Research can be Romantic, by Lauren Connolly

You Only Need One by Lauren Connolly

Do you know who loves research? Fiction writers.

Fiction writers are constantly crafting new stories and worlds. They are fashioning characters and settings out of their imaginations, using knowledge they absorb from the world around them.

If authors could only create characters with the same expertise and interests they themselves possess, all the shelves in the world would simply be filled with autobiographies.

Who wants that?

Creativity and exploration are why research is so important to writers; they want their stories to go further than their own personal experiences. If an author wants their protagonist to work as a mechanic, but the author has never peeked their head under the hood of a car before, what are they to do? Research. If their character’s family member is suffering from a genetic disease the writer has been fortunate never to encounter, how do they learn about the symptoms? Research. If an author plans to write an interracial romance set in the American Wild West, how are they going to learn about the difficulties couples actually faced during that time period? Research.

Isn’t this exciting?! A gigantic group of people just clamoring for our librarian research superpowers! Well … maybe not clamoring. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say the majority of writers are introverted, and may not feel comfortable asking for help. They might not even know that you have these magical superpowers to share with them.

At this point, I think it is time I admit that I count myself among this wonderful group of people. When I am not at my librarian day job, I can often be found tapping away at my keyboard, creating stories about people falling in love.

I am a romance author.

This past year, I joined a local romance authors group. The women are supportive, funny, and understand my obsession with happy endings. I am a novice member of the group, which is why I was flattered when they asked me to be the speaker at the October meeting. They asked if I could talk to them about research.

That’s when I realized how lucky I am. While earning my MLIS, I learned how to navigate databases with ease, and what’s more, I now have access to a huge amount of academic information because I am employed at a university.

On the other hand, these women, all of who are extremely intelligent, had likely never received the same in-depth instruction on how to perform academic research, nor do they have access to the same resources my job provides for me.

My guess is they exhausted all the research methods they knew, and they wanted to find out what other tools existed in the world.

That’s where I came in.

My main goal was to find resources they had access to but probably hadn’t yet stumbled upon. The members of this romance authors group are residents of Ohio (mainly in the Toledo area) and are public library card carriers, which means they have access to both OhioLINK and the Ohio Web Library (OWL). OhioLINK is a fantastic resource for academic books, while OWL enabled them to search for academic research articles through EBSCOhost.

I spent an hour showing them how to locate these databases, detailing what type of content they contained, and then demonstrating a variety searching methods.

They loved it. One woman, whose most recently published book made it to Publisher Weekly’s best sellers list, expressed how she wished she’d known about these resources while writing her past books, and she can’t wait to utilize them in the future. Success!

So, how does me giving a presentation to my writers group affect you? The answer: I didn’t have to be a romance author to speak to them! For that hour, I was simply a helpful librarian. And isn’t that what the majority of us are?

Writers groups are everywhere; Romance Writers of America (RWA) has local chapters across the United States. And then there are plenty of general writers’ groups, too. Find out if there are any near you, and get in touch with them. A lot of these organizations are looking for speakers, and some may even have a budget to pay for presenters. But even if they don’t, it is a great way to get presentation experience and make connections in your community.

And who knows, one of those authors may even make the next hero of their book a helpful librarian …

Lauren Connolly is the Instructional Technology Librarian at Fort Lewis College. She tweets about books and romance and other random things at @laurenaliciaCon and posts info about her novels at www.laurenconnollyromance.com. This is her second post for LtaYL; the first was “Are There Any Questions? My First Month as a Full-Time Librarian“.

Just For Fun: Romance Is For Everyone

I'm talking about romance novels, to be specific. I've been hinting at this on Twitter, but I'm ready to come out completely. My name is Jessica Olin, and I like reading romance novels. I read them as a kid, but put them aside because that's what I thought I was supposed to do. This summer I realized how foolish that was, so I'm reading romance novels again.

