So today is the one year anniversary of me creating this blog. Wow, has it been a year already? Jeez, who knew? I DID. It was a very looooong year, people. So to celebrate, I decided to hire myself. Yep, that's right, I have a job. Meredith is working for Meredith. Sure, I will certainly still explore other offers when the boss isn't looking but please don't tell her. I really need this job. Anyway, here's the first video with Meredith and Meredith discussing the new Head Librarian position with StandUpLibrarian.com. ***A big shout out to my followers who continue to support me after this year of confusion and frustration...
-MM
Although inspired in part by true incidents, the following video is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event, even though the actresses look a lot like Meredith Myers and say they are numerous times. In reality, Meredith Myers is the ultimate professional and takes her job as a librarian very seriously, so any future employers should not let this video affect their decision to hire her. The only thing she is guilty of is having a sense of humor during tough economic times. And y
es, parts of this disclaimer was pulled from the “Law & Order” TV show.
It was 2001, and I was working at a public relations firm in New York City, where most of my accounts were music-related, with one being an independent label called Artemis Records, started by the legendary Danny Goldberg. In working with this label over the next few years, I got to know Goldberg and began listening to the various artists signed to the label, my favorite being the music of Nathan Larson. With a background as a rocker in the band Shudder to Think to his solo album Jealous God to eventually composing award-winning music scores for Boys Don’t Cry, The Messenger, Choke, and countless other films, Nathan has proven he is nothing but genius when it comes to writing and producing music.
While we had never met, nor worked together during our experiences with Artemis, it seems odd, yet somehow fitting, that ten years later Nathan and I would cross paths, however, not at a music event, but at book festival. With Nathan a new author, and me a librarian - career fields we both probably never pictured for ourselves in 2001. Another example that anything can happen in this journey called life if you are open to what opportunities it offers us.
With the release of his new book, The Dewey Decimal System, Nathan can now add published author to his long list of credits, and having read it, I have no doubt he will be exceptionally successful at it. Plus, debuting a book featuring a lead character living in the main branch of the New York Public Library is a smart way to get me into doing PR again since here I am talking about it.
So for my first-ever post about a book on this blog, I hope you will enjoy this interview with rocker/film composer/author Nathan Larson and The Dewey Decimal System, as we discuss his love for the New York Public Library, the importance of supporting all libraries, his experiences in writing, and his latest project, doing the musical score for the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s Tiger Eyes, directed by her son, Lawrence Blume.
*And FYI, you have no idea how much great footage I have with Nathan as we talked about everything from Warren Zevon & Carl Hiaasen to the children’s and YA books of our youth to his numerous other projects in the works. Perhaps I will share more at a later date but I know I only have your attention for so long. I tell you, it never gets old to see how the love of books brings people together!
Happy Mother’s Day! Sorry, I am still an unemployed librarian. I know you are spending today thinking back to exactly one year ago, when we were together and celebrating my graduation with that Masters degree. I really wanted to put a library job offer letter in with your Mother’s Day card this year, but I guess you are going to have to settle for my promise that I won’t resort to stripping to pay the rent, regardless of how tough things have gotten. You have been nothing but my biggest supporter in my efforts to become a librarian and I cannot thank you enough for proofreading all of those term papers or for advising me not to call people idiots or morons on this blog in case someone might misunderstand my humor and use that against me in a job interview. I am so grateful for that advice, especially since sometimes I actually listen to it. I know being my mother is not easy. I think every mother wants to know that their children are happy and making a living at something they love. Thankfully, you still have my brother, and since he works with a successful comedian, hopefully that brings you joy and front-row tickets this Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, I’ve only been able to give you lame discounts at the restaurants I happen to be working at, on account of not being able to get jobs I’ve spent years training and educating myself for. Sadly, you will not be getting 50% off your dinner today. I had to quit because there was just no organization in the server side stand even after dividing up all the spoons and condiments via the Dewey Decimal system. I thought I was being helpful but my idiot manager thought it was annoying and suggested we part ways. Also, don’t expect any free books from me attending the ALA National Conference. I am so broke that I will not be able to make the trip to New Orleans in June. I know, I know, that means no beignets, as well. I don’t know what to say, paying my own way all these years in the hopes of networking myself into a job has apparently been pointless. And to think of the hundreds of people who said my business cards were so clever but never called or emailed. Bring out the violins, right? Anyway, the good news is that I still have this blog and apparently since posting my TCM/Robert Osborne interview last week, I am up to seven followers - this is huge! Oopps, I take that back. Someone just dropped off. Probably because I used the word 'idiot.' I should have listened to you, mom.
Happy Mother’s Day to the strongest woman I know…because being my mom is one tough job!
Love,
Meredith
P.S. The reason your picture is not on here is because I remembered how mean some people (idiots) can be to me online. Why some people (morons) can’t just spend their time writing a fake letter to their mom is a bigger mystery than me not being employed by now. I will never bring you into that world, mom, even though you brought me into one with no library jobs. Thanks again.
START the picture with the actual street sign: HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD. In the gutter lie dead leaves, a Hooters receipt, burnt matches and a coupon for five dollars off Starline Tours. It is early morning.
CAMERA leaves the sign and MOVES WEST, the grey asphalt of the street filling the screen.
Over the scene we now hear…
WOMAN’S VOICE
Yes, this is Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. It’s about ten o’clock in the morning but that doesn’t stop the tourists from getting their picture taken in front of the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with a lackluster version of Michael Jackson. Oh, who am I kidding, I may need to use my Lady Gaga Halloween costume to make some extra cash, so I guess I better not make fun. Times are tough for librarians, you know.
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. WEST HOLLYWOOD
It is a crisp sunny day. The voice continues speaking as CAMERA PANS toward a SMALL APARTMENT BUILDING, an ugly structure where the landlord obviously doesn’t do repairs. CAMERA MOVES TOWARD AN OPEN WINDOW, where we look in on MEREDITH MYERS’ APARTMENT. A striking redhead, Meredith Myers, is sitting at her desk, wearing nothing but a baseball t-shirt with Vonnegut #5 on the back. She is probably wearing underwear but this isn’t that kind of film. In front of her is a laptop computer, MacBook Pro. Beside her, on the floor, is a stack of resumes and library job applications, where in ink the words ‘No response’ is written on most of them. Myers is typing.
INT. MEREDITH’S APT
It is a one-room affair, filled with entirely too many fabulous clothes for a person who doesn’t have a job to go to. The walls are decorated with vintage hats that probably look ridiculous when worn with pajamas. A poster-sized image of Myrna Loy and William Powell from “The Thin Man” hangs on one wall, while a Batgirl Librarian poster that reads ‘Librarians Are Heroes Every Day!’ on another.
MEREDITH
I can’t believe I graduated with my Masters degree a year ago and I still don’t have a Librarian job. Boy, this economy is a real bummer. If I have to work one more server job, I am going to…
FLASH OF OPRAH MAGAZINE ON THE BED
MEREDITH (CONT.)
No. I’m not going to drown my problems away in another ‘Living Your Best Life’ article, O.
FLASH OF TCM ON THE TV
The logo TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL April 28 – May 1, 2011 is displayed brightly in blue on the screen. As the logo fades, a distinguished gentleman in a suit, ROBERT OSBORNE, begins to talk but the TV is on mute.
MEREDITH (CONT.)
Wait a minute. I like classic movies! Well, you wouldn’t know it based on the D I got in that film history class back in college but hopefully they won’t require tests to attend. What I wouldn’t give to talk with Robert Osborne about “Desk Set” with Katherine Hepburn. I bet just a few words from Robert would be just the motivation I need not to give up on being a librarian! Plus if that Ben Mackiewicz is around, we could talk baseball films!
