Three Library Tales

In honor of it being Library Lovers' Month I thought it only fitting to choose to read a short story or two about libraries this week.  Who would have thought there would be an anthology of stories about libraries and librarians.  I am discovering a wealth of story collections, however, for a wide range of subjects.  It was by chance that I found this one, In the Stacks: Short Stories about Libraries and Librarians edited by Michael Cart (who happens to be a...yes, librarian).  Since I seem to be reading lots of female authors lately, I thought I should give a few male authors a chance.

My favorite story, "QL 696.C9", has a wonderful opening.  "The librarian's body had been removed from the swivel chair, but Detective Lieutenant Donald MacDonald stood beside the desk.  This was only his second murder case, and he was not yet hardened enough to use the seat freshly vacated by a corpse."  How could I resist choosing this story?  It was written by Anthony Boucher, who I had not heard of.  Apparently he was "one of the most important figures in 20th century mystery and detective fiction."  He was a novelist, editor and critic.  He wrote a column for the New York Times called "Criminals at Large" in the 1950s and 60s.  There is even an annual mystery convention named after him--"The Bouchercon".  How has this all escaped me, when I am so fond of mysteries?  In any case, this story was great fun! 

Murder has been committed in the public library.  Miss Benson, branch librarian, has been shot.  Our suspects: Stella Swift, junior librarian; Mrs. Cora Jarvis, children's librarian; James Stickney, library patron, and Norbert Utter, high-school teacher.  Miss Benson has left us with a clue, however.  She had been typing a list, which ended with:

Davies: MISSION TO MOSCOW (2 cop)
Kernan: DEFENSE WILL NOT WIN THE WAR
FIC MacInnes: ABOVE SUSP
QL 696.C9

Nowawadays a little online searching would bring about a satisfying conclusion, but this story was set in the 50s (possibly during the McCarthy hearings) with only a card catalog to aid the search.  Detective MacDonald would need a little help from a former police lieutenant (and crack problem-solver).  If you work in a library, or know anything about someone who is a cataloger, you'll appreciate Stella's description of them:

"Those are a race apart.  They know a little of everything, all the systems of classification, Dewey, Library of Congress, down to the last number, and just how many spaces you indent each item on a typed card, and all about bibliography, and they shudder in their souls if the least little thing is wrong.  They have eyes like eagles and memories like elephants."

That cracked me up, as it sounds pretty accurate to me.  The story has a successful conclusion and it was entertaining watching the detective unravel the mystery.  I have one small quibble:

"Some librarians have been advancing the theory, you see, that a librarian can best help defense work by watching what people use which books.  For instance, if somebody keeps borrowing every work you have on high explosives, you know he's a dangerous saboteur planning to blow up the aqueduct and you turn him over to the G-men."

Hmm.  Not to sure about all that, but it worked with the story, and it was otherwise completely entertaining, so I am willing to overlook it.  That's a rather scary thought to think someone might be watching the books I check out, though!  And no, we don't do that at my library.

I have heard many things about M.R. James.  It seems he's quite famous for his ghost stories.  I have been meaning to read something by him, and conveniently in this collection I found, "The Tractate Middoth".  It concerns a mysterious book that an elderly gentleman comes to the library in search of.  It also concerns a woman and her daughter who are barely getting by, and a will that's been hidden.  Mr. William Garrett will get involved, with some very chilling results.  Although not terribly frightening, it was certainly creepy and atmospheric and a nicely crafted story.  I'll definitely be searching out more of his work. 

The last story I read is by author, Isaac Babel, who was the first major Russian Jewish author to write in Russian.  Although I've heard his name I've not read any of his work.  He died in a Siberian labor camp in 1941 after he had been charged and arrested for espionage.  "The Public Library" is quite short, a mere three pages long.  It is a tribute to the many varied people who find refuge in the library.  It begins:

"You can feel straightaway that the book reigns supreme here.  All the people who work in the library have entered into communion with The Book, with life at second-hand, and have themselves become, as it were, a mere reflection of the living."

Comments

[Tricia]

I had to read a fascinating, although at times dry, book by Michael Cart for a YA Lit class: From Romance to Realism: 50 Years of Growth and Change in Young Adult Literature. I think it would be much more fun to read this assemblage!

[BooksPlease]

This is just terrible - yet another book to add to the tbr list! I'll never get round to reading all of them this year, but this sounds like one I shouldn't miss. I confess I was a cataloguer for a while, but fortunately I don't remember all the Dewey Classification system now (well, some of it has still stuck).

[Sam]

I think I saw this book in my library one day when I was wondering around so I'll have to take another look at it. We have 2 people who catalog-my supervisor and me- and we are as different as night and day. She is real careful and picky just like the description and somewhere in the right area is good enough for me. I didn't take a class though so maybe that makes a difference.

[Dorothy W.]

I never knew there was such a thing as a collection of stories about libraries -- but I should have been surprised! This book sounds like fun.

[Danielle]

Tricia--That book does sound as if it had possibilities, but sometimes academic writing can indeed be on the dry side. I enjoyed the stories I read from his anthology, though!
BooksPlease--I took some cataloging classes last fall, and I have to say they were painful! I'm very detail oriented, so you would think this would be right up my alley, but the lady who taught it (it was a distance ed class) was not the best presenter!
Sam--I think I would be somewhere in the middle, too. There are so many rules it would drive me crazy. We do mostly copy cataloging here, so that wouldn't be too bad, but original cataloging would be more of a challenge than I could handle!
Dorothy--I didn't realize it either. I was searching our catalog for general anthologies when I came across it. It's amazing the variety of collections there are available--something for everyone I guess.

[heather (errantdreams)]

Library lovers' month? Somehow I always miss these things! Clearly I should find an excuse to get to the library this month. ;)

[Sarah]

I found this book on the remainder table and bought it only a month ago, so I'm happy to read your thoughts. I'm looking forward to reading it because of the subject and the range of authors.

[iliana]

I have this book somewhere in my stacks. It just sounds so fun and what a great way to celebrate Library Lover's Month!

[Danielle]

Heather--I didn't realize it either until I saw it one someone else's blog. Any excuse to go to the library works for me!
Sarah--This is an excellent collection--lots of variety of authors. I wouldn't mind reading more of the stories.
Iliana--Yes, this is a fun collection. I wouldn't mind owning it as well.

[Lisa]

This is great. Thanks for sharing this.

[Danielle]

Lisa--I'm glad I came across it. It has a good selection of authors in it and how can you not enjoy reading about libraries.