Title: Dewey Decimal System Defeats Truman!: Library Cartoons
Author: Scott McCullar
Publication Information: Jefferson, NC: McFarland& Co., 1998
ISBN: 0-7864-0521-X
Pages: 95
Genre: Humor
Subgenre: Cartoons
I found this little volume while browsing in my local branch of the county library. I was looking for some graphic novels, which are shelved along with art books. Actually, I found a couple of graphic novels right when I walked in on a display, and I figured I would go to the stacks to see what else might be available. This little volume was tucked in the shelf. Being a librarian, I could not resist picking it up. It is a very light and quick read. Librarians will appreciate the humor in some of the situations. I think my favorite cartoon was the one depicting three reference librarians giving a score for a reference question, like in an Olympic event. The announcer says, "O-O-O-O, the judges didn't think much of that question. Low scores for the fact that he wanted the answer to a class-assigned research question, and that he waited till the last minute." I get that situation a lot in my library: students who wait till the last minute for a class assignment. It would be tempting to call out a couple of my colleagues with number posters and do that. However, no matter how last minute, we always strive to give them an answer, and at times, some reassurance they will be ok (even if they won't). The humor is light and offbeat, and the art is basic, in the sense of simple. But it will make librarians smile and maybe nod. I think other readers may appreciate it as well.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Friday, January 06, 2006
Remembering Epiphany, Looking Back
Today is Epiphany. In the Christian tradition, particularly the Roman Catholic tradition, it is the feast commemorating the day that the Three Wise Men visited the baby Jesus bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In Puerto Rico, where I was born and raised, January 6th is a big holiday regardless of whether you are Catholic or not. Children put out their little boxes with grass for the camels, and the Three Kings ("los tres reyes") leave them presents. The day is a holiday, so establishments close. It is a day to spend with family and friends. Those of religious persuasion will go to church or services. In the States, this day is just another ordinary workday. In fact, the holiday season ends pretty much on December 26. In Puerto Rico, the holiday season is still on, and will be on for a couple of weeks after Epiphany. The essay I am posting below was a piece I wrote many years ago. It is dated January 23, 1995. At the time, I was working as a high school composition teacher. The composition faculty formed a writing group, and we would meet, share our own writing, and try out ideas like portfolios. I wrote the essay for a prompt that called for writing about epiphanies in general.
* * *
A carver patiently shapes a little wooden horse for Balthazar to ride to Bethlehem. As the figure comes to life in his hands, a tradition that has lived for generations continues. When the first santeros molded the images of the Magi, they had never seen a camel; they had to use their everyday experience, and that experience involved horses. At home this past Christmas vacation, I can see the tradition is alive and well in the new carving my mother has added to her collection of saints.
Mom still embodies the significance of epiphany even today. She would go to our backyard with us to prepare for the arrival of the Wise Men. Out in the cool night, we would pull grass off the ground placing it on a shoebox. I remember the grass was short, and I pulled a lot, for after all, camels came from the Orient. I figured, or rather my mom explained, that the camels would be hungry after such a long trip. The box of grass along with a cup of water, for camels get thirsty too you know, was left next to our parents' bed. In the morning, the Magi had left gifts after feeding their mounts. Mom placed her box too and to this day still does even though our "wise man" doesn't ride a camel nor a horse.
Who arrives first--Santa Claus or the Three Wise Men? The naive, young child would answer Santa Claus only to have his godfather explain that the Wise Men arrived in January while Santa Claus came all the way out in December. This piece of humor is reflective of the changing tradition at home. After all, Christmas was, and still is, the celebration of the Holy Child's birth. Santa's sleigh didn't hit Puerto Rico well after 1898, and his arrival wasn't necessarily well taken. Countless Puerto Rican children were probably scared by the fat bearded man with the red coat, the big sack, and the bone chilling howl of "HO HO HO!" just like the regionalist writer (if this term can be used given it is the closest translation I can come to "costumbrista") pictured in "Santa Cló Va a La Cuchilla" ("Santa Claus visits La Cuchilla Sector"). The children in that classroom yelled and ran for their lives putting as much distance between them and the big red thing. Many years later, Puerto Rican kids, myself included, wait for jolly old Nick in December.
However, those children still wait for the Three Wise Men in January. Some of you may think that kids have it good down there. Getting gifts twice makes for a good deal (for kids anyway). Yet, this fact reflects two things. First, is the gradual adaptation of the American culture into mine, and second is the struggle and triumph of my native culture that refuses to die. However, as with Christmas in the States, our Christmas and Epiphany traditions are threatened by consumerism. The true significance of Epiphany at home is threatened just as Christmas is threatened in both countries. Yet my faith is steady that the significance of Epiphany will not be lost; it will live side by side with Santa and Midnight Mass and January 6th.
Next summer, my best friend will become my life companion. Such an event reaffirms my faith in Epiphany because some day it will be my turn to take the children outside to find foliage. Probably it won't be fresh tender grass, but the symbol will exist for them as it exists for me. Santa will come all in the way in December too, and the two traditions will coexist, but those times are off in the future. For the time being, I have not celebrated Epiphany with my family for a few years now. Due to the sudden cessation of the season after New Year's, I can't help feeling that another part of me was left back in my island just as the carvers that strive to preserve the tradition are still at home.
The time actually came. I got married that summer, and our daughter came shortly after. It seems only yesterday I was a young high school teacher. We have continued the tradition to the best of our ability. She went out last night, got her grass, so did we, and we opened our presents this morning. We had to get up a little bit earlier so as to be able to spend some time together before parents had to go to work, and she had to go to school. An epiphany is basically a sudden realization or insight about the nature of life. The Three Wise Men who visited that baby had their realization about the child. Educators are fortunate when their students experience an epiphany; I know I have been lucky on the ocassions I witnessed such. There is a sense of wonder, regardless of any religious persuasion or no persuasion at all. What I discover every year is the importance of family, of the times we make for ourselves, of the moments we will treasure, the memories we make. Epiphany reminds me of where I came from and where I have yet to wander.
"Remembering Epiphany"
A carver patiently shapes a little wooden horse for Balthazar to ride to Bethlehem. As the figure comes to life in his hands, a tradition that has lived for generations continues. When the first santeros molded the images of the Magi, they had never seen a camel; they had to use their everyday experience, and that experience involved horses. At home this past Christmas vacation, I can see the tradition is alive and well in the new carving my mother has added to her collection of saints.
Mom still embodies the significance of epiphany even today. She would go to our backyard with us to prepare for the arrival of the Wise Men. Out in the cool night, we would pull grass off the ground placing it on a shoebox. I remember the grass was short, and I pulled a lot, for after all, camels came from the Orient. I figured, or rather my mom explained, that the camels would be hungry after such a long trip. The box of grass along with a cup of water, for camels get thirsty too you know, was left next to our parents' bed. In the morning, the Magi had left gifts after feeding their mounts. Mom placed her box too and to this day still does even though our "wise man" doesn't ride a camel nor a horse.
Who arrives first--Santa Claus or the Three Wise Men? The naive, young child would answer Santa Claus only to have his godfather explain that the Wise Men arrived in January while Santa Claus came all the way out in December. This piece of humor is reflective of the changing tradition at home. After all, Christmas was, and still is, the celebration of the Holy Child's birth. Santa's sleigh didn't hit Puerto Rico well after 1898, and his arrival wasn't necessarily well taken. Countless Puerto Rican children were probably scared by the fat bearded man with the red coat, the big sack, and the bone chilling howl of "HO HO HO!" just like the regionalist writer (if this term can be used given it is the closest translation I can come to "costumbrista") pictured in "Santa Cló Va a La Cuchilla" ("Santa Claus visits La Cuchilla Sector"). The children in that classroom yelled and ran for their lives putting as much distance between them and the big red thing. Many years later, Puerto Rican kids, myself included, wait for jolly old Nick in December.
However, those children still wait for the Three Wise Men in January. Some of you may think that kids have it good down there. Getting gifts twice makes for a good deal (for kids anyway). Yet, this fact reflects two things. First, is the gradual adaptation of the American culture into mine, and second is the struggle and triumph of my native culture that refuses to die. However, as with Christmas in the States, our Christmas and Epiphany traditions are threatened by consumerism. The true significance of Epiphany at home is threatened just as Christmas is threatened in both countries. Yet my faith is steady that the significance of Epiphany will not be lost; it will live side by side with Santa and Midnight Mass and January 6th.