FLASH OF MEREDITH AND BEN AT A BASEBALL GAME
MEREDITH (CONT.)
OK, slow it down slugger, you don’t want to come across as a stalker to these people. Besides, this is no longer a voice-over, so now you are talking to yourself and there is no one in the room. Maybe this behavior is why people haven’t hired you!
FLASH OF LIBRARIAN RIPPING UP RESUME
MEREDITH (V.O.)
Fine, I am back in my head. But no, I don’t believe that is the reason. The right job opportunity will come. Someone WILL hire me. I mean, look at the six people that read my blog! That has to mean something.
***I will be doing a separate Blog Post about the "To Kill a Mockingbird" screening, featuring appearances by Gregory Peck's family and Mary Badham (Scout).
I am a huge fan of the Winter Olympics, so when I was back in FL finishing up my last semester of library school in February of 2010, I would sit in front of the TV, writing papers while admiring the mad skills of snowboarder Shaun White and the pure heat of speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno. However, the ladies really stepped up on the ski slopes, with Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso each getting medals too, which made me wonder if I could ever have a shot at the Olympics on skis. Was it really that hard?
One year later, and I am getting my chance at Whistler Mountain. Braving the exact course the women’s ski team took, I carefully slide down Wild Card, then cut across Jimmy’s Joker to Franz’s Run, where I proceed to fall for the first time all day. Oh well, Lindsey and Julie fell too but they got back up and won medals! Thankfully, the Whistler Public Library was nearby so I could conduct some additional research and hopefully pick up some tips before trying to compete in 2014. Then again, getting a library job would be like winning the gold medal, with a lot less injuries…Enjoy the video!!!!
For more information:
http://www.whistlerlibrary.ca/
This week, I did an interview with Jeff Riveria, Founder and Editor-in-Chief at The Gatekeepers Post, a website "For the New Generation of Book Publishing Professionals." Check it out below...
-MM
Today we interviewed Meredith of Stand-Up Librarian, a blog that offers an inside look into the life of a librarian. Whether you’re a librarian yourself or just looking to find out more about libraries, Meredith offers us an insider’s view into what books are popular right now and what eBooks mean for our future.
What are the popular book genres that are frequently being checked out at the library?
I think popularity varies on the type and location of the library. Last year when I was back in Florida, finishing my Masters degree, I was working at a public library in a small beach town, where the majority of patrons were retirees or snowbirds in town for the winter season. The most popular genre by far was Romance. A big favorite for teens in any library is Manga and Fantasy. Do you have Bleach? Twilight? Harry Potter? Then again, just as many adults are checking out those last two titles for themselves!
As a librarian, do people ever recommend books to you? What type of books do you enjoy?
People always love to recommend books to fellow book lovers, or anybody that will listen. When I work the reference desk, I can’t help but to develop a dialogue with patrons who have a real excitement about reading and sharing their favorite titles. Even as a librarian, I’ve never pretended to be an expert on the entire library collection, so I am always genuinely interested in hearing what others find interesting. I never would have gotten hooked on Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series if patrons hadn’t kept requesting them all the time and insisting I read them!
For pleasure reading, my favorite genre would probably be Historical Thrillers, which is a sub-genre formed from combining Historical Fiction with Thrillers. Or maybe it is Historical Adventure Thrillers, who can keep up with genres these days? Steve Berry is my favorite in this area, since I crave adventure, travel, and history. Berry is great with this, plus I like how at the end of each book, he provides the reader with an explanation of where he fictionalized the history in the story. I wish more films did this. I also live for the latest by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston, who write what is called Techno-Thrillers, and often feature the exotic and eccentric Agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast, investigating mysterious museum artifacts. If you can’t make it to your local Natural History Museum, pick up The Relic or Cabinet of Curiosities and I promise it will feel like you are there!
In the Inspirational genre, my favorite book of all time is The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, which I have in several versions: audio on my iPod, electronic copy on my Kindle, paperback with highlighted pages and notes, and the graphic novel, released last year. I am also known to give it as a gift to friends. I think we all need to be reminded that the journey to attaining the dream is sometimes more important than the dream itself!
As eBook sales continue to grow, how do you feel about the future of libraries?
I’ll be the first to admit that I have a Kindle and a subscription to Netflix, but I mostly use my Kindle when I travel, and my Netflix for requesting hard to find films. Having these modern conveniences, however, doesn’t stop me from going to the public library to check out books or borrow DVDs for free! I think the library has a big future, especially if people continue to use it. With technological advances comes information overload, and the only people to help you weed through it, are information specialists, also called librarians. For that reason alone, libraries and librarians aren’t going anywhere.
Besides, isn’t there something wonderful about physically being at the library, walking through the stacks, randomly selecting items that catch your interest, whether it be from the display table out front, or by having an interaction with another patron who insists you pick up her favorite book? Just last week, I was at my local public library, with no real reason other than I felt frustrated about my job search, and wanting inspiration from the numerous opportunities that fill the shelves. The library is the one place where dreams always come true, since it is a place where knowledge and information is free to everyone. Thanks to Goldie Hawn, Jane Fonda, and Carol Burnett, I left that library, not only with their books in my arms, but also with the reassurance that everyone encounters obstacles, I’m just grateful the library is there offering us solutions and an escape to laugh about it.
What were some of your favorite books this past year?
I was a huge fan of Snooki’s A Shore Thing and Barbra Streisand’s My Passion For Design was just beautiful, but should have been called My Passion For…Overspending. Seriously though, I just finished reading Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford by Donald Spoto, which I quite enjoyed, as it offered the perspective of Joan as a hardworking actress dedicated to her craft, as opposed to just a psychotic monster, showcased so famously in “Mommie Dearest.” I think teens will totally enjoy How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley, released just last month, featuring the gross and gory details of how historical figures like Mozart, Napoleon, and our own George Washington, experienced painful and disgusting deaths, mostly because of the idiotic medicine practices of the time. A great picture book for any adult trying to get over a bad breakup is Why He’s My Ex by Krishna Devine and Jessica G. Hill, where dolls are dressed up and put them in real life dating situations that took a turn for the worse. A book sure to make anybody actually feel happy about sitting at home on a Friday night! Last, and surely not least, is Marilyn Johnson’s This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cyberians Can Save Us All, a book which speaks to the importance of librarians and their necessity in the world. I not only enjoyed reading this on the eve of my graduation last year, after meeting Marilyn at a library conference, but I’ve also chosen to dedicate my life to being one of libraries’ advocates. I developed my blog a few weeks later.
Meredith Myers recently graduated with her Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of South Florida. Her mission with StandUpLibrarian.com is to educate, while entertaining people about libraries and their necessity. She has been performing stand-up comedy since 2002, after checking out a comedy book from her local library.
With April being National Poetry Month, it seemed a great time to talk poetry, since it is an area of the library that most patrons rarely visit. My favorite poem is “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost, published in 1916. I fell in love with it in my 6th grade English class (not in 1916!), where each student had to pick a poem to read in front of the class and explain what we thought it meant. I can’t recall exactly what I said, but I do remember being comfortable performing the poem to a roomful of people. I also doubt I memorized it…and I probably spoke entirely too loud…I’m almost positive I made it theatrical, to the point of sending me right into detention. Now looking back, it is quite funny how my life has become like that poem (although just for the record, no job has detention, they either put you on suspension or just say “You’re fired.”)
