We all want our collections to look great, be up to date, and of interest to our communities, but sometimes collection maintenance can be difficult because we don’t have enough visual cues to help us know the difference between purge and review. That’s where Awful Library Books, a blog by two Michigan public librarians Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner steps in to save the day!
From Awful Library Books:
Awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com is a collection of the worst library holdings. The items featured here are so old, obsolete, awful or just plain stupid that we are horrified that people might be actually checking these items out and depending on the information.
This blog contains actual library holdings. No specific libraries or librarians are named to protect the guilty. Check your shelves, it could be you.
So what does a truly awful library book look like? Imagine you were a young person assigned or told by a friend to read Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl, and when your hold copy arrived you came to the library to find this!
From Awful Library Books: RIP Anne Frank
Yuck!
IMHO, anyone working with collections in a public library should consider making Awful Library Books a daily stop on their blogroll. You can help Mary and Holly keep their blog fresh by sending photos of awful library books. Here’s more information about how you can help. And remember Mary and Holly won’t reveal the library name the item came from.
posting by jim
posting by jim
4 responses so far ↓
Jackie // May 28, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Isn’t this a fun blog? I read every single entry sometime last week (clearly I need a life). Go Michigan!
Jim McCluskey // May 28, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Jackie, is that a subtle dig about your Red Wings throwing my Blackhawks out of the Stanley Cup playoffs?
Jackie // May 28, 2009 at 1:15 pm
No, no, not at all…. *runsaway*
Anne // May 28, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I’ve been following this one for a few days now too…
*shudders*