Some of the cooler things librarians get to do

From this week's ALA e-newsletter:

• Hear what a longtime NPR librarian has to say about her job (which she loves, of course!), including some of the random bits of information she has retained over the years.
• A library that fits your commute? Yes, please! Take this NYC branch library just outside a subway entrance as a prime example.

The moral of the story: we'll help you get your information and books any way we can!

The View from the Reference Desk

Now several weeks into my internship at Children's Services at the MCPL, I've had time to reflect on my experiences as a pseudo-children's librarian. I've helped with great programs, assisted with some interesting projects. But, more than anything else, I've learned a lot from my experience on the reference desk.

One major thing that I've noticed--

There are two main types of children's librarians: those who mostly notice the misbehaving kids, and those who mostly don't. I fit into the latter category insofar as I never leave my reference shifts thinking, "My gosh! Children are so much work!" More often than not, I walk back into the staff offices giggling to myself over the strange, adorable things young children do and say. I have to say, this perspective seems to work really well for me. I'm still loving children's librarianship, after all.

I love autumn!

This is the glorious view that I had today while sitting and doing some work at Brown County State Park. The autumn colors down in these parts of Indiana are famous for a reason.

Taking cues when choosing books

It could be a huge research project to fully understand the myriad of ways in which people choose their reading material. Saw it on a display? Heard about it on Oprah? A friend said you'd like it? I know that I pick up reading suggestions everywhere. How about you?

In this week's ALA e-newsletter, two links on this topic in particular stood out to me:

1) Rupert Grint chose A Clockwork Orange as the book he's holding on his READ poster; these celebrity endorsements can be rather effective in getting people to try out specific titles.

2) One librarian in New York has been compiling a list of books that have appeared on the television show Mad Men. Some of the titles may have been part of the storyline while others were just part of the background, but he says circulation of and requests for this books has jumped because of their inclusion on the hit show. And the fact that all the books are accurate to the show's time setting makes the surge in popularity even better, in my opinion. Let's give some older books a chance!