Here I am “ages and ages hence” on something called the Internet, telling you weekly stories that the path I have taken in life has been filled with the ups and downs of career confusion and job dysfunction, regardless of my ambition, talent, and passion. Being an individualist and artist, I probably chose the road “less traveled by” (no wonder the Los Angeles traffic is so bad – we are all on the same road!) I’m still deciding whether it “has made all the difference” (I’m only in my thirties, people, I hope my life isn’t over yet!) Obviously, the poem speaks to the idea of looking at one’s life with regret or satisfaction, which I think everybody does at some point, but that is a whole other blog post. At the end of the day, I am just thankful to Frost and the millions of talented poets out there, who in a few choice words are able to develop a story with heartfelt emotion and numerous interpretations, to inspire generations of people for decades.
Below is Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” in its entirety, along with some poetry recommendations that you can find at your local library…
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost (1874 – 1963)
Topics to search at your library: poetry, poets, how to write poetry, tons of books in the 811 section!
1. Phenomenal woman: four poems celebrating women / Maya Angelou. 811.54 ANGELOU
2. The poetry of Maya Angelou / Maya Angelou. 811.54 ANGELOU
3. Collected poems, 1922-1938 / E.E. Cummings. 811.52 CUMMINGS
4. American poetry. The twentieth century. 811.508 AMERICAN
5. Beauty is convulsive: the passion of Frida Kahlo / Carole Maso. 811.54 MASO
6. The Penelopeia / Jane Rawlings; illustrations by Heather Hurst 811.6 RAWLINGS
7. American poetry: the nineteenth century. 811.308 AMERICAN
8. The collected poems of Langston Hughes / Arnold Rampersad, editor; David Roessel, associate editor. 811.52 HUGHES
9. The collected tales and poems of Edgar Allan Poe. 818.309 POE
10. The unabridged Edgar Allan Poe / illustrated by Suzanne Clee. 813.3 POE
11. The poetry of Robert Frost / edited by Edward Connery Lathem. 811 FROST
12. Selected poems / Emily Dickinson. 811.4 DICKINSON
13. The Brownings, letters and poetry. Selected and with an introd. by Christopher Ricks. Illus. by Barnett I. Plotkin. 821 BROWNING
14. Sonnets from the Portuguese / Elizabeth Barrett Browning; illustrations by Fred A. Mayer. 821 BROWNING
15. Eight American poets: Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsberg, James Merrill : an anthology / edited by Joel Conarroe. 811.508 EIGHT
16. The works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge / with an introduction by Martin Corner, and bibliography. 821 COLERIDGE
17. British poetry and prose. 820.8 LIEDER v.1
18. The Faber book of 20th century women's poetry / edited by Fleur Adcock. 821.91 FABER
19. Suzy Zeus gets organized / Maggie Robbins. 811.6 ROBBINS
20. Urban nature: poems about wildlife in the city / edited by Laure-Anne Bosselaar. 811.5408 URBAN
21. A Heckuva job : more of the Bush administration in rhyme / Calvin Trillin. 811.54 TRILLIN
22. Poetry after 9/11: an anthology of New York poets811.60358 POETRY
23. The discovery of poetry: a field guide to reading and writing poems / Frances Mayes. 808.1 MAYES
24. The Norton anthology of modern poetry, edited by Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair. 821.08 ELLMAN
25. The selected poems of Nikki Giovanni. 811.54 GIOVANNI
26. The language of life: a festival of poets / Bill Moyers811.5409 MOYERS
27. The other Mozart: poems by / Sharon Chmielarz. 811.54 CHMIELARZ
28. The healing power of creative mourning: poems / by Jan Yager...[et al.] 808.81 HEALING
29. Dylan Thomas [sound recording] CD BOOK 821.912 THOMAS
30. The radiation sonnets: for my love, in sickness and in health / by Jane Yolen 811.54 YOLEN
31. Ancient acid flashes back: poems / Adrian C. Louis. 811.54 LOUIS
32. Black out loud; an anthology of modern poems by Black Americans. Drawings by Alvin Hollingsworth 811.08 ADOFF
33. Lights, camera, poetry! : American movie poems the first hundred years / edited by Jason Shinder. 811 LIGHTS
34. All the rage / William Logan. 811.509 LOGAN
After the press I received in January for wearing that funny hat to the ALA Midwinter library conference, I was approached by ForeWord Reviews to write a column for their magazine. As it has always been a dream of mine to be a published writer, (I spend most of 2004 writing a book that has yet to see publication), I jumped at the opportunity to write a piece which offered my insights and opinions on the fields of librarianship and comedy, much like I do here on the blog. Here is the result of those efforts, I hope you like it...
1. St. Patrick's Day murder : a Lucy Stone mystery / Leslie Meier MYS MEIER
2. St. Patrick of Ireland : a biography / Philip Freeman 921 PATRICK
3. Plum Lucky MYS EVANOVICH OR Plum Lucky CD BK MYS EVANOVICH
4. Pint-sized Ireland : in search of the perfect Guinness / Evan McHugh 647.95415 MCHUGH
5. P. Donleavy's Ireland : in all her sins and in some of her graces 921 DONLEAVY
6. Ireland 914.15 IRELAND
7. Booking passage : we Irish & Americans / Thomas Lynch 305.89162073 LYNCH
8. A book of migrations : some passages in Ireland / Rebecca Solnit 941.5 SOLNIT
9. Ireland and the Irish : portrait of a changing society / John Ardagh 941.5 ARDAGH
10. Passport's illustrated guide to Ireland / [written by Eric and Ruth Bailey]. 914.15 BAILEY
11. I'll know it when I see it : a daughter's search for "home" in Ireland / Alice Carey 921 CAREY
12. Irish gold [text (large print)] / Andrew M. Greeley LP FIC GREELEY OR
13. Ireland--our island home: an aerial tour around Ireland's coastline / Kevin Dwyer 914.15 DWYER
14. Once DVD 1904 DRAMA
15. Fodor’s Ireland 914.15 FODORS 2005
16. Tea and green ribbons : a memoir / Evelyn Doyle 920 DOYLE
17. A secret history of the IRA / Ed Moloney 941.60824 MOLONEY
18. Ireland and Your Irish Ancestry VIDEO 2163 DOCU
19. The rebels of Ireland : the Dublin saga / Edward Rutherfurd FIC RUTHERFURD
20. On Celtic tides : one man's journey around Ireland by sea kayak / Chris Duff 914.1504 DUFF
21. Angela's ashes : a memoir / Frank McCourt 921 McCOURT
22. Our lady of darkness : a novel of ancient Ireland / Peter Tremayne MYS TREMAYNE
23. Home to Ireland [sound recording] : the best of the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem CD 787 FOLK
24. Fairy and folk tales of Ireland, edited by W. B. Yeats, with a foreword by Kathleen Raine 398.2 YEATS
25. song for Mary : an Irish-American memory / Dennis Smith 921 SMITH
26. 500 best Irish jokes and limericks / illustrated by Doug Anderson 891.62 FIVE
27. Irish magic II : four unforgettable novellas of love and enchantment FIC IRISH SC
28. The Oxford book of Irish short stories / edited by William Trevor FIC OXFORD SC
29. The Commitments VIDEO 1572 COMEDY
30. The Irish in America / edited by Michael Coffey 973 IRISH
31. I love sing-along Irish pub favorites CD 284 FOLK
32. Riverdance the show VIDEO 2813 FINE ARTS
33. The lie of the land : Irish identities / Fintan O'Toole 941.5082 O'TOOLE
34. For the love of Ireland : a literary companion for readers and travelers / edited and with an introduction by Susan Cahill 820.8 FOR
35. Irish rebel : John Devoy and America's fight for Ireland's freedom /941.5081 GOLWAY
36. Irish lighthouses / Sharma Krauskopf. 387.155 KRAUSKOPF
37. Dubliners FIC JOYCE
38. James Joyce 823.912 O'BRIEN
39. Inside Ireland 941.508 DILLON
40. The importance of being Oscar : the wit and wisdom of Oscar Wilde set against his life and times / Mark Nicholls. 921 WILDE
41. A Drinking Life: a memoir 921 HAMILL
42. Ireland and the Irish : portrait of a changing society / John Ardagh 941.5 ARDAGH
43. An Irish country childhood / Marrie Walsh 941.5 WALSH
44. All the best Irish drinking songs [sound recording] CD 149 FOLK
45. Rockne of Notre Dame : the making of a football legend / by Ray Robinson 796.332 ROBINSON
46. 100 years of Notre Dame football / Gene Schoor 796.33 SCHOOR
47. A great feast of light : growing up Irish in the television age / John Doyle 070.92 DOYLE
48. The Gangs of New York VIDEO 6894 DRAMA
49. In the Name of the Father VIDEO 2311 DRAMA
50. August Rush DVD 2011 DRAMA
51. Intermission DVD 0731 DRAMA
52. The Wind that Shakes the Barley DVD 1800 DRAMA
53. Women in Celtic myth : tales of extraordinary women from the ancient Celtic tradition / Moyra Caldecott. 398.2 CALDECOTT
54. Green Linnet records [sound recording] : 25 years of Celtic music CD 524 FOLK
55. Celtic Thunder CD 1009 FOLK
56. Celtic cross stitch : 30 alphabet, animal, and knotwork projects 746.443041 LAWTHER
57. Celtic design. The tree of life / Aidan Meehan 745.4 MEEHAN
58. Celtic love collection [sound recording] CD 786 FOLK
59. On Celtic tides : one man's journey around Ireland by sea kayak /914.1504 DUFF
60. The celtic riddle : an archaeological mystery / Lyn Hamilton MYS HAMILTON
61. The ancient Celts / Barry Cunliffe 936.401 CUNLIFFE
62. Classic Celtic Fairy Tales 398.2089 CLASSIC
63. The Book of Kells : reproductions from the manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin / with a study of the manuscript by Francoise Henry ART BOOK
64. Anam cara : a book of Celtic wisdom / John O'Donohue. 248.089 O'DONOHUE
65. The grail : the Celtic origins of the sacred icon / Jean Markale 809 MARKALE
Abracadabra - you’re hired! Yeah, I wish it were that easy to get a library job because I would be the first person to go out and buy a magic wand (I already own the hat, gloves, and cape.) Well, if there were one place that I could learn such tricks to employment, it would be Hollywood’s legendary Magic Castle, which is a private clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts, “an organization devoted to the advancement of the ancient art of magic, with the mission to encourage and promote public interest in the art of magic.”
The Castle was originally built as a private home in 1909 and later taken over in 1960 by “Truth or Consequences” writer Milt Larsen to honor his late father, William W. Larsen, Sr, a renowned magician who had long dreamed of building an elegant private club for magicians. On January 2, 1963 at precisely 5pm, Larsen’s dream would come true as the doors to the Magic Castle officially opened, and now, some four decades later, has become the official home to the 5,000 members of the Academy of Magical Arts and their invited guests.
And tonight, I would be one of them!
Exploring the William W. Larsen Memorial Library of Magical Arts, a collection devoted exclusively to magic, is typically off-limits to non-magicians...until now. With Librarian Bill Goodwin as my magical guide, I was instantly levitated into the stacks and found sections of the library devoted to illusion, card tricks, close-up magic, gambling, and my personal favorite, comedy/patter! What about balloon animals, you say? Yes, there is even a section devoted exclusively to just that! According to Goodwin, who does not hold a Masters degree in Library Studies, but is a magician with vast knowledge of the collection, there are about 16,000 books and DVDs total, in addition to several display cases featuring memorabilia from Johnny Carson to the legendary Dante the Magician.
While there is no Dewey Decimal system utilized to organize the library, it doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to this library, as anything you could possibly want magically appears with the help of Goodwin’s sorcery and that incredible database and online catalogue. For example, a book on Houdini, I ask? Like a rabbit out of a hat, a key emerges, and Goodwin is unlocking a secret door to items only special visitors get to see. And there it is, Miracle Mongers and Their Methods – A Complete Expose by Houdini, and inside the cover? His signature from 1921, now that is pretty cool.
Now back to making that job appear, I ask, using what little charm I can muster without being a card-carrying member of the magic community. Could there be a secret contained within the stacks, a spell perhaps, that would enable me the powers to conjure up a job and be hirable in a tough economy? Goodwin smiles, puts his finger to his lips as he escorts me to the door. To this day I have no idea if he was using misdirection to avoid my question, being secretive, or simply shushing me. Ah the trickery of those Magician Librarians!!!
Complete with a strict dress code and invite only status, the Magic Castle is truly a one-of-a-kind experience, hosting five different magic shows in three showrooms, including: the Close-up Gallery, presenting masters of the art of close-up magic in the smallest of the Castle theaters (seating only 22 guests); the Parlour of Prestidigitation, which recreates the Victorian experience of the "parlour" (living room) magician; and finally, the Palace of Mystery, which hosts grand illusion and other stage performers.
In addition to the shows themselves, guests can also enjoy dinner or brunch, cocktails at any of the various bars found in the many hidden corridors of the Castle (I prefer the Owl Bar, where a certain owl will answer questions regarding your future, even if Magician Librarians cannot!), or you can listen to Irma the ghost play your requests on the piano. I like “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” by The Police since I may be unemployed but by some miracle I haven’t given up hope that maybe all of these little things I do will one day result in something miraculous!
Now if I could just find that gold coin in my ear I could pay my rent!
http://www.magiccastle.com/
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According to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum website, “The Erwin Welsch Memorial Research Library is a non-circulating research library which focuses on all aspects of railroading with a particular emphasis on railroading in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The library is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of historical, social, economic and technical knowledge of railroading and railroad modeling. The Library collection includes material on model railroading in all scales. In addition, the collection also covers railroads throughout Central and South America, Europe, and Asia. Reference materials include books, periodicals, professional journals, government publications, manuscript materials, maps, engineering drawings, DVDs, videotapes, slides, photographs, and other ephemera. The online catalog contains 831 railroad and model railroad magazine titles, and over 4000 books, 1400 videos and DVDs.”
For more information on the library and museum, please visit:
http://www.sdmrm.org/#/library/4533446593
http://www.sdmrm.org/
And my favorite item in the entire collection? This model train filled with alcohol – now that’s something every library needs!
With the Academy Awards set to air this Sunday, February 27th, why not do a display table at your library honoring all things Oscar – fashion, food, past nominees and winners? I like using materials that show patrons how several nominated movies are based on books, since the studios seem to "forget" to mention that while campaigning for the Oscar (an example of Hollywood's snub to the book author happened last year when Up In the Air author Walter Kirn wasn’t offered tickets to the ceremony, even with all the nominations!)
