramatic pause).

(So you think you're a Funny guy eh?)

Well do you know what one your looking for?

We find it. Author: Chris Rock. Yeah, that guy actually wrote a book.

Telephone Etiquette:

Answer Phone: Hello --- Library, Information Desk...

Ann Perry!!!

Okay, can you explain? (I'm just being stubborn, I don't like having author names shouted in my ear)

Ann Perry!!!

I'm sorry, are you looking for a specific title by the author Ann Perry (demonstrating full sentence use, much in the way one demonstrates writing full sentences for grade one students)

Hurrrumph! Yes, of course I know what title.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Are you allowed to smoke in the library?

Lost in the Library

Ever been lost at your place of employment?

It can be a little embarrassing.

This happened a full two weeks ago, but I needed time to recover before writing about it.

The library hadn't opened yet. And I was lost in the labyrinth of staff hallways - the back end of the library.

I wasn't truly lost - there aren't any libraries that big on the westcoast - but my difficulty was in navigating an unfamiliar workplace where hallways lead to or actually pass through workrooms and offices that have imposing titles or else no signage what-so-ever. I had the sense that I was trespassing, particularly clad in my bike shorts and tank top, trudging along with my panier and helmet, staff badge in hand. Hmmm...Public Relations Department - I think if I walk through here, I may find the entrance to level 3 - hmm....there is a man glaring at me...maybe I'll just turn around and take another route. I have since been assured that walking through work rooms is not an issue. Just do it.

To make matters worse, when I encountered an unfriendly security guard in the dimly lit back hallways, he tersely replied that I would have to just go into the public part of the library to find my way. He strode off without indicating which direction would actually lead to the public area. Once in the public area, I asked another staff member who was marching purposefully through the library, for directions on how to access the staff area that I needed (my badge didn't work). She glared at me and said, "Do you work here?" Okay. That was rude. I have a badge. Plus the library hasn't opened yet. What do you think? Basically she was saying in code: "Are you an idiot?"

What a wonderful way to start the day! All I wanted to do was change into working clothes before the front door opened to the library and the public started streaming in to find an empty reference desk. Yes, on-call librarians are definitely at the bottom of the food chain.

My only satisfaction was when half an hour later, the evil unfriendly woman walked past my reference desk and did a double take. Yes, I look I'm sixteen when I have a bike helmet on - but oh, the transformation with a blouse and skirt - yes, lady I work here!

Lavender's Blue

This is the most beautiful collection of nursery rhymes that I have ever seen. I covet it. Originally published in 1954 by Oxford University Press, the gorgeous and often full colour illustrations by Harold Jones make this a wonderful book to keep in any collection.

"A wise old owl lived in an oak;

The more he saw the less he spoke.

The less he spoke the more he heard:

Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?"

This one reminded me of the entries in my grandmother's autograph book. Apparently such books were all the rage on the prairies in the 1930's. The children would write clever little sayings to each other - which they memorized in class and used to practice their handwriting. One of the pithy little sayings that I still love ...

Love many.
Trust few.
And learn to paddle
Your own canoe!

It's a suite life...

Oh, the ecstasy of solitude with books!

Mixed with the agony of a carpet cleaning company vigorously cleaning on the other side of a thin bedroom wall.

I wonder if the suite next door has a proper wall dividing the bedroom from the living room (rather than an ill fitting fabric canvas divider)? I always have suite envy, I take every opportunity to peer through other people's doorways as I see them emerge while I walk down the hallway.

Well, the roomie is gone for a few days and it's time to buckle down to work. For a self professed children's librarian like myself, that means: time to learn some new songs! My greatest weakness. The old-school tape player is out as I am currently learning some lullabies by singing along with words to "Wee Sing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies" by Pamela Conn Beall and Hagen Nipp. I had a large repertoire of songs as a child, which is mostly what I've been falling back on for story times. I find it to be an excruciatingly slow process to learn new songs as an adult. It must be the same underdeveloped part of my brain that has in the past tried to learn new languages.

I am also attempting to write an article today on blogs of use for children's librarians - mainly focusing on blogs that are entertaining or provide book reviews that you wouldn't find in a review publications - you know, honest opinions, rather than "critical analysis." Does anyone out there have a favorite? At this point, I am short on blogs written BY children's librarians. And for obvious reasons, I can't include my own blog in this article! Please post a comment!!