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Library Confidential: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library [Paperback]

Don Borchert (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 8 Nov 2007

The public library - a haven of calm, source of information, home to the student, the geek and the aging librarian. Or so you might think.

Don Borchert's ten years as assistant librarian have taught him that a library is more than just a place to borrow books, it's also a place where people hide from the law, fall in love, fight, deal drugs, introduce their children to reading, look up porn and pursue their dreams. Borchett's hilarious memoir delves behind the bookshelves as he discovers the weird, dangerous and downright dirty world of a public library and the fearless civil servants who patrol its aisles.

Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Virgin Books (8 Nov 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0753513102
  • ISBN-13: 978-0753513101
  • Product Dimensions: 13.7 x 1.8 x 21.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 184,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Book Description

Puts the Shhh! in Shocking

From the Back Cover

Puts the 'shhhh' in shocking!

The public library - a haven of calm, source of information, home to the student, the geek and the ageing librarian. Or so you might think....

When he first took a job as assistant librarian in a public library, Don Borchett expected a relaxed, quiet working life. What he didn't expect to encounter was people hiding from the law, falling in love, fighting, dealing drugs, and looking up porn.

With a cast including drunks in tutus, patrons with a fear of the number six, a flasher and a marmoset, Don Borchett's hilarious memoir peeks behind the bookshelves to reveal the weird, dangerous and downright dirty world of the public library, and the fearless civil servants who patrol its aisles.

Don Borchett has been an assistant librarian in the Californian Public Library system for 10 years. His previous jobs included cook, fine china salesman, Christmas tree chopper and sod farm worker. This is his first book.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A delight 20 July 2008
By Careful Reader
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a sometimes hilarious and often touching glimpse into the life of a long-term assistant librarian in Los Angeles. Anybody who has ever used a library in any country (which should be everybody) needs to read this. Don is a natural storyteller and I can only hope that he'll write other, equally wonderful books in the near future.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars You have to get a job in a library! 16 Feb 2010
By Read Me
Format:Paperback
If you've ever worked in a library, visited a library or just got lost one day and strolled in then this book should make you titter in recognition. I do work in a library and I can honestly say that I read this and kept laughing out loud and randomly saying ' yep we've had that'. Essentially this book is a life story of a librarian going from how to get a job in the council - turn up for the interview and look normal, then upholding the sanctity of the library until you retire about 50 years later.

Although this is set in America the similarities are so perfect that libraries must be the same all over the world. There is always a regular customer who comes in to chat to their favourite staff, always an angry person shouting about putting their books in a bag, always a flasher who thinks its never been done before and always some kids who have to be kicked out every week for being too noisy. From a staff point of view its nice to read how other libraries suffer the same as yours, how all librarians have their own secret language (weeding the books for example) and how all library staff know exactly when to expect trouble. From a customer point of view you'll probably read this and remark that you don't believe this could happen in a library! People dirtying the books, refusing to pay fines, abusing the staff and cheating the community out of much loved classics! Shameless.

This is a great book which I thoroughly recommend to everyone but especially those people who think it might be nice to work somewhere quiet and peaceful like the local library. Best let yourself know what you're in for :)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read 31 Aug 2010
By R Christopher
Format:Paperback
Approach it as "some observations of a librarian", without the expectations of easily digestible jokes (because there are none; it is dealing with real life situations), and I hope you find it as entertaining as I did; and I certainly did!
I thought much of it was delivered dead-pan and the amusement came after some thought; not much, but certainly a non-zero amount was required.
There isn't much obvious structure to the overall story but I found it an easy read, with each incident following onto the next with ease, building up a mosaic of incidents that was greater than the sum of the parts.
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