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Title details for This Book Is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson - Available

This Book Is Overdue!

How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All

by Marilyn Johnson
Hillary Huber
Audiobook
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1 of 1 copy available
Buried in information? Cross-eyed over technology? From the bottom of a pile of paper and discs, books, e-books, and scattered thumb drives comes a cry of hope: Make way for the librarians! They want to help. They're not selling a thing. And librarians know best how to beat a path through the googolplex sources of information available to us, writes Marilyn Johnson, whose previous book, The Dead Beat, breathed merry life into the obituary-writing profession.


This Book Is Overdue! is a romp through the ranks of information professionals and a revelation for readers burned out on the clichés and stereotyping of librarians. Blunt and obscenely funny bloggers spill their stories in this book, as do a tattooed, hard-partying children's librarian; a fresh-scrubbed Catholic couple who teach missionaries to use computers; a blue-haired radical who uses her smartphone to help guide street protestors; a plethora of voluptuous avatars and cybrarians; the quiet, law-abiding librarians gagged by the FBI; and a boxing archivist. These are just a few of the visionaries Johnson captures here—pragmatic idealists who fuse the tools of the digital age with their love for the written word and the enduring values of free speech, open access, and scout-badge-quality assistance to anyone in need.


Those who predicted the death of libraries forgot to consider that in the automated maze of contemporary life, none of us—neither the experts nor the hopelessly baffled—can get along without human help. And not just any help; we need librarians who won't charge us by the question or roll their eyes, no matter what we ask. Who are they? What do they know? And how quickly can they save us from being buried by the digital age?

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    March 3, 2010

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400196340
      • File size: 213097 KB
      • Duration: 07:23:57

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A passion for libraries and for all genres of knowledge is celebrated by Marilyn Johnson, who explores the lives of librarians as champions of confidentiality rights and harbingers of boundless curiosity, among other things. The need for librarians to help navigate the Information Age's limitless portals and the mazes beyond them is more vital than ever. Hillary Huber narrates the often-hilarious revelations about libraries, librarians, and readers with lively humor. Reporting on the more than 450 librarian blogs to the virtual world of librarian avatars, Second Life, THIS BOOK never ceases to dazzle. Daily struggles--of burgeoning collection automation, issues of open access and literacy, and fierce defense of the Constitution--have resulted in a hip generation of visionary, increasingly activist librarians. Everyone should listen to this book--especially when votes on the fates of libraries hang in the balance all over. A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 1, 2010
      In an information age full of Google-powered searches, free-by-Bittorrent media downloads and Wiki-powered knowledge databases, the librarian may seem like an antiquated concept. Author and editor Johnson (The Dead Beat) is here to reverse that notion with a topical, witty study of the vital ways modern librarians uphold their traditional roles as educators, archivists, and curators of a community legacy. Illuminating the state of the modern librarian with humor and authority, Johnson showcases librarians working on the cutting edge of virtual reality simulations, guarding the Constitution and redefining information services-as well as working hard to serve and satisfy readers, making this volume a bit guilty of long-form reader flattery. Johnson also makes the important case for libraries-the brick-and-mortar kind-as an irreplaceable bridge crossing economic community divides. Johnson's wry report is a must-read for anyone who's used a library in the past quarter century.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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