Here are some of my top picks, with where they are located in the library:
1. The complete book of Oscar fashion : Variety's 75 years of glamour on the red carpet / Reeve Chace 791.43026 CHACE
2. Murder at the Academy Awards : a red carpet murder mystery / Joan Rivers MYS RIVERS
3. The real Oscar: the story behind the Academy Awards / by Peter H. Brown 791.43 BROWN
4. Made for each other: fashion and the Academy Awards / Bronwyn Cosgrave 391 COSGRAVE
5. For Your Consideration DVD 1638 COMEDY
6. Coraline J FIC GAIMAN and DVD 2594 CHILD/FAMILY
7. Up in the air / Walter Kirn FIC KIRN
8. The Blind Side / 921 OHER
9. Food Inc. DVD 2781 DOCUMENTARY
10. Julie & Julia Book 641.5 POWELL and DVD 2831 COMEDY
11. Slumdog millionaire: a novel / Vikas Swarup FIC SWARUP and DVD 2528 DRAMA and CD 969 SOUND TRACK
12. No country for old men / Cormac McCarthy FIC MCCARTHY and DVD 2012 DRAMA
13. A beautiful mind: a biography of John Forbes Nash, Jr., winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, 1994 / Sylvia Nasar 921 and NASH VIDEO 6164 DRAMA
14. The English patient : a novel / by Michael Ondaatje FIC ONDAATJE
15. Forrest Gump / Winston Groom FIC GROOM
16. Schindler's list / Thomas Keneally FIC KENEALLY
17. The silence of the lambs / Thomas Harris FIC HARRIS and DVD 2552 THRILLER
18. Dances with wolves / Michael Blake FIC BLAKE and VIDEO 1420 DRAMA and CD 463 SOUND TRACK
19. Driving Miss Daisy Driving Miss Daisy / Alfred Uhry 812 UHRY and VIDEO 637 COMEDY
Having grown up in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, I always looked forward to that very special occasion that would warrant a celebration at the legendary Bern’s Steakhouse.
Never heard of it?
According to their website, “Internationally known for its vast wine collection, perfectly aged steaks and famous dessert room, Bern’s Steak House offers a world-class, incomparable dining experience. When Bern Laxer opened in 1956, he envisioned Bern’s as Art in Steaks. Today, son David Laxer and Chef de Cuisine Habteab Hamde continue Bern’s tradition of excellence with a gastronomic adventure that includes prime steaks cut-to-order, 21 choices of caviar, fresh seafood and organic vegetables grown on Bern’s farm. The menu also boasts a weekly specials page offering fresh oysters, seasonal delights and entrees with suggested wine pairings. For oenophiles, the 6,500 label wine collection, a perennial Wine Spectator Grand Award winner, provides ample opportunity for exploration. After dinner, relax upstairs in a private booth with a Bern’s signature dessert or one of the 1,000+ after-dinner spirits, wines and cordials.”
Sounds great, right? Yeah, it’s expensive too, so it took me getting that Masters degree to finally warrant a visit. And boy was it worth it! The best part was taking a private tour of the place, which included a visit to the wine cellar, where to my surprise is organized by the Dewey Decimal System! Now that is my kind of library – HIRE ME!
Wine is typically organized via region or type of grape, say “Australia” or “Pinot Noir,” however at Bern’s, all wines are given numbers when they arrive, which then correspond to their place on the shelf arranged in numerical order, with one located towards the front and 10,000 towards the very back. To preserve and age the wines, the temperature is kept to about 50 degrees with 75 percent humidity. So maybe having my reference desk in there might be a tad chilly, but if the job includes daily wine tastings, I’ll wear a coat – HIRE ME!
While the wine cellar at the restaurant holds about 90,000 bottles of wine, 80% is still being kept in various warehouses off-site. Now that is a lot of wine to keep track of! Therefore, it is understandable why they would want to hire me to manage it all, especially when this summer, one bottle of wine was discovered, having been misplaced on the shelf some 50 years ago!!!! Yep, a Chateau Latour from 1947 was somehow lost in the wine cellar and is now worth some $30,000 – which I hope makes you think twice about reshelving that book without a librarian’s assistance, right?
And speaking of assistance, Bern’s, you obviously need me. Knowledgeable in wine and library studies, AND a huge consumer of wine – this is like the perfect pairing! Consider me the 2000 Trimbach Pinot Gris Selection de Grains Nobles to your Yellowtail Snapper à la Plancha. Me the 2006 Hess Cabernet Sauvignon to your Châteaubriand.
Better yet, just think of me as #9418. A 1900 Burmester Reserva Port. At $1250 a bottle, I am a wine librarian that is so going to be worth every ounce! HIRE ME…NOW!
For more information about Bern's Steakhouse, visit http://www.bernssteakhouse.com/
It was a year ago this month that I was back in Florida working as a library volunteer at the Gulf Beaches Public Library, where my main responsibility was gathering and assembling the library materials for the main display table just inside the front door. I enjoyed brainstorming theme ideas with Library Director Maggie Cinnella and discussing which areas of our library collection needed circulation most. Popular themes always included holidays, so Valentine’s Day was obviously a given for the first part of February (although as a huge sports fanatic, I certainly jumped at the chance to do something tied to the Winter Olympics, and was sadly disappointed to not find a single book on curling in our collection – not surprising for a beach library located in FL!)
In generating the list of materials to include on the display table, I not only gained experience in how to search for materials in our library catalogue, whether it be books, audio books, DVDs or music CDs, but I also learned where they were kept in the stacks. There I would be every Thursday afternoon, pushing my book cart through the aisles of our little library, anxiously in search of titles that I hoped patrons would find interesting enough to want to take home.
In addition to putting together the list of materials and then removing them from the shelves to showcase, it was also fun to design the display sheets announcing the theme of that week’s table. The artist in me got a chance to play with graphics and fonts, while thinking of funny catch phrases or borders, all with the purpose of igniting interest from patrons to wander over to the table and perhaps select an item or two.
For Valentine’s Day, I went with the phrase “Materials From the Heart” and tried to include books about chocolate, flowers, writing romance, poetry, last minute date ideas, and of course, several romantic films, where I included one of my personal favorites, True Romance, starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette! And wouldn’t you know it, the next day, the entire table was pretty much cleared out except for that one film! And they say love is blind - ha!
Now Gary Oldman as a cracked-out pimp may not be your idea of romance, but unlike a dozen red roses and a box of Godiva chocolates, your library is absolutely free. Use it - love it - make love to it...no, wait, let's not do that last one, we librarians have already seen too much of that sort of thing and cleaning it up isn't fun, anyway, you get the point, right?
Stand-Up Librarian now has her own YouTube Channel! It's like Oprah with OWN...only poor and unemployed. Anyway, should you want to subscribe to the channel or check out a few of the videos I have already posted, I’m at:
http://www.youtube.com/StandUpLibrarian
Or just look to the right side of this page for the new video section and watch the videos immediately! Wow, I am sure all six of you are thrilled...
What the flock? Apparently a hawk is loose in the Library of Congress and this is when people want to bring some attention to libraries. Oh Poppycock, can someone peck some sense into these people? Where’s Woody Woodpecker when you need him.
For one, the LOC is pretty huge. What bird wouldn’t want to set flight in the vast high ceilings of the beautiful Main Reading Room or soar among the numerous pillars and antiqued art, with a birds-eye view of signage promoting books? This bird is simply smart. What is stupid are the tons of dodo birds called humans who aren’t utilizing the vast knowledge available to them at their local libraries. What the people at the Library of Congress need to do is KEEP the bird in the library if it helps generate some traffic to the stacks. Heck, hire an unemployed librarian to dress up as a bird and have them just perch on one of the pillars if that's what it takes to get people to the library. Jeez, people think!! Use this rare (and stupid) press opportunity to TRAP all living things in the library - who knows what might happen as a result. Intelligence? I know, I'm getting my feathers all ruffled over this but please do yourself a favor and fly to your nearest library before some seagull craps on your car out of spite.
