The Worst Library on the Internet
The director said the bell would stay on the circulation desk. Brenda complained that someone was always there, but the director said the bell would stay. Brenda pouted and stood, arms crossed, glaring at the little metal object.
Read MoreSeveral times in my life I have moved myself and others into new domiciles. Several, several times, in fact. Over my life I have lived in fifteen different dorms, houses, apartments, and a camper with sixteen different people not counting my parents and my sister.
Read MoreThe library watches a bunch of Youtube at the circulation desk because its almost impossible to block due to being owned by Google. Praise be the Google.
Read More"Just meet us there," the chaperone told me. Those words started one of the more memorable nights of my life.
Read MoreHe stood with her in a little hallway. They both wore a sheen of sweat and he said something about marrying her.
Read MoreAbout a year and change I moved from the bayou of Louisiana to the wilds of Provo, Utah. The diversity of the place staggered me
Read MoreWe were crossing into Florida when I realized that this girl might want to kiss me.
Read MoreThe time of year has come for school visits to the library. Seniors learning deep research for their final papers. Juniors dipping their toes into the waters of "what is database and peer review?" Sophomores and freshman asking questions such as "where is the bathroom?"
Read More"You can always let a hole be cause if you try to fill it, you can't ever get it just right," Mrs. Joyce said over me as I tried to pack the dirt back tight.
Read MoreI will admit, when I saw the cover I was a bit wary thinking this might be a collection of children's stories. Whoa was I wrong.
Read MoreWhen someone asks me what my favorite television show growing up was, I have to think about that. Hands down, I could say MacGyver because I still think it's better than leftover cornbread with onions. But then I think on all the sitcoms and action shows of the 1980s and have to give it up to a genre: weaponized and sentient vehicles.
Read MoreWhen performing an expert u-turn on a small suburban street in the middle of the night, watch for curbs. And small animals. But mostly the curbs because the small animals have sense to get out of the way even when finding themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. You will pop a tire and end up calling someone to bring you a jack at three in the morning.
Read MoreAs I write this, a hazy smoke has enveloped the Pacific Northwest and the high desert whatever the hell biosphere I live in at the moment. There may be a picture accompanying this, but if there is not allow me to describe it: Gray haze with shimmering figures in the distance that resemble mountains inhabited by old chain smoking yeti figures who have run out of shit to eat.
Read MoreWhen I walked into eighth grade, I had my last growth spurt and a new haircut. Six foot three inches with a moppy undercut, I probably looked like a mushroom that grew arms and legs and forgot how to sit down. Inside started a little streak of anger, tempered and fired by friends with the same leanings.
Read MoreI should have been paying more attention when the boy went into the stacks. I told him not to go, but boys disappear sometimes.
Read MoreI tell you all that to tell you this: corporations do not give two craps about local needs
Read MoreHow many times have you been working the reference desk and thought, man alive I could use a meal? Too many times, am I right? Born and raised in the deep South, my meals tend to lean toward the "chicken fried" variety, so I submit to you my own recipe for cooking up chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits, and gravy in the library break room.
Read MoreHow to libraries ever expect to get their books, DVDs, and farm equipment back? The most common way is to institute fines and fees for lost, damaged, or late items. With more and more people being made poor by social and economic divides created by a military and prison industrial complex, fines are not cool. Because of this non-coolness, some libraries have begun to explore alternative methods to monetary library fines.
Read MoreWhen I was in kindergarten, some kid named Derrick said he did not want to be my friend. That hurt. Kick me in the stomach, cannot breathe crying hurt. Rejection is the monster that we all run from and from time to time will knock you down and tear out your heart.
Read MoreAs you all know, Wichita Falls library has been desperately seeking a name for its racoon mascots. These mascots have a long and treasured history with the library system, much like the fabled lions that grace the New York Public Library. I promise you, by the end of this blog entry you will know the name or names of these branded creations.
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