Good Times in the Library

I am a complete book geek and proud of it.  This is a picture of the first brand new book I've catalogued, labeled, and prepped for shelving.  As a kid I loved the crinkle of the cellophane on a library book.  It was part of what made library books special.  I took extra pleasure in being the one to apply the cellophane to a brand new book to help keep it all shiny and new and protected. (told you I was a geek!) The was donated by the author after she visited our school otherwise I would not have had this opportunity since there is no money in the budget for ordering new books. 

This made me giggle when I found it because of a long ago conversation with Isaac. Once when Isaac was a preschooler he was having a hard time putting on his coat.  He wanted very much to be independent and didn't like help unless he specifically requested it.  One day as he spun around like a dog chasing his tail while trying to get the second arm into his coat I gently asked if he wanted to keep trying by himself or if he'd like some help.  He grumbled that it was hard but he'd do it himself before adding, "but I am GLAD I am not an octopus!"

Sometimes when I am shelving books I discover things among the books.  Candy wrappers, old assignments, and forgotten bookmarks are nothing strange.  I was a little surprised though to find a bag of army men stashed in the shelves.








Sometimes, it's really a challenge to remember I am the mature adult.

No, this is not the back cover of the previous book.  Books are often returned with some damage but this one looked like it was used for target practice.  Sometimes I am curious.  Other times I just don't want to know...

Finally, in our little tour of things that make me go hhhmmm, I present this book.  Now, I don't have an issue with the library having books giving information about drugs but this book was published in 1979.  I'm thinking there may be more current information available and written in a better style.  1979?  That's older than some of my students' parents!  Get with the times!

How to Justify Extra Pie and a New Appliance

Saturday was Pi Day. Even though I've never been a strong math student we celebrate Pi Day by making pie (because I am a dessert enthusiast and all I need is the flimsiest reason to justify dessert). This year I decided to make my aunt's Graham Cracker Pie recipe. I gathered all the ingredients, made the crust, cooked up the pudding from scratch and was all set to begin whipping the egg whites into meringue. Lo and behold my mixer was no longer working. The thing is 20 years old and has been used hard so I didn't feel as if I had been somehow cheated. However, it meant I would now have to whip up the 4 eggs whites into meringue...with a whisk...BY HAND. I was less than thrilled.

Could I have just left the pudding in the pie shell and had meringue-less pie? Yes, but I had already gotten my taste buds primed for a proper graham cracker pie and I had already used the yolks to make the pudding and had the 4 eggs whites sitting expectantly in the bowl. To have a meringue-less pie would have been sadly incomplete and disappointing and it would have wasted the egg whites. Yes, I know that amounts to perhaps 10 cents worth of food and no I really don't need you to point out that I shamelessly tossed 10 cents of graham cracker crumbs into the trash. This was now a challenge from the universe that I was compelled to rise to. Besides, I figured the caloric expenditure of whipping that dang meringue by hand would easily justify a second piece of pie for me.

So, if you don't mind please take a minute and marvel over the gorgeousity that is my meringue (with graham cracker crumbs sprinkled on top as per the recipe). So light and fluffy. Look I even made sure it had pretty little peaks to get all toasty brown in the oven.

Mmmm....doesn't that look yummy?

Better get some while the gettin's good.

If celebrating Pi Day isn't geeky enough for you, I took my mixer apart to get at the cord which snapped where it exits the body of the appliance. I'm geeky enough to know how to fix it but I think, given the life span of the old hand mixer and the amount of baking I do, one of these is called for as a replacement.

Here She Comes to Save the Daaaaaaay!

I'm suffering from a fastnacht hangover today and needed an idea for post. After a particularly irritating conversation last night I have a rant I'd like to spew out but I figured this would be more fun for all of you. Thanks to Suldog for the idea turning myself into a super hero at the Hero Factory. It was so much fun I made three versions. I just wish they'd let me give my own name to these heroes.

Personally, I'd call this first one the Limenatrix. I couldn't resist that lasered whip for a weapon. In retrospect she ought to ditch the cape. I just see that getting in the way when she cracks the whip.

The name for this one isn't half bad. She'd be the badass librarian superhero crusading against dog-earring of books and overdue returns, imparting knowledge wherever she went, leaving literature in her wake. I would have given her the Date Stamp of Doom as her weapon if it were an option. She can also use her library card like a razored throwing star and her Sonic Shush stops ignoramus perpetrators in their tracks.

This name is just the worst. First of all, it's boring. Secondly, that sword is way more ninja like than piratical. Next, I am far more inclined to hygienic practices than the average pirate. Besides that sleek hero costume is built for stealth and speed not swash and buckle. We'll call this one the Limanator. She's a bad guy's worst nightmare.

So which one of these alter egos of mine do you want swooping in to save the day?

If you want to be a hero too head on over to the Hero Factory. Then let me know all about your alternate identity.

I Wanna Be a Librarian

I really do want to be a librarian some day. I like the idea of connecting people to information they need and books they love. I like the orderliness of shelves. As a kid I could entertain myself for hours at the card catalog following cross references just to see how far I'd end up from where I started. I know the cutter number for my name. I helped inventory a brand new library and it was FUN! I know this is all very geeky behavior by most standards.

Librarians aren't complete nerds though. They can be very creative and cool. Unshelved.com runs an annual Pimp My Bookcart contest. Here is this year's winner from Columbia's Butler Library.

View from the back.

Here are the rest of the winners of the "2008 Pimp My Bookcart".

Still too geeky for you? Check out the comic strip Unshelved.

Ok, fine. I know comic strips are considered nerdy by some. So watch the Book cart drill teams! The first one features a routine set to Queen's We Will Rock You. The second goes classical with choreography to Flight of the Bumblebee.

Still not convinced because you're thinking it's just a bunch of band geeks who grew up to be librarians? Here you'll find a whole gallery of belly dancing librarians. I've always wanted to learn how to belly dance too. Apparently that and an intimate familiarity of the Dewey Decimal system are not incongruous.

If you are still unswayed how about librarians as guardians of intellectual freedom who stand up to the Man by finding legal ways to warn patrons of governmental intrusions?

*last two images from library.net's technicality page.