Next summer, my best friend will become my life companion. Such an event reaffirms my faith in Epiphany because some day it will be my turn to take the children outside to find foliage. Probably it won't be fresh tender grass, but the symbol will exist for them as it exists for me. Santa will come all in the way in December too, and the two traditions will coexist, but those times are off in the future. For the time being, I have not celebrated Epiphany with my family for a few years now. Due to the sudden cessation of the season after New Year's, I can't help feeling that another part of me was left back in my island just as the carvers that strive to preserve the tradition are still at home.
* * *
The time actually came. I got married that summer, and our daughter came shortly after. It seems only yesterday I was a young high school teacher. We have continued the tradition to the best of our ability. She went out last night, got her grass, so did we, and we opened our presents this morning. We had to get up a little bit earlier so as to be able to spend some time together before parents had to go to work, and she had to go to school. An epiphany is basically a sudden realization or insight about the nature of life. The Three Wise Men who visited that baby had their realization about the child. Educators are fortunate when their students experience an epiphany; I know I have been lucky on the ocassions I witnessed such. There is a sense of wonder, regardless of any religious persuasion or no persuasion at all. What I discover every year is the importance of family, of the times we make for ourselves, of the moments we will treasure, the memories we make. Epiphany reminds me of where I came from and where I have yet to wander.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
What do bookmarks say about you?
I found this article through Mark Lindner's . . .the thoughts are broken. . . . Here is the direct link to the article itself, from The Believer. In brief, the article is a musing of what we can learn about readers from the bookmarks they leave behind. Bookmarks here can be anything from the objects we usually think of as bookmarks to more mundane objects like a laundry receipt or a movie ticket stub. Some ideas from the article that stuck with me:
- "When we are reading, the book is our new land, our frontier; finding the distinctive marks of a previous reading is like discovering a fossilized campfire site or cave-wall drawing; evidence of ancestors." I love that image of a book as a new land, as a frontier. I would say as an undiscovered country if it is the first time you read the book. Unlike the article's author, I rarely find find bookmarks left behind in used books. I guess I must not shop at the right used bookstores. Having said, I have found stray objects now and then. My mother, an avid reader, was notorious for leaving little items in her books that I would discover over time when I got a hold of one of her books. One example was a receipt for the Club de Lectores de Puerto Rico (The PR Readers' Club), a sort of Book of the Month Club long defunct by the time I found the receipt. However, the receipt was actually handwritten with the title of the book and price paid. Apparently my mom ordered the book and then used the receipt to mark her spots.
- The article focuses on bookmarks, but Atkinson also discusses marginalia and other examples of evidence of previous readers in books. Atkinson mentions the book Marginalia: Readers Writing in Books by H.J. Jackson. I will have to look that one up sometime.
- "Naturally, store-bought bookmarks, not unlike the polished seashells you can buy in tourist shops, hold no interest for me even if they're found in old books; how could anyone be so orderly and fearful and arid of mind so as to purchase and conscientiously use what should be found once and then found again and again, and thereafter bear the kismet of connectedness?" Atkinson mentions he has friends who collect bookmarks of bookstores that no longer exist. Personally, I like free bookmarks. I have quite a few of them from bookstores and public libraries when I can get them. I do have a couple of store-bought bookmarks, but they have been gifts from friends. I have never bought one myself. Why would I when I can get them for free is the way I see it. These free bookmarks vary in quality from very simple card stock to very ornate. I have bookmarks from public libraries that the libraries bought from ALA to hand out to patrons, and I have bookmarks from public libraries that the libraries have made themselves. I have bookmarks with poems, with little animals on them. One of the books I am reading now has a bookmark with a nice photo of a jaguar and facts about the feline. Since I always have two to four books going at the same time, I have bookmarks on each one of them, all different. While I have accumulated a lot of bookmarks this way, I don't really see it as a collection, more like a nice stock. I tend to use bookmarks until they wear out, at which time I toss them out and grab a new one from the pile. The nice ones that have been gifts, such as a leather one my wife once got me with the serenity prayer (you know, the one about God grant me the courage. . .), or the one my mother got me made by an artisan back in Puerto Rico, I keep at home. The rare ones like that are the exception to my bookmark as disposable rule, if you can call it a rule. I don't like to be without a bookmark, so in my personal journal, I have a few stashed in there in case I grab a new book, and I have not finished a book so as to switch bookmarks over. Sure, I will grab an index card or some other scrap in a pinch, but maybe I am a little too neat to want to leave my receipts out for the world.