Further, I refuse to be ashamed. Sure, there are some poorly written books in this genre. Sure, there are some problematic tropes. That's true of every genre - even literary fiction. But there is also so much to love about romance:

• Guaranteed happy endings. This is so much a part of the genre that there's even a well-known abbreviation for this. HEA, or Happily Ever After. Lord knows with the current state of the government (and not just the one in my country - I see you, Brazil and UK), I need some happy in my life.
• Emotional intelligence. The characters in these novels - whether they're contemporary or period, hetero or queer, normal or paranormal - all display emotional intelligence. Sometimes it takes them a while to get to that point of realizing they're in love with this other person (which is one of the tropes I kind of love). Sometimes it takes them a while to realize why they're experiencing other emotions as well. But they always get there.
• Love. I think The Beatles were wrong. I think we need more than love. I also think love is part of good friendships. But I love that romance novels are love stories. I don't need more bored-middle-aged-male-sex-romps-with-underage-girls-self-insert novels. Not that I'm a prude. I feel cheated if there aren't a couple of steamy sex scenes, but I want to see more love in the world.

My main requirement, beyond the above, is that there be something other about the novel. Contemporary is fine, if it's paranormal or sci-fi-ish. "Normal" settings are great, but they have to be historical. One of my favorite romance novels I've read since I started reading them again was paranormal, historical, and queer (oh my!). I've read and enjoyed novels with cisgay men, cisgay women, and cisstraight people. I've not yet read any with transgender characters or nonbinary characters, but I have a few on my to read list. I've also not yet read much with non-caucasian characters, but have some of those on my to read list as well.

Here are a few I've read and loved:

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

A young  woman who thinks she's firmly "on the shelf" gets pissed off and decides to start breaking the rules. The first rule she decided to break is kiss a notorious rake. Hilarity, both sexy and non-sexy, ensues. The characters were fun and their reactions felt genuine. The manwhore/womanvirgin trope was fully in play here, which is not one I appreciate, but other than that it was a great read.

More info on this book at GoodReads.

The Highlander by Kerrigan Byrne

A woman escaping a bad marriage pretends to be a governess and gets hired by a Scottish laird to get his children in line. He's battle hardened and also had a bad first marriage. She's scarred from severe mistreatment by her husband, who put her into an asylum. Trigger Warnings for spousal abuse and attempted rape (not a fan of rape/attempted rape as a plot point - that's another trope I dislike). But I loved that she wasn't a virgin and that was okay. Another great read - so great I've gone on to read the rest of this series.

More info on this book at GoodReads. 

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

A philologist who got his PhD at Miskatonic University (!!) learns that a man for whom he had a long-held but secret affection is killed. Enter an ex-Pinkerton detective who is investigating that death. Sparks fly between the two as they try to defeat a plot to bring an unspeakable horror into our world. The tension and fear of recrimination and prosecution that were attendant upon any same sex relationships in this era are handled well. Loved everything about this book and immediately bought my own copy after finishing it.

More info on this book at GoodReads.


I've read more in the last 5 months or so, and if you're interested you can check out my short, almost always spoiler-free reviews over on my GoodReads profile. I know this genre is labeled as "for women", but I've never understood that. Some of the novels have so much sex they verge on pornographic. Besides, doesn't everyone secretly love a happy ending? At least on occasion?

How about you? Do you have any favorites? I'm figuring you like romance novels or are at least interested in them if you made it to the end of this post. Please leave recommendations in the comments or @ me on Twitter. I'm always looking for new authors.

The Office Decorations of a Director

A while back, before I became a library director, I had a very particular way of decorating my office. It was nerd central, but also it was occasionally vulgar. In fact, I wrote about it back in the (almost) beginning of this blog. Almost six years later, I have definitely changed the way my work space is decorated.

The thing about decorating your office is that it really does send a certain message to the people who visit you. Yes, you want it to reflect your personality, but that's not the only consideration. You want to make sure you are sending the message with your decor that you actually want to send, instead of something you're sending by accident. When I was an instruction coordinator (which was my job at the time I wrote that first post, if not my title), I wanted to be seen as irreverent and yet intelligent. Hard working and yet able to have fun. The truth was, though, that my office was likely a bit off-putting. I'm 99% sure it was Jim DelRosso who told me his office decorations are consciously not as nerdy as he is because he wants to make sure people feel welcome in his office. That comment really stuck with me. I still stand by the prevalence of vulgarities in that office - the word "fuck" is really just a word and I wish people would see it as such - but I haven't used that decorating style again in my current circumstances. As a director, I'm supposed to be setting a tone not just for myself but also for the rest of the department. So now, I have just as much nerdy vibe as before, but it's subtler and, in a way, prettier.

As you can see from the pictures I have below, I am not hiding my nerd in any way. I am still Nerd Supreme - a fact that is evidenced by being the advisor for the nerdy student group on campus. I'm just not as vulgar and my displayed tastes are slightly more diverse.

The love rat is still there. As is Fake Roy. But there's also a Benjamin Franklin quote and my tail from my Halloween costume.

My boy, Usagi Yojimbo. It wouldn't really be my office without Usagi, and this is the signed poster that Ranti Junus got for me years ago.

Yes, that's a stuffy elephant. If you squeeze it, out comes the most obnoxious imitation of an elephant trumpeting. Also, the poster from ACRL 2013 - Henry Rollins is a beautiful man and he had us all eating out of the palm of his hands at that keynote.

Guster is my favorite band, so of course I have a poster of theirs up in my office. Having this up in my office helped me bond with my union president - Guster is his favorite band, too!

Yes, that's my "Detective Comics" #643. And a Chewbacca Pez dispenser. But also the library's mission, vision, and values statements; the 2017-2018 academic calendar; specifics of the standing pizza order I place occasionally for the club I advise; my mini Sarah Donner shrine; and so much more.

Is it obvious that it's the same person? Even if you couldn't see so many of the same items, I think it's obvious. Just a more welcoming version.

How about you? Do you have any rules for how you decorate your office? Please share in the comments!

Shame and Reading: Some Thoughts on Popular Reading Materials

I've been thinking a lot about shame and reading lately. I had a conversation recently in which I started to feel a little ashamed of my reading habits, and realized I shouldn't. (This wasn't because of anything the other person said or did. Just fighting habits of years feeling like I was supposed to read "important" literature.) Feeling ashamed can transfer in so many ways, both personally and professionally. Sure, I am the director of library services at a community college that serves 4 different counties, have a deep and wide intellect and curiosity for learning, and seem to have an addiction to attaining advanced degrees. But I'm also a human being who lives in this culture that seems designed to degrade and depress (capitalism is the worst). Why shouldn't I read fun things?

Here are some books that I'm either currently reading or have finished recently (meaning within the last few weeks):

• Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs. It's in the middle of two intertwined series - "Alpha and Omega" and "Mercy Thompson" - which are these wonderfully written books set in a world with werewolves and vampires and fae and magic, but with politics and history that is ostensibly the same as the United States in which I live. Reading these books is like slipping into a warm bath. They aren't particularly page-turner-y, with suspense and intrigue, but they are comfortable and soothing.
• Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett. Oh, how I love the "Discworld" series. These books are expertly written parodies of sword & sorcery that still stay true to the tropes and functions of the genre it parodies. This one in particular made fun of Hollywood and popular culture. And I loved it.
• The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner. Part biography, part history of science (evolution), part science, and all rivetingly interesting. Everything from Darwin to a discussion of the arms race going on between bacteria and the makers of antibiotics.
• Kindred by Octavia Butler. An African-American woman keeps getting pulled back to pre-Civil War Maryland to save a white ancestor of hers. Engrossing commentary on race and politics and capitalism and gender and a bazillion other concepts.

As you can see, my reading ranges from works that are more ephemeral and fluffy to books that some consider part of the American canon. What's more - I checked every single one of these out from a library, which is as it should be. And for those of you who work at public libraries, you're likely nodding your head and thinking, "Of course! How is this even a question? Why are you even writing about it, Jessica?" I'm not really talking to you. 

I'm talking, instead, to the academic libraries that are still holding out from buying popular reading materials. First of all, it is an entirely defensible expense: People are writing academic discourse on Stephen King and Cormac McCarthy and Amy Tan and a bazillion other so called popular authors. In the past, Jane Austen and Shakespeare and Horatio Alger were all popular authors who have been studied again and again in the intervening years. I'm sure you have a popular culture scholar or two on your campus who would add their voice to your argument. Second, even if you are down the street from a public library (which is somewhat rare), why are you passing responsibility ignoring the needs and wants of your community? Third, the ability to sustain attention reading is a transferable skill. 

In my life before academia, I worked in a book store, and I'll never forget a conversation I had with a regular customer. I was talking about some piece of fluff I'd read recently, and then I berated myself for not reading "good" books more often. Her response was, "a 'good' book is the one you enjoy."

I know that we in academic libraries are supposed to support the scholarly record and the curriculum and the research needs of our communities, but shouldn't we also support the other needs of our patrons? Why are we shaming them about their interests in reading by leaving fun books out of our collections? Even if we aren't shaming them on purpose, it is still shaming. Besides, if we're trying to get people to value the library, shouldn't we be providing materials we know they will appreciate? Buy some good books.

Just For Fun: Fictional Librarians Revisited, or Oook!

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People who know me well, and therefore know that I'm unreasonably afraid of monkeys (it's an uncanny valley thing *shivers* erg), are probably going to be surprised when I tell you all that the Head Librarian of the Unseen University is my favorite fictional librarian. It's cool, though - he's an ape.

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Anyways, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the Head Librarian, Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork, and the Discworld in general... here's quick description from the same page as where I found the picture above:

"Transformed into an orangutan by a wayward beam of magic, the Librarian is a member of the small, elite group who have the knowledge and ability to travel through L-space. His true identity is unknown and he speaks only through a series of “ooks” and “eeks,” but he’s still a pretty low-key guy when he’s not protecting the world’s knowledge. Just don’t call him a monkey. Trust us on that one."

The Discworld series, by the sorely missed and dearly departed Terry Pratchett, is one of the finest examples of parody we have available. All the fantasy novel tropes - ALL. OF. THEM. - are held up for examination and destruction. The Librarian, in my opinion, is a take down and reexamination of the "noble savage" trope, but he's not noble. He's out to protect his own hide, the grimoires and other magical tomes in his care, and his pile of bananas. However, he is more in tune with the forces of magic than pretty much anyone you'll encounter in the Discworld novels. Or, at the very least, he's more wise and wary of them.

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He's not my favorite character in Discworld. That's probably Death, or maybe Granny Weatherwax. But when it comes to fictional librarians, this orangutan has got it all over the rest of them.

How about you? Do you have a favorite fictional librarian?

Just For Fun: You Remind Me of the Babe

Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City pic.twitter.com/cxS49RufW1

— Unhappily Ewa After (@EwaSR) July 28, 2017

This is another one of those "just for fun" posts that I have a hard time believing I haven't written yet. But I checked and double checked, and unless the goblins are rearranging my blog around me to hide a prior Labyrinth post, I really have neglected to write about one of my earliest media obsessions for 6 years of this blog. What?

So here I am to fill that obvious gap.

Let's start with the writing, which means talking about Terry Jones. I didn't think about this until much later, but I think Labyrinth was my gateway to Monty Python. I know MP predates this film, but I'm pretty sure it was the opposite order in my life. Regardless, there's something utterly enchanting and so right about the seriousness clothed in extreme goof that typifies Jones' writing. Gawd, how I love his writing, his imagination run amuck. Here, let me share some of my favorite moments:

That last line? Kills me every time.

"It's so stimulating being your head."

"You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is."


Then there's the characters. Even the minor characters are fully realized and distinct from each other. From Hoggle to Sarah to the Fireys. With the writing, we get Jones' imagination running wild. With the characters, it's Jim Henson.

Ludo is so lovely (seen here with Sarah)

I think Sir Didymus (and his mount, Ambrosius) are my favorites.

And all the variety of the goblins!

But I think the most important thing about Labyrinth, the thing that caused my obsession, was David Bowie as The Goblin King. Let's set aside, at least for now, the intensely problematic situation of an eons old man falling in love with and courting a 16 year old girl. David Bowie was amazing casting. I've watched and read some things about the making of this film, and Henson said that Bowie was their first choice for the role (although they thought about Michael Jackson as well).

As much as the creative minds behind Labyrinth might have imagined other people in this role, it could only have ever been David Bowie.

So how about you? What did you love (or even... *gasp* hate) about this movie?

Just for Fun: Death

No, this isn't a plea for help or even a "Suicide is Painless" kind of thing. Nope, I want to talk to you about fictional portrayals of death - namely, sharing my favorites. And which is my most favoritest of all of them? I don't even know. Ask me again tomorrow and I might have a different answer.

Anyway...

Death of the Endless (Mostly from the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman)

In this universe, the personifications of ideas have pretty much always been there. They are perceived differently by different species, but each of them - Destiny, Dream, Delirium (originally called Delight), Desire, Despair, Destruction, and Death - are essentially the same being throughout. Though  I love each of the Endless, I think Death is my favorite. She is never cruel, but is instead always kind. However, she is not to be denied. When she takes an extremely long lived person in the course of the story arc, and he starts to complain, Death responds, "You get what anybody gets - you get a lifetime."

Incarnations of Immortality

This series has a similar idea - that these abstract ideas are actually a person - but with a very different twist. The book about Death is the first in a series that also encompasses Time, Fate, War, Nature, The Devil, and God. (For those of you who've read the series - I refuse to acknowledge, except in passing, the book about Night.) In this series, these roles are jobs that each pass on in particular ways. Death has to kill the previous incarnation to get the job.

Discworld


I'm in the midst of a reread of the early books in this series. I had been putting it off for a while, not wanting to run out of Terry Pratchett books, but I did it for so long that I forgot enough details that I decided to start over. Regardless, I'll never forget how much I love Pratchett's Death. He is fascinated by humans, and cats, and is kind when needed but also ruthless when it is called for. One of my favorite things about him is that after a particularly nasty problem that caused a bunch of different little deaths to start roaming around, he reabsorbed all of them except Death of Rats.


So how about you? Do you have a favorite fictional portrayal of Death? What should I read or watch next?

Just For Fun: Yippie Kayak, Other Buckets

I know I'm late to this particular party, but wow I'm in love with this show. I'm going to try to write this with minimal spoilers, and as a result I'm not going to be able to write about some of my favorite things about the show.

My favorite thing about this show? How intersectional it is. There are two Hispanic women characters, Diaz and Santiago, and neither are a stereotype. Also two African American men, also not stereotypes. In fact, the only stereotypical cop behavior - donut eating anyone? - comes from two older, white men. Later on in the series, one of the characters says something like "I liked that movie up until the end when it got a bit transphobic." A character on a prime time, network television show that says the word "transphobic"? Sign me up. (One caveat: this series is fatphobic at times, but that's the only drawback for me.)

Another thing to love is that characters are allowed to grow and change. They are so relatable! The relationship between Amy Santiago and Jake Peralta is one, small example of this growth. I adore watching Gina grow up and yet not grow up. Some characters soften over time, and others harden (but in good ways). Even secondary characters have growth! Detective Lohank, anyone?

The fact that they don't shy away from hard issues also pleases me. Subjects like police brutality, racism, sexism, and homophobia are in the mix on a regular basis. Best part? The show also doesn't rely on stale and boring tropes to make these topics fit the comedy of the show... like the time there was a joke about same sex marriage, but the joke was that they were so worried it wouldn't stay legal that they rushed through the ceremony.

When I first announced on Twitter that I was going to watch this, someone (I don't remember who - sorry!) asked me to let them know my favorite running gag. I also have a couple of favorite characters to share:

Favorite running gag: Die Hard. Jake Peralta's obsession with this movie series is beyond over the top, and it reminds me so much of how obsessed I get about things - like Brooklyn Nine-Nine for instance. The title of this post comes from an episode where Jake's obsession gets to be the basis of an entire episode.

Favorite regular character: Captain Ray Holt. Here is a man who is open and honest about who he is - a gay, African American police officer - and does not let it stop him from going after his dreams. The moments when he can admit his own mistakes and grows as a result are some of my favorite moments in the series. I recently took a Buzzfeed quiz, "Which Brooklyn Nine-Nine Character Are You?" and even though I didn't game the quiz in the slightest, I got Holt as my result:

Favorite recurring character: Doug Judy. If you've watched this show, you can probably guess why I adore him. He's got charisma and charm and is all about playing into your stereotypical expectations while also flouting them. By the time I got to his most recent appearance on the show, I actually clapped when I saw him come on screen. And oh wow when he sings...


Okay, so if you already know this series, what's your favorite thing? And if you haven't watched it yet, have I convinced you to give it a go?

Just for Fun: Superheroes and Comics

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I'm taking a Smithsonian class through EdX right now: "The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact on Culture." Every online class I've ever taken has a requisite "introduce yourself" post at the beginning of the class, but they are usually kind of boring. This one, though, was so much fun to think about and to write that I thought I'd share it with you all:

Why did I decide to enroll in Superheroes? 

Because there's always more to learn, even though I've taught graphic novels and comic books and presented about using them in the classroom multiple times. Also: Stan Lee is one of the teachers.

What am I most excited about learning about?
The creative process behind the comic books. Rhetorical analysis and historical analysis and looking at comics as modern fairy tales, I've done. (Love thinking about how the theories of Jack Zipes apply to the changes in the big name heroes.) I'm trying to push myself to be more creative, too, so this fits perfectly.

What am I hoping to achieve in the course?
I'm coming into this class with limited expectations. Learning? Growing? Fun? I am really just taking this class for poops and giggles, even though it will likely look nice on my CV.

Who is my favorite superhero? Why?
GAH! How can one pick? My favorite comic book character isn't a superhero in the traditional sense. Usagi Yojimbo is my boy, but that's no surprise. I adore samurai films (especially Kurosawa) but I'm also a sucker for fierce animals. For a more traditional "superhero" pick, it's probably Hellboy. Sure, he's a demon, but he's always seemed more "real" to me than so many others. Also, Mike Mignola's art style resonates with me. There's a newer character of whom I'm fond but I don't know her as well yet: Zephyr (Faith Herbert). It's an oft heard refrain, but representation really matters. Seeing a rad fatty flying? Awesome.

Who are my all-time top 5 favorite superheroes? What is my favorite comic for each?
I don't like typical superheroes, but since I already discussed my real favorites above, I'm going to list 5 comics or graphic novels that I love that have mainstream superheroes:

• Batman in "Library of Souls." I'm a librarian, so anything library-esque catches my attention. And in this book, Batman has one of the most groaningly awful good lines I've ever seen: "He pulled out a Saturday Night Special. Too bad it was Friday night." 
• Any of the animal cyborgs in WE3 by Grant Morrison, but the bunny most of all. Using animals to show us our own mortality is brilliant, and the rabbit was perhaps the bravest of the group.
• Superman in The Wake by Neil Gaiman. That cracked, although not broken, fourth wall moment when he and Batman talk about nightmares where they are really actors playing themselves in a television show...? That moment has always stuck with me, and creative moments that stick feel like Art instead of art. 
• Death at any point in "The Sandman" series, but especially in The Kindly Ones when she comes to take her brother. Her kind but absolute honesty is so different from all of her siblings, and her ability to find joy in her life is inspiring. 
• And I know I promised to stick to traditional superheroes, but I can't not mention one of my newest favorite characters: Lying Cat. She may only be a supporting character in the plot of "Saga," but she feels to me like the voice of the series.

Who are some of my favorite authors and illustrators? Evan Dorkin, for sure. LOVE Beasts of Burden. Bryan Talbot, too. His storytelling ability slays me. Scott McCloud. His ability to teach by demonstrating in his works is amazing. Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba - I am always happy when I read their books. I don't even care what the story lines are, I know I'm going to love it. Gene Luen Yang (I don't remember this, but I've been told I squeaked when I met him in person). He's another artist/author with amazing storytelling skills. Jill Thompson... I was introduced to her drawing style in "The Sandman" series and try to follow her wherever she goes. Ursula Vernon. I wish I could live inside her art sometimes - so beautifully surreal. I could go on and on and on.

How do I engage with other comic fans in your local community and/or online?
I mostly don't engage in the local community, but I do go to the tiny comic con they have in my city every year. This year I'll even be presenting! On a panel with an English professor (at the college where I work) and an English teacher (at a local high school) about integrating comics into the curriculum. Online, I chat with friends and follow my favorite publishers (Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, Image) on Twitter so I can keep up with what's new.

So how about you?

Popular Culture in the Academic Library: Community Building

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When I was a fresh out of grad school librarian, I didn't realize that embracing popular culture things - I use "things" for lack of a better umbrella term - as outreach and community building was in anyway abnormal. 13+ years into my career, I know it was very unusual back then and is still sadly uncommon now. Here are some of the things I currently embrace and/or have embraced in the past:

