I Work at a Public Library

Adams Media

I Work at a Public Library
Gina Sheridan
2014

The Summary
"From a patron's missing wetsuit to the scent of crab cakes wafting through the stacks, I Work at a Public Library showcases the oddities that have come across Gina Sheridan's circulation desk.  Throughout these pages, she catalogs her encounters with local eccentrics as well as the questions that plague her, such as 'What is the standard length of eyebrow hairs?'  Whether she's helping someone scan his face onto an online dating site or explaining why the library doesn't have any dragon autobiographies, Sheridan's bizarre tales prove that she's truly seen it all.

"Stacked high with hundreds of strange-but-true, and sometimes heartwarming, stories, I Work at a Public Library celebrates librarians and the unforgettable patrons who roam the stacks every day."

The Good
Sheridan's book is informative and insightful:  it shows the good and the bad that librarians face every single day.  Now, since I'm working at a library of my own, I can relate to each and every story I encounter in I Work at a Public Library.  It's my work week in a nutshell, I've realized; however, it's also an opportunity to commiserate over and laugh about all the wild and crazy things that happen at the library every day.

Accessible and humorous, I Work at a Public Library was full of little details and anecdotes that make it an absolute gem.  I loved that Sheridan classified and alphabetized each story she recounted, as one would in a library.  Each story feels like it's listed in and pulled from a card catalog, and I was so thrilled when I realized what Sheridan had done with her book.  I got a kick out of it.

And then there's Cuckoo Carol.

She was my absolute favorite "character."  Her chapter was the best for the simple reason that I have a Cuckoo Carol in my life.  (Actually, I have two or three who, like Carol, test the limits of human patience and make my job a little more interesting each week.)  She was cheeky, she was sarcastic and brutally honest, but she was virtually harmless, if a little infuriating, and she was absolutely hilarious.  This book would not have been the same without Cuckoo Carol.

The Bad
Honestly, it was too short.  I would have loved to have heard more about Cuckoo Carol and the other patrons that Sheridan (and other librarians) has worked with throughout the years.

The Ugly
It's very, very true.  No, seriously, these stories are one hundred percent true.  They happen every day at libraries around the world.

And, sometimes, it's even worse in person.