February is Library Lovers Month!

Becky's Book Reviews is celebrating Library Lovers Month by issuing a challenge. She says:

"February is Library Lovers Month, so to celebrate I thought I'd try to start a new meme going around about the library. I know one went around last year. I answered it. But I'll try to think of new questions. I'd really appreciate it if you'd play along :)"

So, here are my answers to Becky's questions:

How do you plan on celebrating Library Lovers month? Well, I was going to say by returning my books on time for a change, but it's already a week to late for that! Then again, I guess my fines help support the cause, so maybe being overdue isn't such a bad thing after all! Anyway, back to the question--I'll celebrate by a) answering this meme, and b) passing along a link to a list of ways to Love Your Library and c) trying to do a lot more of the things on that list than I already do!

How often do you accidentally spell library as 'libary' when you're in a hurry? Probably more than I'd like to admit--but at least I never SAY it 'libary'!

What is the most amount of books you've ever had checked out at one time? I have no idea, but best guess would be about 20-30

What is the longest you've ever gone without visiting the library? Maybe a month...but that's because I didn't finish those 20 or 30 books I already had checked out!

What is the biggest fine you've ever had? Probably $15 (remember those 20-30 books--almost all overdue!). Bad me! Then again, as I said earlier, consider it a donation to the cause. Fortunately, I hit the jackpot when I got a job working as an archivist at a library/museums association, which means I have a "Get out of jail free" card when it comes to overdue fines--they really shouldn't enable my bad habits like that...

When you go to the library, do you plan ahead and make a list? Or do you browse? Yes and yes. Interlibrary loan is my best friend! I almost always shop on the on-line catalog first to pick out what I want or order something from another library. But of course, when I go to get my books, I have to check out the new arrivals, then wander upstairs to look for this and that, then by the time I'm done...you guessed it! 20 or 30 books again (well, more like 8 or 10, since I can't carry 20 or 30 home (my library is a short walk from my house)!

Have you ever been shushed or hushed by a librarian? When I was a kid. But librarians don't shush these days--at least not in the libraries I use.

What is the worst (against-the-rules) thing you've ever done in the library? You mean besides all those overdue books? When I was in college, I'd eat my lunch in the library--very bad me!

What's the worst thing you've ever done to a library book? Hmmmm...well, since in my family injuring a library book was something akin to a mortal sin, I grew up regarding them as sacred objects--that's Library Book with capital letters, kind of like the Ark of the Covenant--with pretty much the same penalty for damaging them as when the unholy Nazis opened the Ark in the Indiana Jones movie--damage a Library Book and the flesh would fall off your bones and you would be immediately whisked away to eternal damnation--or the equivalent: banishment from every library in the land for all eternity. Now that really WOULD be hell!

Have you ever had a "favorite" librarian? When I was a kid, Charlotte (I don't think I ever knew her last name) at our neighborhood library was a real sweetie--always coming up with new books to recommend, and always remembering what we liked. And in junior high, I got to help Mrs. Monchamp in the school library--funny I forgot that until you asked this question. She had a good sense of humor--she had to, to put up with us! My current favorite librarian, though, has to be my boss Maggie, who is the head of the Genealogy Library and Local History Archives at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum--she's great at dealing with the difficult patrons, is the most supportive and most fun boss I've ever had, AND she brings me chocolate on a regular basis.

If you could change one thing about your library it would be... Hmmmm...since my town library just got a major facelift, with great new reading spaces and tons more shelf space, I think just about everything I would have changed has been done.