- "But otherwise and generally, bookmarks should be snatched from the jaws of your quotidian life, if only so they could be fished out of the book a half a century later and tell some unintentional but imperative thing about you to whatever book lover had the good grace to cross your bibliophilic path." See my note above as it addresses this idea. I guess I disagree with Atkinson on this one since I don't snatch my bookmarks out of my quotidian life. I guess I won't be telling much to any readers out there who may get a hold of my books someday. As for other readers, hey, just go with what works for you.
- Something to keep in mind about these bookmarks and other found objects. "Nothing is definitive; this isn't art or science but a societal bridge constructed out of love--love for hopeful readers we never knew, and for the book glue that holds us together." I find the idea of getting a glimpse of someone's life at a given moment fascinating, pure serendipity. However, it looks readers of my stuff may not get as much based on my bookmarks other than bookstores and libraries I visited at various times, or the ocassional bookmark with some information or something quirky. I wonder what such choices would say about me. In addition to the jaguar, I have two from Half Price Books now, and one from Powell's in Chicago. By the way, they are starting to get a bit ragged, but they are still useable. So, ok, I like to shop for cheap books? I don't think that makes me terribly unique. Besides, how would the impression change if I had different ones in my books. Oh well, I will just leave the question for the ages.
- On the community of readers, this seemed interesting. "When you consider the notion of a community of readers, you might first think of the neurotic fad for book groups--does any phenomena suggest so well a modern insecurity, that Americans now can hardly read by their lonesomes?--or at least a national throng of bookworms all consuming the same bestseller at more or less the same time, during the same summer or Christmas season, or overhyped market moment. But bookmarkery, taken as what we may call sociopoeia, is substantiation of a genuine, invisible society of readership, a vast and silent ecosystem of shared memories, allusionary communication, mutual understanding, communal essence." I am sure that a lot of book club members around the nation will have an issue with Atkinson's remark. However, I do have to say his observation about hype and markets may be valid. Just observe what happens every time Oprah announces her latest selection. Some of my readers may be interested in a note I made on a book about Oprah's Book Club. I would also note the appeal of recent One Book, One City initiatives taking place all over the nation. Personally, I have some mixed feelings about book groups. I love the idea of people coming together to discuss books and share their reading experiences. It's the risk of groupthink that makes me a bit sceptical, as in, if you do not agree with the rest of the group, your reading may somehow be seen as wrong or less valid. My experience a few years back with a particular book group for a class is what triggers this scepticism. We read a particular book which I simply hated for a variety of reasons. I was made to feel somehow something was wrong with me. While I know this experience is not the rule of book groups, it does color my perspective. I do try not to let it bother me too much because I do believe in the overall value of the activity.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
A little bit of rock and roll (on DVD)
The Collection Development Librarian brought me a copy of Time-Life's History of Rock 'N Roll. This is the volume that features the documentaries "Britain Invades, America Fights Back" and "The Sounds of Soul." I am watching it just to make sure the DVD is fine before it gets processed for circulation. The first documentary covers from the British Invasion by the Beatles, followed by the Rolling Stones and others, and it then looks at how America responded and the various groups and acts. This was a time where image and looks were as important, if not more important, than the music, according to some. The second documentary looks at soul music, its roots, its influences, its sounds. I found it interesting watching both documentaries back to back because all these different musical sounds and movements were happening close to each other, at the same time. And yet, very often, we think of the Rolling Stones on one end and of Motown on another end without touching each other. What these documentaries reveal is that the influences and currents went back and forth. The documentaries include narration, mostly through short memoir and interview features with performers, producers, and entrepreneurs, and it includes music clips. Unfortunately, the music is only is short snips; you don't get the whole song on the documentary. The DVD includes additional features such as interviews. I think for many it may just inspire them to go find the music.