1. Gaming events in the library. In the past I've hosted Humans vs. Zombies, a Super Smash Brothers tournament, and board game events at more than one library. The video game tournament wasn't as successful for relationship building, but every single other event I've listed was a huge success for the library. We got to know the students/faculty/staff of the school and they got to know us.
2. Graphic novel collections. My first library job in higher ed was at a college that specifically worked with students who have learning differences (ADHD/dyslexia/etc.). For so many of those students, and students I've worked with since, the library represented what they couldn't do well. Sequential art, on the other hand, uses different parts of the brain for processing than what we use for reading just words. My first graphic novel collection was a way to reach out to students and to get them in the library. It worked so well that I've created similar collections everywhere else I've worked.
3. Popular press fiction and nonfiction collections. I've been lucky to work with a lot of popular culture scholars in my library career. From the biomedical humanities professor who studied film to the Cormac McCarthy scholar and beyond, I was responsible for collecting works of and about popular appeal "things." That's the traditional reason for academic libraries to have such collections. But I saw the crossover appeal to pleasure reading/viewing/etc. in those collections at a school with no other source of books/movies/etc. in walking distance. 
4. Service to consortia. Two of my three library jobs in higher ed were at libraries that participated in large consortia: OhioLINK and Delaware Libraries. Smaller schools are typically net borrowers, so having popular music or movies or books can help even out the imbalance.
5. Board game collections. This is my most recent endeavor, and it's still fairly unusual for an academic library to have a circulating board game collection, but it's one of my favorite things I've done. It started out purely as an outreach maneuver. We have a group on campus called "Campus of the Nerds," and I was seeing them in the library a lot anyway. Creating the board game collection was a way to support a new student club, but it's also been a great tool for getting to know faculty and staff and other students. We've even gotten suggestions for board games to add, and getting any kind of request from our community is rare even when we solicit requests.

I know I've beaten this particular drum before, but it's a big thing for me. Community building is key to all libraries, and it's not just about the services we provide. Academic libraries of all makes and models could easily add these kinds of collections and this kind of outreach. You know what? Let me fix that sentence: all libraries should embrace these kinds of collections and outreach.

Just for Fun: 5000 Candles in the Wind

It's laughable, but at one point in the not too distant past I disliked Parks and Recreation. Of course now I know it's just that I disliked the first season (although even that makes me laugh now). It's laughable because I love this show so much that I made that cross stitch below for myself. 

What Would Leslie Knope Do?

I'm sure I'm preaching to the converted with this post, since I was late to the P&R game, however, I still want to share some of the things I love about this show. Be warned: thar be spoilers ahead!

Actual Positive Portrayals of Fat People
I mean, seriously, can we talk for a moment about how beautiful Retta is? And how they never use her size as a punchline? Also, can we talk about her fashion sense? And how sought after she was as a date? F'reals, she gets to marry Keegan-Michael Key. It doesn't get much better than that. And did you notice her wedding dress? Dang.

Relatable Characters
Once I realized how fantastic this show is, I tried to get everyone I know to watch it. I finally got my best friend to take the plunge by explaining that she is the Ann Perkins to my Leslie Knope. After my friend had watched a bit of the series, she admitted the comparison was dead on. I think the characters are as relatable as they are because the writers don't use all those tired tropes we've seen a bazillion times before.

P.S. Yes, I also made my best friend watch all 8 Harry Potter movies, but she did like them.

Making Fun of Librarians
It's part of being in this profession: everyone makes sure you know about popular culture representations of librarians. (Do other professions get that?) Usually when it happens it's a shushing nightmare of a stereotype, but in the case of Parks & Recreation, librarian representation is a good thing. A lot of librarians have taken to calling ourselves "punk ass book jockeys" in honor of this show.

So how about you? What's your favorite thing about the show? Megan Mullally? Ben's nerdery? Champion the tripod dog? Or is your favorite the same as mine: that people grow and change and evolve in this show in ways that make the characters feel like family.

Just For Fun: Movie Quote Lexicon

FREQUENTLY USED MOVIE QUOTES IN MY PERSONAL LEXICON ✚ https://t.co/TzAhXW1ELb

— Rebecca Schinsky (@RebeccaSchinsky) October 29, 2015

That tweet up there got me thinking about how often movie quotes work themselves into my lexicon. Some of them I use so much that I have occasionally forgotten where/how I started using them. I thought it would be fun to follow Rebecca's lead, and come up with a list of my most frequently used movie quotes. (I could probably write an equally lengthy post about language I've borrowed from books and another one about television shows, but not yet.)

"It must be indicative of something besides the redistribution of wealth."

