Hats off to the Fletcher Free Library, Burlington VT

Libertine Librarians are leaping about:  the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont.

Look at this!

I had the pleasure to interview Barbara Shatara, a fine outreach and reference librarian.

The library, with the able aid of an Americorps staffer, offers free multilingual computer, ESL and conversation groups.  Most of the classes are taught by members of the community who volunteer to lead the ESL, conversation and/or computer classes. 

Currently, they have computer classes in Nepali, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Somali.  These are being offered at no charge to the public! 

The library also offers citizenship and SAT classes.

Now, that is inspirational!

Publisher's Weakly

Best Cellars

Mopy Dick  Tale of a lugubrious whale who feels like a guppy trapped in a large body.

Smothering Heights  Catherine and Heathcliffe buy a condo in the Moors, a condominium shrouded by fog due to some unknown climate quirk.  "Global warming?" muses Catherine.  "Prozac?"  wonders Heathcliffe.  The couple goes to therapy for codependence issues.  

recommended to all public libraries

The House of Girth  The overweight Arabella ponders whether or not lap band surgery might be appropriate. She weeps when she finds out that Oprah is going to leave network television.  "Surely, surely, there is more to life than this!" Arabella tells herself, clutching her TV Guide to her bosom.  Her heart opens as she tries one of those Ghirardelli chocolate squares from Trader Joes.

recommended to all public libraries with sturdy shelving as this tome is rather heavy!

Gone With the Wind Chimes Scarlot is constantly attending new age seminars with her girlfriend, Melody.  Scarlot falls in love with Melody's yoga instructor, AshLee.  One day, after her Pilates class, Scarlot asks Melody where AshLee is.  "He is gone....gone with the Wind Chimes, a local yoga/dance troupe that is touring in California."  A very moving tale.

recommended for public libraries in Cambridge and the West Coast

Now That Is Great Service!

Today is my partner's birthday!  To celebrate, I gave him his new Kindle Fire!  I will let you know how that turns out. I took him out for breakfast.  We were going to go to a really fancy place.  Bless his soul, he's a cheap date.  Since he is trying to live gluten free, he suggested that we go to a fancy Starbucks instead.  Okay, but it's on me, I insisted.  We ordered two coffees...(we would eat the gluten free snack that my partner brought).  I took out my new shiny credit card.  "It's on me!" I gushed.  The barrista explained that the credit card was declined.  (Even though I just activated the thing last night on the phone).  Oops.  And I didn't have cash with me.

This barrista was sooooo kind.  "It's on us!" she enthused and let us take our coffees for free.  My guy did not have to pay

"You should write about this in your blog," he said.  "That was great customer service."  It was.  I am definitely going back to that Starbucks again.  First, I'm going to call that big, impersonal bank of mine....

Let's take a page from that Starbuck barrista's book in our libraries.......

it's a wonderful life...she's closing the library!

Sometimes the movies depict librarians in a rather odd way....Take "It's a Wonderful Life" and the scene where Donna Reed! who plays Mary is closing up the library.

In a way, the movie makes librarians look awful...scared, mousy even.  On the other hand, if I lived in Pottersville, I'd rather be
in the library with the sanity of the great authors and the peace and quiet.  Who wants to go to the bars where people are so stupid that they are making fun of angels for goodness sakes?  Mary is doing the only sane thing one can do when living in a town filled with Luddites....at least she can read about history...about what Pottersville was like before things went haywire.  Maybe she can educate some of the children and they, in turn, can create a sane place that is filled with libraries and civic pride!

Weed it and Leap

Weeding is so important....just look at this libertine librarian's closet if you don't believe me.....
Honey, if that book or video has been sitting on that shelf gathering dust for three years and you are a public librarian in particular, don't you just have to ask yourself.....why?  Why haven't you been doing some serious weeding?

Think about this:  Sometimes you do want to judge a book by its cover.  Sometimes, if it's moldy and oldie and there are all kinds of infintesimal and not so infintesimal things happening....a biology lab, a science project, okay, but on your nice shelf?

And how will those customers be able to separate the wheat from the chaff if you can't?  It's our job, people!  Weeding is great customer service!

Humor is the Best Medicine, Dept.

Awful library books

Reading Public Library, MA

This libertine librarian is leaping about the Reading Public Library in Massachusetts.  They call their home delivery service, "library takeout".  They have a "book nook" at the Senior Center!  I love this!

take a look!