Back from the Holidays
(Crossposted to the Itinerant Librarian)
Well folks, this is the first day back at work for me. Students do not return to campus until the day after the Martin Luther King Holiday (January 16). This means I have about a week and a half to do some catching up before the academic semester goes into full swing.
I noted before I left that we had planned to go up to Fort Worth. Well, the flu bug had other plans as it struck both my parents right around Christmas, so we had to stay away. Not that it did any good in the sense that I myself caught a cold right on New Year's (in fact, I am still trying to shake off "la cariñosa" as my father calls it. The term means "the loving one" because it holds on to you and does not let go). However, we still had a nice time at home for Christmas and New Year's. Since my wife took some days off from work, and I had last week off due to library closure, we had some time to relax.
Day after Christmas, like many Americans, we decided to go around shopping. We were actually looking for some wrapping paper and a couple of nice serving plates, but otherwise, we mostly went to watch people, for the amusement value. The mall was not as crowded as it could have been in my estimation.
The following Tuesday, we got some day care for the little one (the local YMCA is great in that regard, providing camps and such for kids when school is off), and then the missus and I went in search of some wine. When our stock at home runs low, we know it's time to get some more. We both enjoy drinking local wine when possible, so I hit a couple of Websites to see if there was anything nearby. I used the Texas Wine Trails Website. The site has a good map of the trails where you can click and get a map with links. We had tried a nice winery up north, Messina Hof, but it was a bit too far for us. Also, when we went, the place struck us as a little on the snobbish side for jean and tees sort of folk. We had also gone to a couple of places not far from Fort Worth, but clearly, that was not within driving distance. We decided to go find a place called Wimberley Valley Wines, in Spring, Texas. Since there was another winery in the area, Red River Winery, we figured we would just kill two birds on one stone. It was an easy drive to Spring, Texas once we got on I-45. When we got there, it turns out that there is this area known as Old Town Spring, which is basically a historical district. The Website I link to hails it as "the Mall Without Walls." The place is a small, cozy area of shops featuring antiques, collectibles, cafes, the wineries we went looking for and a few other interesting things. So, we ended up spending the afternoon walking along the streets, browsing here and there. I had no idea this little place was so close, and it only took us about 40 minutes to get there. Houston being such a big city did not seem like the place to contain such a little place. My wife was reminded of some of the small towns back in Indiana. We did enjoy some wine tasting, and we brought some wine home, making a note to plan on attending the Art and Wine Festival on March 18 and 19, 2006. Hey, any place where you pay admission and get a wine glass to go around tasting local wines sounds good to us. Indianapolis has its VintageIndiana, and we went there a couple of years ago. It's a big event in Military Park. They close off the park, and they have music, an area for kids, various craftspeople and artisans, food, and of course, the wines. They give you a nice etched glass, and you go around like a "beggar" for the winemakers to pour you some wine to taste. It was great fun. One of the things we always worry about is that we often travel with a nine year old. Some wineries are ok with that fact, even offering the little one some grape juice; others are not, not in the sense that they bar you, but more in the subtle hints, usually in the form of some discomfort level on the host's part. Overall, we have found that the smaller the winery, the less pretentions of grandeur it has, and therefore, the more relaxed the ambiance. Indiana had a lot of those, usually in more out of the way places, but since I am a gypsy at heart, driving was not an issue. Also, one of the things I miss from Indiana is the fact that many of those out of the way places still have that rural charm. I am not sure you can call it charm, but it's the feeling of hospitality, the feeling that it's ok to leave the door wide open for people to come in. The two places in Spring seemed to fall under the small and friendly category, and the prices were good too. I think I was amazed about Old Town Spring because being within the scope of Houston, I did not expect such a place. I would have expected it after driving way out of the metropolitcan area. It was a pleasant discovery. One of these days I will have to write that essay I have been meaning write about our travels to various wineries and vineyards. We have a wineglass collection at home from the various places we have visited, mostly in the Midwest, and now Texas. I think that would make a nice piece of writing sometime.