"I was happy to meet Meredith Myers of StandUpLibrarian.com, whose business card reads, “So a comedian walks into a library and decides to work there.” She wore the cutest hat. She’s not your grandmother’s librarian, but then again, who is? Librarians are hot. That’s the truth."
- Author Luanne Rice on her blog post: Book Lovers
Meeting Luanne Rice at the ALA Midwinter Conference was such a pleasure - I look forward to writing a blog post about her latest book The Silver Boat closer to the publishing date! Thanks Luanne for including me on your site in such a positive way along with so many amazingly, diverse librarians and book lovers! THIS is why we all became librarians, people - not to fight one another but because we all love reading!!!
Wow - this is hilarious - The Annoyed Librarian, a blog I have long admired for pushing the bar and pissing people off, has devoted an entire blog post about me in that KPBS article. And to think none of this Meredith-bashing could have happened if I had only worn a headband instead of that funny hat to the ALA conference. Another example that fashion is powerful, people!
Now, this is not the first time people have misunderstood me and/or wanted to make a bad comment about me behind my back or online. As I always say, I am not a comedian but a verbally abusive motivational speaker…look out Tony Robbins! I am just terribly shocked that this time the trash talking came not from a comedy performance but from my fellow librarians, who I love and admire! And they called me old!!!! Now THAT is funny.
I don’t usually make it a habit to respond to criticism or morons with too much time on their hands, because in my opinion if you don’t get it, too bad. However, as I am still new at all of this blogging stuff, I will make an exception this one time…
Here’s the link to Annoyed Librarian’s ‘Substance, Not Style’ article and the numerous bad comments from my “fans”:
“Jeez - thanks everybody for throwing me under the bus. I was interviewed for the KPBS article, I didn't write it nor ask to be the "spokesperson" - plus the article and my quotes were focused on YA (where image is more important than it is with adults, who are smarter and can read between the lines - at least I thought so till I read your comments on here.) Are you this judgmental with your patrons too? I spent 4 years getting that degree so I have earned the right to call myself a librarian - a ton of money and top grades just for a "feather in my cap." My purpose with StandUpLibrarian.com is to entertain while educating people about the importance of libraries and ALL librarians (even you bitter, judgmental, unfashionable ones) - because that is what I can offer this field using my past experiences in comedy and PR. Humor, fun, numerous mistakes! It is my opinion, my journey, not an example of right or wrong - after all, I am still learning. What are you doing besides putting down someone who has done nothing but admire all of you and hope to work with you someday? You can hate me, think my opinion is unjustified, call me old, and say my failed purse business from 2005 is a joke, but at least I am using my time and energy trying to make positive change in an industry that needs it right now. My mission is to show the world that libraries are an important and fun place to be - now stop talking shit about me and help me!”
Bottom line, I am like no other person in the world and yet, I wouldn’t wish my life on any of you. It is complicated and confusing, with me wearing many fabulous hats with no real clue as to what I am doing in any of them. However, for the first time in my life, I am happy being exactly who I am (successes and failures) and with tremendous effort, I am trying to do something I love while hopefully, being a fun, positive influence in the process. I cannot control the press or what people say when they read the press, I can only laugh at it knowing my heart is in the right place. If you choose to step on it, so be it.
I know, I know, it’s January 19th, a bit late for champagne toasts and party horns but I’ve been traveling quite a bit so once again this blog has gotten away from me. Note to self – New Year’s resolution – stop making excuses for not writing on blog and just do it! Shut up, self, I’m trying to write here! So, before I can jump into 2011, the writer in me needs to first wrap-up 2010.
My first bit of “travel” started around Thanksgiving, when my bi-polar roommate kicked me out of the apartment for not moving two boxes in the hallway (“this apartment is not a storage facility”) and for erasing Barbra Streisand “Oprah” episode on DVR ("Why would you erase that historic episode of all the recent Oprah shows? It never occurred to you that something that half the nation was looking forward to might be something I might want to watch as well?") It certainly wasn’t the best Thanksgiving either, and don’t get me started on Black Friday, where in my world it didn’t consist of shopping, but of me receiving a text message at work saying “You’re stuff is all over the yard.” I won’t go into further detail without a book deal (it’s that good of a story!) but the important part is that the universe was looking out for me and I am now living in a more peaceful place full of sane people.
December was filled with getting settled into the new place, holiday activities with friends, time with the family back in Florida, and me interviewing for a library position with Glendale Public Library, of which I will write a separate post about later. The true highlight of the month was getting the opportunity to go to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” – twice! Ellen surprised those of us who attended her November 30th taping with another ticket to return for one of her ’12 Days of Giveaway’ shows where I ended up getting tons of wonderful gifts that I then was able to share with my whole family. Let me tell you when you’ve spent most of the past year as a grad student and volunteering at the library for free, Ellen was Santa Claus, and boy, do I believe!
I came back to Los Angeles to work New Year’s Eve at my weekend server job, and wouldn’t you know it, I made money, had fun with my co-workers, drank a champagne toast, and kissed a hot Aussie at midnight who was seated in my section – now THAT is great service! (Again, good story – book deal, call me!)
So the year ended somewhat on a high note, after months of challenges to my strength and determination. If I have to sum it up, 2010 was basically a year of tests and obstacles to overcome. A year of taking a step back in order to take a step forward. A year of following through to finally finish things I had started years before. It was a year of heartbreak, confusion, determination, courage, and independence.
Finally, it was also the birth year of this blog and the whole concept of Stand-Up Librarian, which is to educate and entertain people about libraries, while at the same time dispelling the stereotype of the ‘typical librarian.’ Like many of my creative pursuits, Stand-Up Librarian was an idea I’d had many years ago but wasn’t ready to implement for numerous excuses that I made to myself like whether I was qualified, funny, or successful enough to justify an audience. I’m done doubting myself (especially when I saw that “Jersey Shore” Snooki ‘wrote’ a book.) So, be ready to have some fun in 2011 - I have a feeling it is going to be huge!
Now, as Ellen would say, let’s dance…(yep, that's me at the beginning!)
In an effort to be an even 'hipper' librarian, I am going to try tweeting. I know. I am so behind in the times. You’re thinking, “Wow, I thought this Meredith Myers would be have been on that years ago.” Nope. Sorry. I was too busy doing all of my tweets on Facebook like some dummy, not realizing that I should have been on Twitter all along. Anyway, should you want to follow me, I am at:
http://twitter.com/StandUpLibraryN
Oh, and the spelling is off because I guess there is a word limit on Twitter. Boy, is that going to give me problems since most of the time I can't seem to shut up. What is that? A round of applause? In that case, you're welcome!
Tweet ya later! (Jeez, I am such a nerd sometimes…)
This article written by Ana Tintocalis at KPBS in San Diego is awesome and I couldn't be more grateful. I've always worn many hats and this time it paid off! My attending the ALA Midwinter Conference was simply an eagerness to learn how I could be a better librarian to hopefully get a job. I am so proud at this moment that I can barely come up with something to say without tears rolling down my face - people are finally listening and starting a discussion. Librarians are cool, smart, and we need every single one of them. I still don't have a job in a library but perhaps my job for now is just to be the voice that maybe once in awhile people listen to.
