5 librarian's lists that scream READ ME in this book

"I thought I'd be a librarian until I met some crazy ones."
- Edward Gorey, Boston Globe article, 1998, as quoted in Salon

Title: The librarian's book of lists
Editor: George M. Eberhart
Year: 2010
Summary: Eberhart (American Library Association editor), who admits to compulsive listmaking, applies his hobby to all aspects of the librarian's world, listing, for example, the top 10 things to do when you're a library director, top 10 blogs in six different subject areas, 10 reasons to be a librarian, 10 reasons not to, top 10 library music videos, and top 12 silly reasons to ban a book. Filled with library trivia, history, and information, this is an enjoyable read for anyone who loves libraries.

Librarians are funny people. Both funny haha and funny weird. I know this to be true because it has been my greatest pleasure to have worked side by side with so many over the last 11 years or so. (Why yes, thank you, I do look good for my age). So I was pretty sure I was on to a good thing when I accidentally came across Eberhart's book which is exactly what the title suggests: a list of serious/humorous lists put together by Eberhart himself (a list-maker extraordinaire which is something I admire because I heart lists - we control what we can to the nth degree, and for me that's lists) and a number of librarians from around the world. Short post for today that is, simply, 5 librarian's lists that scream READ ME in this book :)

Runner-up lists:

10 unusual rare book genres - e.g. Artillery Election Sermons, Clog Almanacs, Harlequinades (which, disappointingly, has nothing to do with early copies of Harlequin romance novels) and Robinsonades

Sean Fitzpatrick's 7 cool tools that librarians should know about - YES! SEAN FITZPATRICK! Not, however, *our* Sean Fitzpatrick the former All Black, but this Sean Fitzpatrick who is the American Libraries Associate Editor. And yes, I admit it, I giggled when I thought it might be the former :)

6 birds that make library-related sounds
YES I CAN SEE THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE. I had it, too. I read the title of this list and I was all, 'Say huh?' This definitely comes under the heading of 'Things I'm not sure I ever needed to know but now can't forget.' Such as a Southern Boobook which makes a book-book sound, and a Yellow-Headed Warbler which makes a shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh noise. I kid you not.

3 rules of the librarians of time and space
A list based on Pratchett's Discworld series, the 8th novel in particular, where the Libarians of Time and Space teach these three rules to seniors:

Silence

Books must be returned no later than the last date shown

Do not interfere with the nature of casuality

25 offbeat book titles Some of which include:

Island of the sequinned love nun by Christopher Moore

How to cook a bigfoot by Theata Iona Crowe

The stray shopping carts of Eastern North America: A guide to field identification by Julian Montague

10 suggestions for a library-related Ben and Jerry's flavor Yes! With US spelling of 'flavor'! A few suggestions:

Censor Chip - vanilla ice cream with red raspberry swirls and chocolate chips

Overdue Fine-As-Fudge Chunk - hunks of rich fudge brownies in creamy milk chocolate, drizzled throughout with golden caramel and sprinkled with mini white-chocolate coins

Sinformation Delight - Dulce de leche ice cream swirled with caramel, peaches, and toffee bits

Stephen Leary's top 10 ways to exit a library
Most of us leave under our own steam by the front door, usually in an orderly fashion. Imagine if some of us left the way Leary has suggested we could do:

Waving a brand new flag of an alien culture diametrically opposed to your own

Crawling on your belly underneath the barbed wire, pushing your books ahead of you in the dirt as you go

With your thralls holding you aloft in a modernist sedan chair, created entirely of pages torn from unpublished books authored by yourself