As you know, many library people tend to be book fans. And book fans tend to like book-related accessories. You can find all kinds of things to go along with the books you love:
All of that is usual, and you have probably seen similar items already.
But, have you seen literary toothpaste??
It was a first for me! I saw this on Twitter, and issued a challenge there: I will buy a tube of either flavor for a CMLE member, and in return you will blog about the experience for us!
Libraries, and library people, are -as we all know – fascinating! All kinds of great things happen in libraries, and every day is a potential adventure for us.
This has not gone unnoticed.
There are many comics out there that are set in libraries, and when you read through them it can be so fun to say “Yes! That happened to me!” or “Eeek! That sounds so scary!”
Do you have other favorites? Add them in the comments below! We would love to hear about more!
One of the most famous library comics is the now-retired Unshelved. It’s all about the adventures of Dewey – a librarian who may not be the best example of great service. Other characters include his well-meaning (but not terribly effective) manager, the enthusiastic children’s librarian, a senior Reference librarian, and a few other library staffers.
You can follow the creators’ schedule, as they travel to all kinds of library conferences; and you can buy all kinds of neat things in their online store – including my favorite shirt:
Each month CMLE will highlight three books that have some factor in common. We hope they will give you ideas for your collection, or influence an activity, lesson plan, or display.
This month, we are thinking about camping – and that includes camping in the winter (we’re not scared of a little cold in Minnesota)! It’s always fun to take outdoor adventures, and why not pack a good book or two along with your gear? Read on for some reading suggestions both about camping and also to take along on your adventures:
Cats and libraries – a legendary duo! CMLE has even included a book about a library cat in one of our monthly book groups. But Dewey the Library Cat was adopted by the Spencer Public Library back in 1988, and today, the attitude towards resident library cats is changing.
This article from American Libraries Magazine discusses the large decline in the number of library cats of the past several years. The main reason for this seems to be the problem of allergies among patrons.
However, many library cats remain in their libraries, and the library workers have taken steps to accommodate visitors that suffer from allergies. Some libraries offer to walk books out to patrons’ cars if their allergies are too bad to allow them into the library, or they wipe down each book with a Clorox wipe. Good air circulation and regular vacuuming help too.
But if having a cat in the library is just not going to be possible, there are other ways to incorporate them into library PR. The article talks about one library worker in PA who features her own cats on the library social media on weekends – often in costumes.
Does your library have a real cat, or even stuffed cat, as a mascot? Maybe you incorporate animals in a different way? We’d love to hear about it!
Librarians have SO much more to their job than just working with books (teaching/dealing with technology, customer service, information literacy, plus so much more) however, books tend to be very special to librarians! Most, if not all, librarians are avid readers. So hopefully you will be able to relate to this cute slideshow all about finishing a book in one sitting!
Have you ever been so pulled into a book that you literally could not put it down until you found out what happened? Or, on the flip side, have you ever raced to finish a book because it was terrible but you wanted to just get it done? 🙂
My most recent race-to-finish books:
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (because I needed a break from the intensity of the book, but also really wanted to find out what happened!)
A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee (because I didn’t really care for it)