Weblog Archive

Hello again

Have you found any new good places to read yet?  Reading doesn't just have to be something that's kept for special occasions, like holidays and weekends; it can be something that you can do anywhere and everywhere. 

We tend not to notice but we are surrounded by people who are reading, all day everyday.  We just get so used to it that we no longer really see them.  So, out of idle curiosity, I spent a day actively looking out for people reading as I went about my daily business (and before you all say it, this wasn't in the library!)  Anyway, there were people reading on the bus and at the station whilst waiting for trains.  I saw a lady reading in a car at the traffic lights (note that she was the passenger, not the driver).  I even saw a homeless girl sat on the pavement reading a book.  People were reading in cafes and bookshops, in fact they were reading everywhere I looked.

Try it for yourself and see how many different places you can spot people reading - it might surprise you!

Until next time...

Suzanne

Hello

How are you today?

Let me ask you something - where is your favourite place to read?

This was one of the questions that I asked our local celebrities and also our library staff and there were some very interesting answers.

There seem to be two distinct schools of thought when it comes to the favoured place to read.  Quite a few people seem to view reading as a very cosy activity that involves sofa or beds, roaring fires and warm drinks.  On the other hand there are those who regard the ultimate place to read as being in the sun on holiday.  There are some wonderfully vivid descriptions of the exact perfect place for some people, be it a particular view, the type of weather or the food and drink that should be to hand.  For example

"Newspapers on a cold Sunday afternoon in the pub with a good pint of bitter."  Natalka Znak

"Newquay beach in the summer with a cool breeze and a crate of cool beers." Josh - Never Sed

"In bed first thing in the morning with a cup of tea and a biscuit - preferably with a view of Lakeland fells through the window (or the tent flap) and the promise of spending the rest of the day exploring them." Colin Brabazon - North Lincolnshire Libraries

"In bed. Subdued light. Box of Maltesers. Sleepy cat." Alex - North Lincolnshire Libraries

As you can see, there's quite a range.  Visit our "Meet your..." pages for all of the responses.  And if you agree or disagree then share your views.

Until next time...

Suzanne

Hello

A question for you... can you name a famous librarian?  Go on, think hard. 

It's a difficult one for a Saturday morning I know, but you might be surprised.

We've had a good think (ok, we cheated slightly and trawled the Internet as well) and these are some that we found.

Fictional:

• Rupert Giles (played by Anthony Head) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Batgirl aka Barbara Gordon (played by Alicia Silverstone, amongst others) in Batman
• Evelyn Carnahan (played by Rachel Weisz) in The Mummy
• Dr Horace Worblehat in the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett
• Henry DeTamble (soon to be played by Eric Bana) in The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Real life:

• Philip Larkin (1922-1985) Poet and librarian at the University of Hull
• Casanova (1725-1798) Legendary womaniser and librarian for Count von Waldstein in the Chateau of Dux in Bohemia
• Mao Tse-Tung (1893-1976) Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and assistant to Chief Librarian and the University of Peking

One or two might fit the stereotype of a typical librarian, but the rest most certainly don't!

I'm sure that there are lots more, so if you know of any, please tell me.

Until next time

Suzanne

Hiya everyone, it's me again, Adam
 
Just writing to say that I was on the mobile library yesterday and it's great! It's really good. 
The views are nice as you go around in the bus and you often meet some very interesting people (I met 90 year olds that looked sixty, and an author!)
 
I finished my work experience today (Thursday 20th) and enjoyed it overall, the only problem was that after getting the hang of everything it is then the end of your work experience.  One of the strong points in working in a library for work-experience is the variation of jobs you can do because of the size of the buildings etc.
 
cya, and keep reading!
Adam

Hi everyone,
My name's Adam and I'm at the library for work experience and Suzanne has asked for me to write a few blogs about my work experience as it could help you if you're planning in working in the library for work experience or just if you want the background workings of a library.  I thought it would be easy but it most certainly isn't as easy as I thought.
 
In my work experience I have had to alphabeat books, that's when you check whether the books are in the correct order.  On the first floor it's in numbers (the dewey decimal system, a system of numbers that catalogue everything and relate them to numbers, an example is America is number 1 and England is number 2 and so on) and the ground floor is planned in alphabetical order according to the author's surname.
 