This quote is from one of my all time favorite movies (that was based on a play by Tom Stoppard): Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I used it as shorthand for things that don't make sense but feel like they should make sense. And let's be honest: in higher ed and libraries, that feeling comes up a lot.

"This ain't my first time at the rodeo!"

When I tell people that I quote Mommie Dearest on the regular, everyone always thinks wire hangers. How is that useful in everyday conversation, huh? On the other hand, I have frequent opportunity to respond to someone who thinks I'm a newb when I'm not. What better way to express that than...

"It's a moral imperative."

Real Genius is one of my favorite movies from the 1980s. Like many movies from that era, I know it practically by heart. There are lots of other times I quote this fantastically 80s movie, but this comes up most often.

This quote comes up when I'm trying to talk someone into something they really want to do anyway.

"Who the f*** are you, man?"

There are so very many quotes from The Big Lebowski that are part of what I say daily. That comes up most often, but I've also been known to say:

"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."

"Obviously you're not a golfer."

"You're not wrong, Walter. You're just an a**hole."

"Hey, nice marmot!"

But the most frequent quote is definitely from the scene where The Dude meets Knox Harrington. It's a useful internal dialogue I have with myself when random vendors cold call me.

"So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."

One of the all time most quotable movies, am I right? Caddyshack is also a guaranteed cheer up, feel good movie, even with all the misogyny and classism.

That line, though. So useful in so many circumstances, but most especially helpful when things are kinda crappy and I'm trying to make a joke of it.

So how about you? What movie quotes do you use regularly?

First Thursday's Just For Fun: A Mighty Princess

About a month ago, I read an op-ed piece that made the rounds on social media, "My Life as a Warrior Princess." I was a huge fan of Xena back in the day, and that op-ed piece reminded me not only of my love of the show, but also of all the reasons why. After reading that NYT piece, I felt inspired to start rewatching it. The fact that Netflix has the entire series available on streaming made it all a reality. And, being me, I've also been live-tweeting my viewing:

The bad guy bird warrior things have costumes that look worthy of classic Who. #xena #whenfandomscollide
— Jessica Olin (@olinj) September 18, 2013

"These things are never easy." Gabrielle just explained every plot ever on #Xena.
— Jessica Olin (@olinj) September 12, 2013

Don't trust that wooden horse! Didn't you see the large wooden rabbit bit in Holy Grail?! #maybealargewoodenbadger #Xena
— Jessica Olin (@olinj) September 28, 2013

Beyond how snark-able and MST3K-able the show is (always done with a love of the show in mind), here are some of the other things I love about this show:

• Delicious anachronisms;
• Over the top acting;
• Strong feminist story lines. 

I even changed my Twitter profile to reflect part of the intro: "She was Jessica, a mighty librarian forged in the heat of battle."

How about you? What's your favorite thing about Xena? (And if you don't like Xena, why not?)

First Thursday's Just For Fun: Beer!

I am a librarian and I must, by law I believe, love wine and/or craft beer. Wine doesn't like me much, but that's okay because craft beer loves me, and I love it back.

There are many I adore, and I'm always finding new ones to love. But in the interests of keeping this to a readable length, I've only listed three. The beers you see below are off the top of my head:

HopDevil IPA by Victory

This is definitely my favorite IPA.

Description from the brewery: "Bold, spicy and Menacingly Delicious™, this American hopped India Pale Ale offers an aromatic punch and then follows through with a lasting, full-bodied finish provided by quality German malts."

Raison D'Etre by Dogfish Head

I could drink this beer every day, all day, in the winter.

Description from the brewery: "A deep mahogany, Belgian-style brown ale brewed with beet sugar, raisins and Belgian-style yeast."

Lucky 7 by Evo

I was introduced to this one recently, and it was love at first sip. Super local (they are located in Salisbury, Maryland) as far as I know, but if you're anywhere nearby, definitely get some of this delish beer.

Description from the brewery: "Black with garnet highlights, this porter is rich and full flavored with notes of chocolate, coffee and smoke playing off the sweeter toffee and dark dried fruit tones."



So, how about you? Do you have a favorite craft beer?

By the way, if you didn't already know it, Jake Berg - who has written for this blog in the past - is one of the people behind DC Beer, a beer blog that is well worth your attention if you don't already read it.