Title: Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange, and Inspiring Dispatches from the Stacks

Author: William Ottens

Publisher: Skyhorse 2020

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 240

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of librarian William Ottens’s experience working behind service desks and in the stacks of public libraries, most recently at the Lawrence Public Library in Kansas. In Librarian Tales, published in cooperation with the American Library Association, readers will learn about strange things librarians have found in book drops, weird and obscure reference questions, the stress of tax season, phrases your local librarians never want to hear, stories unique to children’s librarians, and more.

Ottens uncovers common pet peeves among his colleagues, addresses misguided assumptions and stereotypes, and shares several hilarious stories along the way. This book is must reading for any librarian, or anyone who loves books and libraries, though non-library folks will also laugh and cry (from laughing) while reading this lighthearted analysis of your local community pillar, the library.

I have followed Librarian Problems for years and was really looking forward to a fun look at libraries. I was here for all the fun stories and quirky situations. I was ready for the behind-the-scenes tour. Instead, I got a fairly boring look at how Ottens became a librarian and the various positions he held. It was more of a dry look at the organization structure of libraries than celebrating the weird. I was bored.

Next up on the TBR pile: