Thursday, April 12, 2012

Awesome Blog Highlights Awful Library Books

At some point, every one of us has come across a ridiculously out-of-date book at the library, whether at the school library or the public library. For me, it was a 1970 copy of Julius Fast's Body Language, discovered yellowing at my school library...nearly 30 years after its publication date.

"Why is this still here?" From the shelf of my school's library.
image source: http://www.antiqbook.com

Such books should have been weeded out a long time ago. But they weren't, which is fortunate for Mary and Holly, two public librarians in Michigan who started a blog to highlight these often hilarious (and sometimes horrible) holdings. Their blog, Awfullibrarybooks.net, features more than 200 pages of questionable, campy, or just plain creepy books that were found at public libraries.


A guide to hippies for the 21st-century library patron.
image source: awfullibrarybooks.net

"These books and other materials represent the worst in public library holdings. We all know about a quality collection and the necessity of weeding materials, but please! There is really no excuse for ANY public library to maintain these items," say Mary and Holly in the first post on their blog. The libraries that these odd items are from are mercifully not mentioned by name. But I'm grateful that anonymous library workers and patrons where sharp enough to spot them and had the sense (and sense of humor) to submit them to Awfullibrarybooks.net for the amusement of "librarians, bibliophiles and lovers of nostalgia."

2 comments:

  1. That strangely looks a lot like "The Hipster Handbook." It seems like times never change. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400032016/hipsterhandbo-20

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  2. Wow, it sure does! Great comparison, Rudie (and thanks for becoming a follower of Bound)!

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