This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson

This Book is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All, by Marilyn Johnson, is an intriguing peek into the back alleys of libraries and the folks who run them. When the author was researching her first book (about obituaries), she says she became interested in librarians because “the most engaging obit subjects were librarians.”

How about that?

This book sucked me in immediately. I needed little persuasion as I am a huge book nerd, and this book is from a nerd, about nerds, and for nerds. I ate up descriptions of the travails of migrating a library database from one system to another, the decor of the library at the American Kennel Club, and the saga of four Connecticut librarians (what up, Nutmeg State!) protesting the Patriot Act. I pumped my fist when a virtual librarian cited one of his core values as bibliomancy, defined as “divination by jolly well looking it up.” Heck, yes!

Johnson does a great job providing context about the people she’s interacting with so that the reader can appreciate the enormity and attention to detail in their jobs without bogging down in the intricacies of the technical aspects. She provides an accessible, readable, anecdotal record of why librarians are more important every day that we slide more deeply into the digital world.

Speaking of the digital world, my least favorite sections of the book took place in the virtual realm of Second Life. At first, it was fascinating to learn about the cyber libraries and online resource centers the librarians’ avatars had set up. However, I found it difficult to keep the fake names and places straight from the real ones, and I couldn’t tell when we were in Second Life or, uh, First Life. I appreciate that this virtual world is a significant aspect of librarian community, but since I have no experience with it, I found it unnerving and disorienting.

Under all the stories about the idiosyncrasies of each librarian and library, there lies tension between budgets, technology, and reduced workforce. Johnson makes a compelling case for why the public needs to be the advocate of libraries and their staff, who she calls “civil servants and servants of civility.” She argues that librarians keep us organized, historically accurate, and educated, protecting our right to information. Between the researchers (the finders) and the archivists (the keepers), we can theoretically access any published piece.

Initially, I thought the title was not at all indicative of the content. Librarians aren’t shushers pecking at every overdue fee, I thought. What was up with the title? Then I realized: it’s a joke, kind of. It’s not just any book that’s overdue; this specific book is overdue, one that champions librarians as the superheroes they are. I’m concerned that there’s a certain preaching-to-the-choir element, in that those who read this book will most likely be on the side of libraries and librarians to start. But you know, I don’t think we can underestimate what can happen if the choir gets riled up.

There’s a heartwarming passage about how valuable and personal library services can be:

Nicholas Basbanes tells a story about his search for a particular edition of A Descriptive Catalogue of the Pepys Library, not the 1829 or the 1978 editions — only the 1914 edition had the information he needed. He finally found its three volumes, untouched, in the basement of the Boston Athenaeum research library. “You wonder who they bought these books for, anyway,” he said to the librarian. “We got them for you, Mr. Basbanes,” he was told.

On the other side of the coin, there’s a heartbreaking moment with John Lundquist, the former head of the Asian and Middle Eastern Division of the New York Public Library. His staff had been decimated, his collections had been relocated, and his retirees were not to be replaced.

“I’m terribly sad about it,” he said. “In due time no one will remember we existed. These rooms will be reoccupied, and all will be forgotten. I’m quite sure we will be forgotten.”

Oof. If that hit you right in the gut, you will want to read this book. And then hug your librarian.

- – - – -

I received this book as a free sample from HarperCollins. If you’d like a chance to win your own copy and you live in the United States or Canada (sorry, other countries!), please leave a comment! Comments will close at 8pm Eastern Time on Sunday, February 7, and I will choose one winner randomly. Good luck!

- – - – -

Edited to add: The comments are now closed, and the winner has been selected. Congratulations to Brianna!