After having spent the past year and a half focused on finishing my Master's degree and trying to get hands-on experience in libraries, I returned to the comedy stage last night to perform at "Improvised Stand-Up Night" held at Second City in Hollywood. The five-minute set was probably one of the most nerve-racking experiences I've had in awhile since the rules stated that I could not prepare material ahead of time and instead had to rely on audience suggestions. While that may have been true, I did have the power to lead the audience in a direction of my choosing, so I thought it was the perfect time to test the waters on some library-based comedy material, which I had been wanting to try for years but could never take my academic hat off long enough to find the funny in what has become my passion and advocacy project. While this set is short and off the top of my head, I hope this is the beginning of an awesome stand-up set devoted to my passion for libraries that will eventually not only help show their necessity in the world, but offer an example to why funny people like me should also be working in them. Sometimes you just have to laugh, right? And yes, the pervert with the mirror joke was based on a true incident that happened while I was interning at the Los Feliz Public Library. Enjoy, and of course, feel free to laugh too…
“All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus When I crack that whip, everybody gon' trip just like a circus Don't stand there watching me, follow me, show me what you can do”
- Britney Spears, “Circus”
I can't believe I am quoting a Britney Spears song but the past couple of weeks have been quite the circus, as I went on my first-ever library interview and celebrated my birthday by trying a class in the flying trapeze.
But first, the interview.
I had applied on the City of Santa Monica website back in September when I saw a listing for a PT Reference Librarian 1. It was perfect for me. Entry-level and part-time, which meant I was free the rest of the week to plan programs and performances for the library, write my book, and I would finally have health benefits for the first-time in seven years. I spent three hours meticulously reading over every single page of the application, making sure I had filled it out correctly with no errors. The only part that seemed confusing was that they wanted proof of my diploma, so since I couldn’t find a place to attach it online, I sent a separate email with a jpeg attached. Shortly after, I received the “we have received your application” confirmation email and breathed a sigh of relief. Now all I could do was wait and hope to get a call for an interview.
Just one week later, the Mayor of Santa Monica, Bobby Shiver, comes into the restaurant where I work, and immediately thoughts of meeting him go through my head. I pray he gets seated in my section. He doesn’t. Still, not one to give up, I asked the server who was taking him if she needed helping serving the sake to his table. Any chance to have some kind of interaction with the man, who could perhaps have an influence on me getting an interview for the job at the library, was worth it. After all, it is a city job, so wouldn’t a reference from the mayor be a real bonus?
After introducing myself as a librarian waiting tables to make ends meet, not to mention hitting on some important library issues that need addressing, he hands me his card and asks that I send my resume to him on Monday morning. He liked my energy and thought I would be a great addition to the library. All weekend I am flying high at the thought that this time things were falling into place for me. Per his instructions, I sent an email Sunday night attaching my resume, cover letter, completed application, and list of references. At 10:30am Monday morning, his office calls saying they received the email and have forwarded it along to the right people. Wow, a politician following through on a promise – a true miracle if I ever saw one.
Sadly, not an hour later, I receive an email from the HR Dept saying “It has been determined that your application cannot be accepted because it is incomplete or missing required materials.” WHAT? I didn’t understand. Were they offended I got the Mayor involved? Did they not get my email with the diploma? And, how could they just dismiss my application without first trying to fix what was wrong? Ugghhhhh! So I reply to the email, leave a polite voicemail, and hope this is not it. I felt so powerless.
Two minutes later, I get another email, this time from the City Manager saying he got an email from the Mayor and that I am doing the right thing in applying through Human Resources. After wishing me well, he gives me the name of the HR director should I have any further questions. Since I had not heard back from the HR Dept in regards to what was wrong with my application, I decide to call this new person and see if she can help me learn what the problem is with my application. Sure enough, they didn’t get the email.
So, I forward it again, proving I sent the email before the application deadline, and within minutes, I get the much happier email, “Congratulations! You have successfully passed the application review process for the position of Librarian I (Reference). I'm pleased to invite you to the oral interview.”
One minute I am a loser, the next, I am a winner – all because I decided to follow up with a phone call. A real lesson that if you want something, you go after it, no matter what.
In preparation for my oral interview the following week, I read every paper I ever wrote in my Masters program, reviewed articles online, and spoke with numerous library friends about what to expect during the interview process. Never in my life have I studied so hard for a job interview. I also tried on numerous outfits, revamped my portfolio of work, and even double-checked this blog to make sure nothing was too offensive for the library board should they come across it. I felt I was ready.
The morning of the interview, I walked into the library an hour early just to review sample questions and to make sure I was calm and presentable. I walked into the interview ready to blow them away with everything that made me the unique librarian I knew I was. No way would they not want to hire me – I wanted it too much.
The two women who opened the doors to the conference room, instantly stretched out their hands in formality, before sitting down behind names which were displayed boldly on place cards with black Sharpie pen. I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t crack a joke. It was like that scene in “Back to School” where Rodney Dangerfield has to recite poetry in front of the entire teaching staff in order to graduate. Pressure was on.
Immediately they explained that they would be asking me questions and taking notes on my answers. And that is exactly how it went for the next half-hour. Question. Answer. Notes. Question. Answer. Notes. At the end, I tried to show them some of my work displayed colorfully in my binder, but one somewhat laughed and said, “I wondered why you brought all of that,” and looked toward the door out of disinterest or anxiety at the thought of more interviews with idiots like me.
I felt stupid and realized for the first time that perhaps my personality wasn’t going to be the selling point in this line of work. If they were going to follow protocol and policy, there probably wasn’t much room for creative innovators like me, who not only thought out of the box, we stood on it with fabulous shoes. For once, I was told not to ask questions about the job, but instead, told to deal directly with the HR department, of which later, they didn’t have much to say either.
One week later, and I was in Las Vegas celebrating my birthday by going to see the Cirque Du Soliel show O at the Belliagio. I had wanted to see the show for years because of all of the synchronized swimming, which I loved doing as a child. While watching the performers on the trapeze swing freely in the air, before jumping off into the water, I felt a smile come to my face. Things were working out. My hard work was paying off. Life was going to start making sense again.
The next morning, I checked my email and there it was again “Congratulations! You successfully passed the oral interview for the position of Librarian I (Reference). Your final score is 87.0. You have been placed in band 3.” To which I screamed excitedly, until I realized I had no idea what any of that meant. Band 3? I wasn’t a musician, I was a librarian, but I was no dummy, being 3rd didn’t sound good at all.
After another email to HR, I realized that I had no reason to celebrate. I wasn’t being called in for an interview until the candidates in Bands 1 and 2 were exhausted and that wasn’t going to happen when so many experienced, out-of-work librarians were probably in Band 1 and 2 because they have been librarians for 10+ years and like robots, knew how to answer questions about what to tell a patron when the library no longer carried their favorite magazine.
The real question was what to tell a hopeful, ambitious, and creative wannabe librarian, working as a server for the fifteen time, that with four years of stellar grades in a Masters degree, a year of working for free as an intern and volunteer, and even an endorsement from the frickin’ Mayor, that her dream of becoming a librarian was once again smashed to bits for some reason or another.
I don’t have an answer for that one either.
While I was down about not getting the library job, I still had my birthday to celebrate, so I decided to go down to the Santa Monica Pier to take a trapeze class with TSNY Los Angeles, an idea I had come up with when I found a coupon in the reference section at the library during one of my study sessions. None of my friends had wanted to do it, so like most things in my life, I once again did it alone. For some reason, I was sad this time. Maybe it was not getting the library job, or not celebrating with my ex like I had the last three years, or maybe it was because I felt helpless and confused at what my life had become.
