Noir for Librarians? A Quirky Addition to the Shelves

Dave gave me a gift a couple of days ago -- he'd ordered a copy for himself and one for me of this unusual book. Now that's the definition of booklovers in love! Here's his explanation:

I ordered a couple copies of this small book from Ken Sanders Rare Books because we all need a quirky read for the holidays. Over the years we all have heard of the many characters who hang around in libraries and can make the librarian's jobs a misery. As economic times become more difficult, libraries are often used as an outpost for the homeless and for people with mental health and other assorted problems.

When I was a college student many years ago, it appeared that in the college library many students created their own social community and the library workers had a very difficult time in maintaining an atmosphere of silence. This was in an era before the universal usage of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices that every college student owns that have created different sorts of electronic communities.

Joel J. Rane's little book Scream At The Librarian: Sketches of Our Patrons in Downtown Los Angeles (2007), is a 2nd printing from ABC [Another Booklyn Chapbook; The BOOKLYN Arts Alliance, Brooklyn, NY, Booklyn.org) and is limited to 525 copies. This book has been called an instant cult classic and contains narrative sketches and art with the following headings: The Screamer [Female], Miss Information, Lester, Mr. Question, The Actress, The Singer, Mr. Brain Damage, Cornelius, The Dictionary Woman, Mrs. Yount, Mrs. Phoebus, Dr. Baker, The  Ghoul, The Racist, Grandma, Pat, The Screenwriter, Tourette Syndrome, David, Tammy, The Starer, The Sailor, Down Jacket, The Encyclopedia Man, The Wildcatter, Mr. Smelly, The Groupie, The Cougher, The Groaner, The Tweaker, Mr. Edgeman, Mr. Ware, The Change Man, The Conspiracy Artist, The Devil, The Screamer [Male]. 

If you are interested in libraries, quirky people, and stories, find a copy of this book. -- DK