I think that the staff at the library are polite and helpful in me getting to grips with the way in which the library works and I have helped in placing books back in the correct places. I have also visited the Riddings branch library to see how a smaller library works.
 
This week I'm going to work in the mobile library and prepare the audio books for sale. I've also worked at the counter and it is rather nice as you talk to the community because they sometimes talk about how they recommend a book which they have read or a group which they have seen in concert and which they recommend you should see because of being the younger generation.
 
All in all I am enjoying it so far and I'll update you further into the week on the other things I've been doing.
 
Bye for now,
Adam

Good Morning

I hope that you're all having a good week.  With the weekend coming up, what better way to spend it than with a nice book?  Just think, you could call into your local library when you've a few minutes to spare over the next couple of days and pick up that latest bestseller that you've been meaning to read, and it won't cost you a penny.  If you don't have a library card you can pick one up for free, and you don't even need to show us your ID if you don't have it handy, you can bring it in next time.

Have I convinced you yet?

Just imagine...

Sunday morning, lying in bed, totally relaxed, with a cup of tea and a good book.

Sunday afternoon in the pub with a good book.  Or how about on the sofa in front of the fire, with a bar of chocolate.

Sunday evening and there's nothing on TV, why not sit down with a good book.  Or you could read the children a story before bed.

And then again you could always have an early night yourself and snuggle up with your good book.

The possibilities are endless

Go on, I know you want to really!

Your library will be expecting you.

See you soon

Suzanne

PS: You can now vote in our monthly poll.  The question for March is "Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?"  Vote now.

Hello

How are you today?  Can you recommend anything good to read?

It's slightly worrying the number of people who think that, as a librarian, I should read all the time and that I ought to know all about every book ever written.  In fact I should think that there a fair number of people reading this who still picture a librarian as being a middle-aged woman with her hair in a bun wearing a twin-set, sensible shoes, glasses and a permanent scowl.  Not that there's anything wrong with looking like that obviously.  And whilst I can never be accused of wearing sensible shoes I have occasionally lapsed and worn a twin set!  But it's an outdated stereotype that librarians and libraries have to battle in order to encourage new people to visit us.

There's also lots of other things that you and I, as regular library users know, but that many other people don't.  So just to test you here's a quick true or false quiz (answers at the bottom of the screen).

1. It's free to join the library.
2. Libraries only loan books.
3. You have to have a card before you come in to a library.
4. You don't need to have any ID with you to get a library card.
5. There's no upper or lower age limit to having a library card.
6. You have to be silent in a library.

How do you think you did?

Well here are the answers

1. It's free to join the library.  TRUE

Whilst there are some things that you have to pay for, most things are FREE.  Joining the library is FREE.  Borrowing books is FREE.  Using a computer for 30 minutes every day is FREE.

2. Libraries only loan books.  FALSE

You can borrow all sorts of things from your library including music scores, talking books, language courses, and foreign language books.  You can also use the use the computers, research your family history, read the newspapers, look at car manuals, the list goes on.

3. You have to have a card before you come in to a library.  FALSE

Anyone is welcome to come in and use any of the resources within the library.  You only need to have a ticket if you want to borrow books, and it is really easy to join (see the next question).

4. You don't need to have any ID with you to get a library card.  TRUE

Even if you don't have proof of your name and address with you, you can still join the library.  As an introductory borrower you can borrow 3 items and simply show us your ID the next time you visit.

5. There's no upper or lower age limit to having a library card.  TRUE

You can join the library from birth (although you might have to ask your mum or dad to give us your details for you).  Our youngest member is just a few weeks old whilst our oldest is 103 years young.

6. You have to be silent in a library.  FALSE

We do ask you not to make too much noise, as many people come to the library to study, but we don't go around with our fingers to our lips telling you to shhhhh.  Well ok, I have been known to do it occasionally when people were being really noisy, but I was really embarrassed afterwards when I realised I'd fallen into the stereotype!

So how did you do?  Did you get them all right?  Come and visit us soon to see what we're really like!

Suzanne

Hi again

It's been really fascinating reading about everybody's favourite books over the last few days.  Obviously there are some books that I don't fancy reading, they're just not to my taste, and I don't have a problem with saying that.  Although you shouldn't judge books without trying them I equally don't think you should read things that you know you will get nothing out of.  For example I don't enjoy true-crime books, I have no need to read crime books, therefore I don't read them.  If however for whatever reason I needed or wanted to know about how a serial killer thinks, then I would have no problem with picking up such a book.  Equally some people might prefer to never read anything for the rest of their life, rather than read Bridget Jones' Diary, but it has it's place just like everything else.

