Posts filed under ‘perpetrated by staff’
Bodley and the Bookworms – Scan and Deliver
And then you’ll want to see how faithful it was to the original (pretty faithful!)
Thanks, David Kay!
shark week at the Cranston Public Library
Cranston Public Library in Rhode Island FTW!
Thanks, Facebook Librarian Memes Group.
Anti-Prom — No Snakes
The Pflugerville Public Library in Texas accidentally enticed people to their anti-prom by promising there would be snakes instead of snacks, requiring them to release additional enticements stating the opposite. Thanks, Jonathan Caws-Elwitt!
crossword puzzle shenanigan
According to a recent NHM tweet, staff at the Natural History branch of the British Museum were apparently helping too many people with crossword puzzles in the 1930s and had to be told to stop.
Thanks, Steve Lawson!
invisible books on display
“Sad and Useless” recently posted twenty terrific library shenanigans, some of which have already appeared here. New ones include: the invisible book display (pictured), Batman Returns His Books to the Library, Books for Tall People, and more. Thanks, Bruce Bentzman!
Twitter duck battle
“Museums around the world are sending each other solicited duck pics … The world may be a hellscape of pain and suffering but museums trying to outdo each other with pictures of ducks makes it a little more tolerable.” I agree. Thanks, Suzie DeGrasse!
Marian Engel’s Bear
Marian Engel’s novel Bear, first published in 1976, is about a love affair between a librarian and a bear.
Yes it is.
If you would like to read it, it may be available in a library near you.
Thanks, Daniel M. Shapiro.
Librarians need a seaside rest home!
According to Livia Gershon’s article “Being a Victorian Librarian Was Oh-So-Dangerous,” Melvil Dewey “predicted that female librarians would have trouble doing the job because of poor health.” Indeed, at the turn of the last century the Brooklyn Public Library Association proposed a “seaside rest home” for broken-down librarians.
When Diane Westerfield forwarded this article to me, I responded that maybe Dewey had the idea that librarians might suffer from nervous exhaustion or whatever because he was sexually harassing them and perhaps there was some emotional fallout from that. Diane then found this hair-raising portrait of Dewey available at Find-A-Grave. The look in his eyes! Yike!
Purple Syllabus
The Purple Syllabus, created by “Prince fans affiliated with the University of Minnesota Libraries in conjunction with the Prince From Minneapolis Symposium,” is awesome.
Thanks, Kris Kanthak!
no dogs, drunks, or smallpox
The Hyde Institute Library in Barnet Vale, Hertfordshire, England had some strict rules for its patrons.
Citation for the original is uncertain. According to the Bodleian Library, the source may be a 1930 issue of the Nottingham Post. A slightly different version of these rules may have appeared in the May 2, 1930 issue of the Western Gazette. Yet another version appeared on page 11 of the May 29, 1930 issue of the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser.
Thanks, Woody Guth3!
Library Shenanigans 