In the meantime, I wish everyone out there a Happy New Year, and Feliz Año Nuevo for our Spanish speaking friends.
Well folks, this is the first day back at work for me. Students do not return to campus until the day after the Martin Luther King Holiday (January 16). This means I have about a week and a half to do some catching up before the academic semester goes into full swing.
I noted before I left that we had planned to go up to Fort Worth. Well, the flu bug had other plans as it struck both my parents right around Christmas, so we had to stay away. Not that it did any good in the sense that I myself caught a cold right on New Year's (in fact, I am still trying to shake off "la cariñosa" as my father calls it. The term means "the loving one" because it holds on to you and does not let go). However, we still had a nice time at home for Christmas and New Year's. Since my wife took some days off from work, and I had last week off due to library closure, we had some time to relax.
Day after Christmas, like many Americans, we decided to go around shopping. We were actually looking for some wrapping paper and a couple of nice serving plates, but otherwise, we mostly went to watch people, for the amusement value. The mall was not as crowded as it could have been in my estimation.
The following Tuesday, we got some day care for the little one (the local YMCA is great in that regard, providing camps and such for kids when school is off), and then the missus and I went in search of some wine. When our stock at home runs low, we know it's time to get some more. We both enjoy drinking local wine when possible, so I hit a couple of Websites to see if there was anything nearby. I used the Texas Wine Trails Website. The site has a good map of the trails where you can click and get a map with links. We had tried a nice winery up north, Messina Hof, but it was a bit too far for us. Also, when we went, the place struck us as a little on the snobbish side for jean and tees sort of folk. We had also gone to a couple of places not far from Fort Worth, but clearly, that was not within driving distance. We decided to go find a place called Wimberley Valley Wines, in Spring, Texas. Since there was another winery in the area, Red River Winery, we figured we would just kill two birds on one stone. It was an easy drive to Spring, Texas once we got on I-45. When we got there, it turns out that there is this area known as Old Town Spring, which is basically a historical district. The Website I link to hails it as "the Mall Without Walls." The place is a small, cozy area of shops featuring antiques, collectibles, cafes, the wineries we went looking for and a few other interesting things. So, we ended up spending the afternoon walking along the streets, browsing here and there. I had no idea this little place was so close, and it only took us about 40 minutes to get there. Houston being such a big city did not seem like the place to contain such a little place. My wife was reminded of some of the small towns back in Indiana. We did enjoy some wine tasting, and we brought some wine home, making a note to plan on attending the Art and Wine Festival on March 18 and 19, 2006. Hey, any place where you pay admission and get a wine glass to go around tasting local wines sounds good to us. Indianapolis has its VintageIndiana, and we went there a couple of years ago. It's a big event in Military Park. They close off the park, and they have music, an area for kids, various craftspeople and artisans, food, and of course, the wines. They give you a nice etched glass, and you go around like a "beggar" for the winemakers to pour you some wine to taste. It was great fun. One of the things we always worry about is that we often travel with a nine year old. Some wineries are ok with that fact, even offering the little one some grape juice; others are not, not in the sense that they bar you, but more in the subtle hints, usually in the form of some discomfort level on the host's part. Overall, we have found that the smaller the winery, the less pretentions of grandeur it has, and therefore, the more relaxed the ambiance. Indiana had a lot of those, usually in more out of the way places, but since I am a gypsy at heart, driving was not an issue. Also, one of the things I miss from Indiana is the fact that many of those out of the way places still have that rural charm. I am not sure you can call it charm, but it's the feeling of hospitality, the feeling that it's ok to leave the door wide open for people to come in. The two places in Spring seemed to fall under the small and friendly category, and the prices were good too. I think I was amazed about Old Town Spring because being within the scope of Houston, I did not expect such a place. I would have expected it after driving way out of the metropolitcan area. It was a pleasant discovery. One of these days I will have to write that essay I have been meaning write about our travels to various wineries and vineyards. We have a wineglass collection at home from the various places we have visited, mostly in the Midwest, and now Texas. I think that would make a nice piece of writing sometime.
In the meantime, I wish everyone out there a Happy New Year, and Feliz Año Nuevo for our Spanish speaking friends.
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