There are other books that people have mentioned that I have read and enjoyed but had forgotten all about.  For example I read and loved Enid Blyton's Magic Far-away Tree as a child, but had forgotten all about it.  But now I've been reminded about it I want to read it again.  Similarly I absolutely loved To Kill a Mockingbird but for some reason, when I was choosing my top five, I forgot all about it.

I've also got a few more things on my wish-list now that I've never read but want to.  I keep meaning to read the Historian, as I'm told that I'll enjoy it.  The Scarlet Pimpernel has been mentioned by a couple of people, and despite having seen several on-screen adaptations I've never read the original book - so that's another one on my list.  In fact the list is growing by the second. 

Anyway when I've read them I'll let you know what I think.

Speak again soon.

Suzanne

Hello

Nice to talk to you again (or if you're visiting us for the first time, Welcome!)

Being a naturally nosey person I've been really fascinated to see what people have chosen as their favourite 5 reads of all time.  Some people have accused me of being very mean in making them choose just five, and in a way I agree with them, it can be very difficult to say which books are your favourites.  Mine, like a lot of people's, change from day to day, depending on what sort of mood I'm in.  Some people's top 5 tend to all be of a particular genre or by a particular author, whilst others are a total mix of various types of writing.  Given the massive range of things that people could choose, it's interesting to see some of the titles that have cropped up in several people's lists.  Obviously it begs the question of whether people who do the same type of job are necessarily interested in the same types of books.  For example several librarians picked The Time Traveller's Wife as a favourite (although that could be due to the main character being a librarian!) and three quarters of the band Never Sed had The Magician as one of their favourites.  On the other hand there are also some spectacularly diverse tastes around with library staff loving everything from fantasy, crime and romance to gardening, cookery and even some quantum physics.

With such wide-ranging tastes I think that it is safe to say that as well as never judging a book by its cover, you should never judge a reader by their book!

More on that thought another time, but in the meantime why not share your top five reads on the discussion boards.  Or if you can't narrow your list down that much, how about trying something from someone else's top 5, you never know, you might like it!

Bye for now

Suzanne

PS: I hear that some people are having problems commenting on the blog.  You must be registered with the site before you can post any messages - see "How to post a message" for more details.

Hello

Happy World Book Day and welcome to the first entry in our National Year of Reading library blog.  Since this is the first time I've talked to you in this way there is a little bit of housekeeping that I need to do.  Firstly, let me introduce myself.  My name's Suzanne and I'll be your librarian-blogger for most of the time.  However, since contrary to popular belief we librarians don't spend our entire lives sat amongst the bookshelves, and do actually have a real-life to lead as well, I may occasionally have to leave you in the capable hands of one of my colleagues.  I was hoping that I might be able to bring you one or two celebrity bloggers along the way as well - no firm news as yet, but trust me I am working on it, and I promise that you will be the first to know if it happens!

If you want to comment on anything that I say, please do.  I'd love to know what you think - if only to prove that I'm not just sat here typing to myself!  We'd also love you to join us in our online discussion rooms, so why not have a look at the latest topics (when you've finished reading this of course!) and post your comments.

So down to business...we've been preparing for the National Year of Reading for a few months now, and although you might not have seen much happening yet, trust me we have been very busy behind the scenes.  We've lots of fab activities coming up including ReCon on 3rd April (a manga/anime event) and we're also hoping to host some author events later in the year.

We've also been doing a lot of talking about books and reading.  At the beginning of the year I wrote to a whole host of major and minor celebrities who have connections to the North Lincolnshire area.  I asked them, amongst other things, about their favourite books and places to read.  There were loads of responses, ranging from Dame Joan Plowright who loves Marcel Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu, to Tony Jacklin who loves to read Golf News.  And just to tease you some more I'll leave you to try to guess...

• Who said that if they could only read one last thing in their life it would be a letter from God saying that there is an afterlife?
• Who liked to read Famous Five books as a child?
• Whose favourite word is "hope"?

Go to our Celebrity Readers pages to find the answers and for the full set of responses.

Anyway, I'll speak to you again soon.

Suzanne