From The Archives: It's What's Up Front That Counts

I like to look at my "Popular Posts" list at the bottom of the blog side bar to see if any recent posts are being read.  Often, things from way back will crop up the list instead.  All it really takes, I think, since I don't post much, is one view of an oldie.

A post from 2010 called It's What's Up Front That Counts includes a picture from an  old cigarette commercial with a pixie-ish woman holding up a Winston, fingers measuring a cigarette's front end, while her eyes slide back to a man in the background.

That's not the best part of the post!   I think I did a great job of talking about all the things a Librarian could encounter in a day at the Reference Desk.   Ha ha!  They hadn't actually taken the Desk itself away yet!

As happens, it got me thinking about all of the really excellent Reference Librarians I've worked with and for over the years.   I have been so lucky to work with some of the finest, most Service oriented Librarians in the business.   Thanks, guys!

Ask D.O.A.: Name That Title

So a middle grade boy comes in with his mom at the end of the night and he wants a book he read before "about a kid who plays baseball and there is lots of rain."    There's a toughie.

I managed to get out of him that the kid was a pitcher on his team.

So I Googled  "baseball books for kids pitcher rain".    Voila!  A booklist from B & N   had the book cover and description of Rainmaker by Kevin markey (Super Sluggers Series.)  AND it was on the shelf!   I personally was impressed, though the kid and his mom seemed to take it for granted.

The fourth and final book in Markey’s rollicking Super Sluggers series after Slumpbuster, Wall Ball, and Wing Ding, will certainly fail to disappoint. Penned in much the same quick-witted and giggle-worthy style as the others, the crux of this latest edition concerns the catastrophic effects of rain on the game in more ways than one. After four years of playing together, you’d think the Rounders had the chutzpah to take anything standing up and still win. But an especially wet season (not to mention the pitcher Slingshot Slocum’s inability to forget mastering a split-finger curveball and snap out of his funk) threatens to wreck the team’s chances of beating their long-time rivals, the Haymakers. What’s more, the team’s confidence is nearly ruined when their ill-fated rafting trip (remember: a lot. of. rain.) sends them careening down the river and into underwater caves at top speeds. Teamwork saves the day in both situations and readers will cheer, once again, for Markey’s quirky storytelling capabilities. Ages 8-12

So, what's the most interesting question you've ever had?

We get students of some ilk or other in periodically with a list of questions about the Mysteries of the Library. 

Where is the card catalog (scratch paper gone long ago).

What do you like about working in the library (the peeps, kiddo).

Can you use the Internet without a library card (sort of yes, sort of no).

Do you have a catalog and databases on separate computers?  (All on everything)

WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING QUESTION YOU'VE EVER HAD????????????????????? (So, of the perhaps thousands I've answered over the years, you think I have a favorite?  I do not.  I like every question I get that isn't a math or car repair question.  I love recommending books and authors to avid and returning readers.)

Tantalizing Song Fragment

You may know that I have dabbled in scrapbooking for a few years now.  I confess I spend a bit more time treasure hunting for interesting page embellishments than I do composing actual pages. 

One of the things I love about scrapbooking is that any tiny scrap can help tell a story.  Note the teensy bit of old paper above with this bit of song on it.  Who wouldn't toss it?  Not me!  Not only does it give a flavor for a time period, it makes you wish you knew what song this is from. 

We get questions about half remembered songs and song lyrics all of the time.  Noone has ever confessed that their question arises from a teeny piece of paper like this, but you KNOW it happens.

I'm working on Christmas cards so the phrase "Toil the Merry Crew" caught my eye and I said hmmm maybe a Christmas song I can incorporate on a card.

Pre-Internet (yes there WAS SUCH A TIME!) you would have had to look through innumerable song books and indexes in the hope of finding this bit.  It is somewhat difficult even with the Internet because you have the end of two lines, not the beginning.  No problems for D.O.A.

First, I found that it was by Stephen Foster and spent some time looking through this long long list of his songs ( he has some really lovely love songs in there, a few a bit suggestive, I thought in surprise).
I just could not spot the phrase.

So I searched again and added the lines and Stephen Foster in my search and found this page which gave me the title and lyrics.

1.
The land of my home is flitting,
Flitting from my view;
A gale in the sails is sitting,
Toils the merry crew.
Here let my home be,
On the water wide:
I roam with a proud heart;
Maggie's by my side;
My own love, Maggie dear,
Sitting by my side
Maggie dear, my own love,
Sitting by my side.

2.
The wind howling o'er the billow
From the distant lea,
The storm raging 'round my pillow
Brings no care to me.
Roll on ye dark waves,
O'er the troubled tide;
I heed not your anger,
Maggie's by my side;
My own love, Maggie dear.
Sitting by my side;
Maggie dear, my own love,
Sitting by my side.

3.
Storms can appal me never
While her brow is clear;
Fair weather lingers ever
Where her smiles appear
When sorrow's breakers
'Round my heart shall hide,
Still may I find her
Sitting by my side.
My own love, Maggie dear.
Sitting by my side;
Maggie dear, my own love,
Sitting by my side.

On the Desk with the Insulted by Your Bad Behavior Librarian

Click to Enlarge!



In the coming year, be nice to your neighborhood librarian. They are potentially able to help you with just about any question you have. Rare indeed!


On the Desk: Thou Shalt Not:

Yank on the door we’re trying to unlock

Steal paper from the copier ( or steal anything from us for that matter. Emptying the copier is BAD)

Ask the same question every single day as if it were new

Spend all day at the library every day and act like you don’t know what our hours are..for example you are unwilling to leave each night because you think we’re open till midnight.

Move the furniture around so you can be all comfy. Go on home and create that snuggly spot for yourself.

Ask the same question several different ways to which the answer is still no.

Remark that we are too busy, too not busy. We are available to help you either way.

Try to get us to override your bazillion overdues so you can...do whatever. Pay up!

Demand to know how we’re doing in a manner that says we’d better be just chipper or ELSE.

Sometimes the answer is NO.

And my favorite post chemo no freakin' hair comment: Don't ask!!!!! WHAT'S WITH THE SCARF? ...as if it was a personal silly insult to you!!!! Eat Beans and dig deep for the politeness your momma should have taught you.

Ah....D.O.A. Lives, and it is GOOD :)

Today's Answer

Although the day is only partially over, "Where are the books I put on request?" is the top question of the day, and for whatever reason, most people who ask today don't actually have anything here.

Closed Stacks: Just because you want it doesn't mean it exists

A few weeks ago I wrote about the many types of questions we get on a typical day.

One type of question that stands out is the question that hasn't got an answer. Not the sort of answer the person wants, in any case.

Usually, the person is trying to make a point or settle a bet, so they want research or statistics that back them up.

They might have an assignment and they want to answer it in very literal terms based on what their teacher wrote on the assignment sheet.

I was pleased to see a discussion of this very frustrating phenomenon on the Closed Stacks Blog, with plenty of discussion in the comments.

Interestingly, the discussion turned at times to the attitude of the librarian being asked the question. Were they approachable, did they do enough work on behalf of the customer? Did they explain to the customer where they had looked, and what roadblocks there were to finding an answer?