FYI: According to sfgate.com, The FBI is warning law enforcement nationwide to be on the lookout for people carrying almanacs. Apparently these tools of terrorism may contain statistics and city profiles that may be used to hatch insidious schemes against the Homeland. In a bulletin sent to police organizations nationwide, they note
The practice of researching potential targets is consistent with known methods of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations that seek to maximize the likelihood of operational success through careful planning....
The FBI did state, however, that the use of an almanac or map may be innocent, "the product of legitimate recreational or commercial activities", but could indicate possible terrorist activity if a person is combining the use of these tools with what they consider as "suspicious behavior".
When queried, the folks at the Old Farmer's Almanac felt terrorists would not find much help from their collection of weather aphorisms and descriptions of supposedly innocent undertakings such as hypnotizing chickens. However I believe there's no stopping the carnage once al-Qaida successfully implements its program of predicting U.S. weather by reading pig's spleens.
What I want to know is: Despite OFA's FAQ, is the hole in the upper left-hand side of the book actually a message to terrorists instructing them to read the book every time they go to the john?
As promised, here's some additional tips to make the holidays at your library a
little more festive, or at the very least, notorious in your county/state/metro
area:
Have a happy holiday, folks!
I love Christmas. I really do. I love the trees, the decorations, the sights and the smells. I even love Fran Drescher channeling Snoop Dog in her efforts to hawk polar fleece for Old Navy. Yes, it is the most wonderful time of the year, but doesn't it seem that the Christmas spirit flags a bit at your workplace? The forced smile when someone chokes down the umpteenth Russian Tea cake with pink punch? Or the hair rising on the back of your neck when a co-worker you barely know ambushes you with an unexpected Christmas gift? Sometimes the Christmas cheer at your library ain't what it used to be. But don't despair: as a public service, I humbly submit a few tips
to perk up that sagging holiday morale....
And some very merry tips for cataloging librarians....
More later this week....
In the interest in adding to the growing body of knowledge that is the library profession, not to mention providing myself with a cheap laugh, I hereby present some of the more interesting searches you guys are using to find me:
As usual, you guys are really scaring me. And if any of you have a reason to find information on erotic grannies, please don't let me know.....
Saucy Bib Cite of the Day: This one comes anonymously from one of the Cornell University libraries--just keep that in mind if you happen to be standing in front of one of their reference desks someday....
O. Mei. "I had sex with Melvyl Dewey!" National Inquirer, Oct. 27 1997 p.1
Well--I'm still sick. Mouth-breathing, sore-nose-blowing sick. And from what I hear from past victims, this cold should last another week. Let's just say that other than watching the extended version of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Thanksgiving was a complete bust. The worst part is trying to get to sleep when your sinuses feel denser than lead, or that fruitcake you receive every Christmas, the one that manages to warp the gravitational field of your mailbox. Though I was exhausted, I kept waking up every two-three hours trying to breathe or sneeze. I finally had to resort to my secret vice to get some sleep.
And what did I do when I couldn't sleep?
Obsess about my blog, of course, particularly my last posting: though I slammed Hollywood about not thinking about librarianship as a profession, I couldn't recall the exact moment when I decided to become a librarian myself. In fact, other than a few years before I applied to library school, libraries weren't even on the map when it came to my daily existence. Like many of you folks, I didn't decide to apply to library school until I was in my 30s. I can't say librarianship is my second career unless you consider shoveling popcorn or answering phones careers.
So do kids dream of becoming a librarian? I did spend a great deal of my childhood in libraries, but I don't recall ever hankering to become one of the gals behind the counter. I don't fault the librarians--at that time most of energy was spent avoiding adults. But other than checking out my books, I never knew what librarians actually did, unlike teachers. To top it off, they didn't wear uniforms--at least not official uniforms like all the other people in my life. I spent almost every summer day in that library, but it never once occur to me that the women wandering the stacks were members of a profession. Maybe the idea seeped into me and became a latent virus, becoming active only when all other job options blew up in my face. Who knows?
What I'm Listening to (whilst convalescing): Hey Ya! by OutKast even though it's tough to shake it like a polaroid picture and blow your nose at the same time.