ALA Member
$11.70
Price
$13.00
Item Number
978-0-8389-1063-4
Published
2010
Publisher
ALA Editions
Pages
128
Width
5"
Height
7 12"
Format
Softcover

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the author
  • Reviews

After years spent editing American Libraries and the many editions of The Whole Library Handbook, George Eberhart has collected a raft of arcane librariana and amusing trivia for this endlessly browsable volume. Equally suitable for the reference shelf and the staff lounge, the dozens of wide-ranging lists in this book include

  • 14 ways libraries are good for the country
  • How to say "Where is the library?" in 50 different languages
  • 10 intriguing paper defects
  • 6 library-related birdsongs
  • Top 12 silly reasons to ban a book

The mixture of serious topics, tongue-in-cheek items, and outright silliness provides something to please everyone familiar with libraries, making a fun read and a wonderful gift.

Introduction
1. Five Things That Make a Library
 2. Eight Past Predictions about Libraries and Information in the Future
 3. Three Rules of the Librarians of Time and Space
 4. Ten Suggestions for a Library-Related Ben and Jerry's Flavor
 5. Ten Gifts for Your Librarian Friends
 6. Ten Things Microsoft's "Ms. Dewey" Used to Say
 7. The Seattle Books Examiner's Top Twenty Things Librarians in Public Libraries Wish Patrons Knew or Did
 8. The Swiss Army Librarian's Top Ten Pet Peeves about Patrons
 9. Ten Commandments for Borrowers of Books
 10. Six Birds That Make Library-Related Sounds
 11. Larry Nix's Top Ten Libraries on Postage Stamps
 12. Fifteen Favorite Library Postcards
 13. Top Ten Library Blogs
 14. Top Sixteen Book Blogs
 15. Top Sixty Subject Blogs and News Sources
 16. Norman Stevens's Ten Best Children's Picture Books That Feature Libraries and Librarians
 17. Ten Librarians in Adult Fiction
 18. Twenty-five Offbeat Book Titles
 19. Martha Spear's Top Ten Reasons to Be a Librarian
 20. Scott Douglas's Ten Reasons to Be (and Not to Be) a Librarian
 21. Top Ten Ways to Make Sure Potential Applicants for Your Library Job Are Turned Off by Your Ad
 22. Ten Recruitment Vows for Librarians
 23. Roy Tennant's Top Ten Things Library Administrators Should Know about Technology
 24. Leigh Anne Vrabel's Ten Things to Do When You Are a Library Director
 25. Jenny Levine's Mind-Set List for Library School Students
 26. Sean Fitzpatrick's Seven Cool Tools That Librarians Should Know About
 27. Key Dates in American Library History
 28. Five Movies with the Worst Librarian Stereotypes
 29. Five Movies with Librarian Role Models
 30. Three TV Shows with Librarians
 31. Twelve Librarians Who Came Back to Haunt
 32. Top Fifteen Books about Real Librarians
 33. Twelve Librarians Who Were Poets
 34. Fourteen Ways Public Libraries Are Good for the Country
 35. Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science (Updated)
 36. Michael Gorman's Revised Laws of Library Science
 37. John Cotton Dana's Twelve Rules for Reading
 38. Top Twenty-five Largest Libraries in North America
 39. Ten Unusual Rare-Book Genres
 40. Ten Book Curses
 41. Ten Intriguing Paper Defects
 42. Stephen Leary's Top Ten Ways to Exit a Library
 43. Booklist Editors' Best American Fiction, 1980–2005
 44. Top Ten Challenged Books, 1990–2000
 45. Other Challenged Books, 2001–2009
 46. Top Twelve Silly Reasons to Ban a Book
 47. Ten Most Popular ALA Celebrity READ Posters
 48. What to Do When the Media Calls
 49. How to Say "Where Is the Library?" in Fifty Languages
 50. Top Ten Library Music Videos

George M. Eberhart

George M. Eberhart is senior editor of American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association. He served for ten years (1980-1990) as editor of College & Research Libraries News, the news magazine of ALA's Association of College & Research Libraries, and still writes the "New Publications" column for it. He has compiled three book-length bibliographies on UFOs and other scientific anomalies, and is a frequent contributor to Postcard Collector magazine. Eberhart holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio State University and an M.L.S. from the University of Chicago.

"It's always nice when you have a secret bright idea and never do anything about it and then see someone you know and respect doing something totally awesome with it ... I'd always liked the idea of doing a librarian's book of lists. And now George Eberhart – also the author of The Guide to Cryptozoology – has done just that!"
--Jessamyn West, librarian.net

"Filled with library trivia, history, and information, this is an enjoyable read for anyone who loves libraries."
--Reference & Research Book News