When I was high above Santa Monica with that trapeze bar in my hand, I thought about the journey it took to get me there. I thought of all of my failures, my successes, my dreams, the love I felt for people that didn’t love me back. I thought of having 92 jobs and wondering how that came to be – was it me settling for things, or me failing and being too afraid of the things I really wanted. I thought of the person I was, the person I wanted to be, the person everyone thought I should be.
Nah, I didn’t think of any of that.
My only thought was just how awesome it was way up there, and how glad I was that I didn’t let anybody else’s BS prevent me from doing it, including my own.
Then I jumped.
Nothing mattered but the wind on my face, the chill in the air, and my instructor’s voice telling me what to do. By following her directions and trusting the wire hooked tightly to my waist, I felt free for the first time in years. Unlike life, there was a massive net beneath me should I fall, not to mention a good looking guy ready to catch me when I finally let go of that bar. It took strength to orchestrate some of the moves, but it mostly took concentration and faith.
On landing, I squealed in delight like a girl of thirteen, not thirty-six. It was a moment of pure joy. I had forgotten what life was like before the whole world got involved and made it complicated. Before I made myself the ringleader in my own personal circus, inviting all of you in to watch the show that is my life. Yet here I am, doing it again.
I might not be the one who always gets the job, but I just might be the one to show you what is possible if you aren’t afraid to put yourself out there and jump.
While attending the American Library Association's National Conference in Washington DC this summer, I jumped at the chance to speak with comedy legend Paula Poundstone about her love of libraries. As this blog was created in order to combine my two loves - comedy and librarianship - she turned out to be the perfect subject for my first-ever celebrity interview to be featured on this blog. Paula is not only a great advocate for the library field, she is still one of the best stand-up comics of all time, which is obvious as she delivers some hilarious library material of her own. Enjoy!
One of my favorite aspects of librarianship is assisting senior citizens with the numerous services available to them at their local public library. Learning how to use the computer is one example, as seniors are often scared of technology and find that having a librarian nearby to hold their hand, helps generate new knowledge as well as greater confidence. Recently, I also helped a senior citizen that was in need of some handholding and while we weren’t at the local library, I still felt I should offer the same service.
I was attending a fashion event at a swanky Los Angeles hotel with my two bosses, and it was there that I met the sweetest old man wearing a ten-gallon hat and cowboy-style shirt, with a somewhat matching tie. He seemed very out of place, especially with the fashion police already on assignment at the party. I kind of felt bad for the guy, so when he asked if I wanted to sit at the bar and have a drink, I figured why not (even though I was already holding a full beverage.) Maybe he wasn’t wearing his glasses? Maybe he needed my assistance to find the barstool? I was a librarian. I had to help.
Already the fashionistas in attendance were staring and laughing at this Texan and his wannabe Carrie Bradshaw, this version being the star of “No Sex in the City.” I hadn’t been out on the town in a long time and certainly not in a short dress with heels, complete with a black ribbon tied around my ponytail. I was trying a new look - one that was working too well, as I was already square dance material for a cowboy wanting to “do si do.”
The man was like 90 - in age and in temperature. He was hot, and not the good kind. By the smell of him, he must have just come from a hard day at the ranch. I tried not to judge. Often the homeless come to the library to find sanctuary and have access to the free materials, so couldn’t this nice man come to the bar smelling like a cow pie? So what if he needed some Brut, he deserved to get drunk just like everybody else.
To avoid thinking about his odor, I tried to make conversation. “So, you come to these parts often?” Why I suddenly phrased sentences like a country bumpkin is still a mystery.
“What?” he said, tapping his hearing aide, then placing his hand on my thigh, as if that was going to make my words more clear.
“I’m a librarian!” I shrieked, startled by his wrinkly hand on my H & Mmm, thinking the answer might revolt him enough to remove his hand by sheer respect of a profession dedicated to gathering information, not sexual favors.
“I used to go to the library as a kid. I like books,” he said, while tapping my thigh rapidly like he was giving the SOS signal from the sinking Titanic. “I also like young girls…”
And that’s how the night would go. Him tapping my thigh, me repeating myself loudly, over and over, each time trying to offer information that I was more pen pal, than play pal, all while my one boss laughed at me from across the bar, taking pictures on his Blackberry. I guess the joke was on all of us. The man turned out to be Cal Worthington, a multi-millionaire that was on TV for years promoting his numerous car dealerships with the famous slogan “Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal,” while doing cheesy stunts like standing on an airplane wing while in flight or putting his head in a tiger’s mouth. Being from the east coast, I had no idea, nor did I really care. I just mistakenly thought he was a nice man, looking for some company in a city that is often cruel. Boy, was the joke on me. Or was it?
The next day at work, my boss waved his Blackberry around and thought he was suddenly the comedian of the office, until I told him the old dude was actually a rich dude on TV commercials. Suddenly, he started to sing the TV slogan and do a little dance, of which he would annoyingly do for the rest of the day. My other boss, a suave, good-looking Ralph Lauren-type, suggested I call the hotel to “see how he was doing.” He knew I was getting over a breakup and thought it would be fun for me.
I had to admit I was curious, and couldn’t believe my ears when Cal answered the phone and invited me to dinner that same night. I was excited about finally eating something other than celery sticks, and began to wonder if I was perhaps being too hard on a lonely man. Maybe it was the Mercedes in my eyes, but I was flattered he remembered me at all, especially with all of the arm candy available in the bar. My boss immediately insisted I get out of my “flight attendant” outfit and put on the mini dress again.
The following are a few snippets of Cal’s best “one-liners” throughout the evening, along with some library services offered to senior citizens:
1. Libraries offer many fun activities for seniors including Scrabble and Book Clubs.
Cal: “We are going to Spago, is that okay? Wait. Can I take you to dinner tomorrow night instead? I actually have an appointment tonight…unless that appointment is with you?”
Apparently the guy overbooks his dates often and can’t remember which girl he is taking out, which I guess if a fun game to play if you are the one he finally chooses. When I remind him that he invited me out to dinner and told me to meet him at the bar, he decides that I am his appointment after all. So if you want to feel like your night is going to get worse before it gets better - Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal!
2. Did you know that often seniors are homebound and therefore rely on library services that deliver directly to their homes?
Cal: “Is your car in valet? You can drive. I don’t really know where my car and driver is.”
The guy owns numerous Mercedes and Ford dealerships, yet I am driving my rented Kia from Enterprise-Rent-A-Car to the ultra-trendy Spago. So if you want to drive your crappy rental car to a fancy dinner in Beverly Hills - Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal!
3. Often seniors are unable to read regular printed materials therefore the large print section of the library is quite popular.
Cal: “I forgot my glasses. Do they have glasses so I can read the menu? Hey, how about some more champagne? Wait, how about a kiss first!”
The guy thinks I am going to kiss him as some kind of toast before sipping my glass of champagne. Even with his borrowed glasses he should be able to see that isn’t happening - ever! So if you want to get your cheek brushed by lips older than the Hollywood sign - Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal!
4. Senior citizens are actually some of the most active library users.
Cal: “I would like it very much if you would escort me back to my hotel room and stay the night.”
Dessert hadn’t even been served and Cal is pretty clear about the one item that he wants that is NOT listed on the Spago menu. So if you want to feel like a cheap whore after eating your first real meal in over two months - Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal!
5. Seniors can find a variety of information at the library in regards to health and wellness too.
“I don’t know how good I would be anyway, especially after having these two glasses of champagne.”
Obviously, I turned him down so if you didn’t get a clear picture of what he hoped would happen in the hotel room, well, you sure as heck don’t need glasses to see it now! So if you have no respect for yourself and want to land an old rich dude - Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal!
Cal's famous TV spot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOsLdT4slsk
