Recently, someone on the YALSA-bk listserv shared a link to Awful Library Books, a blog that shares covers and tidbits about books that have been weeded (recently!) from library collections.   It then made the rounds of our state listserv.  The examples on the Awful Library Books blog are funny, yet sad at the same time.  They brought back memories of my first weeding adventure as a brand new librarian at Wagener-Salley.

I couldn’t get over the books that I found.  It made me wonder if anyone had ever weeded the collection before.  There were books as old as the early 1900s – some that say copyright 1896, but not sure if that’s true – could be, but I’m skeptical.   I kept a few of the books I weeded in an archive section, simply because they were either ones I wanted to take a longer look at or too priceless:  beautiful field guides from the 1930s; a Grays Anatomy from the 1950s, Essays by Emerson (the 1896 book), and this little gem…

The Happy Bookers: A Playful History of Librarians and Their World from the Stone Age to the Distant Future

by Richard Armour w/ Appropriate Illustrations by Campbell Grant
Copyright 1976
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York

This was too funny!  I enjoyed paging through it and looking at the illustrations.  I’ll admit that I haven’t read it yet.  It’s been sitting in my back storage closet for when I have that all elusive “free time” I keep hearing about.

Check out these page shots I scanned of the present and future librarians and technology (early ebook reader??)

A.  “She’s come a long way.”  – I guess that’s a past “librarian” and a “today” librarian.  Actually, that’s a pretty accurate depiction of me “today” – just add a few pounds <grin>.

B.  “Disastrous breakdowns.” – I remember those filmstrip projectors from my childhood, but I’ve never had to work one before – I’m so glad for DVDs and streaming video we have now!

C. “Dial a book” – An early look at ebooks?  Not too far off, just not quite right.