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Feb 12, 2008

Melissa rated it:

I've never met the author of this book; never been to his library, never even heard of him, but I am willing to swear to his honesty and authenticity: Everything you read in it is true. Fecal-covered dildoes tossed into the bookdrop? Oh yeah, not surprising. Punk-assed kids using the library as a base of operations for god-knows what? All in a schoolday's work. People refusing to be held accountable for their fines? People falling in love? Perverts exposing themselves? Housewives attacking each More...

3 comments like (14 people liked it)

Feb 24, 2008

Gale rated it:

When I tell people I work in a library, they say "What a nice quiet job" or "It must be nice to read all day".

I'm going to hand them this book and tell them this is what my job is REALLY like. Working with the public in a library is more like working as a mediator, a security guard, a psychologist, a baby sitter, a computer expert or a counselor, none of which most of us have degrees or experience in. And oh yes, now and then we get to answer a few informational q More...

3 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2008

Rolf rated it:

Librarians and library workers will find no surprises in this book other than a satisfaction that they are not alone. Library users on the other hand may be alternately fascinated, repelled, and touched by the stories that Mr. Borchert relates, as he delves into the kind of things that really go on in public libraries.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 16, 2008

Robert rated it:

The book is told from the point of view of the author, Don Borchert, who is a library assistant at a California public library. Each chapter focuses on either a different aspect of the library world, a different issue a library may face, or a different staff position. There didn't seem to be too much of an order to the chapters, it just kind of jumped from one topic to another, which I didn't mind at all. Some of the stories are funny, some are heart-wrenching, and others are just plain aggrava More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2008

Cheryl rated it:

Yes, I can relate to the lingo and overall unpredictable atmosphere of the public library that Borchert describes, but just a plain 'ol memoir without analysis on how to cope with or improve the system is plain 'ol boring for me. I don't want to get hierarchical over job titles but I'm miffed that the book is marketed as a "mild mannered librarian tell[ing] all" and that's not the case; Borchert is not a librarian, has no interest in getting a library degree, and doesn't come off as be More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2007

Emily rated it:

This book was mildly amusing. The point of view was just really white-guy, though. It makes sense due to Borchert's being a white guy, but still, the overtones of sexism and amaaaaaaazement at other cultures disappointed me. Also, I don't think public librarians are a great audience for this book, which is funny; it's like, oh, you got war stories, huh. So do I and I've been working in the PL for less than 6 months. Yawn.

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2008

Jen rated it:

I just didn't like the writer's tone; I felt like he was trying overly hard to shock and dismay. It's hard enough keeping up your own morale sometimes, and to go home and read about all the negative aspects of library work from a bitter cranky guy seems defeating. Also he complained about kids and teens a lot, which bugged me - I don't think he ever called them "hooligans" but he came close.

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 26, 2008

Meredith rated it:

I imagine I'm reacting to this book with a mixture of what all the other public librarians who have read it (and who else is interested in reading it, really?) have said about it. There are parts of it that had me nodding, saying "oh yeah, I've been there"...and I was touched in some places but the earnest care Borchert brings to the job, felt empathy for his bafflement at the certain ways in which the system perpetuates illogical procedures. In all, it was a nice little book. A ram More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jun 15, 2008

Yosafbridg rated it:

sounds somewhat more interesting than it actually is…

(i, at least, have managed to bite my tongue before the curse words actually emerge, or at least muttered them under my breath)
Free for All: oddballs, geeks, and gangstas in the public library is a book that i saw somewhere and thought would be somewhat entertaining (i, like many others like me, snap up those tales of libraries and bookstores for the camaraderie, relatability, or something like that.) Dan Borchert
“was More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 30, 2008

Holly rated it:

In my experience, any time you put a bunch of library staff in a room together, no matter what the purpose -- meeting, holiday party, professional conference, anything -- eventually the conversation will turn towards weird patron stories. This book reads like a compendium of one library worker's entire career's worth of weird patron stories: the really hilarious, really unbelievable stuff that gets framed into biting yet quasi-treasured anecdotes and then passed around to others to blow off ste More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 05, 2008

Audrey rated it:

While this quasi-memoir definitely had its moments, I think it lacked the depth that would have made for a memorable and more meaningful story. As a librarian, I can appreciate the descriptions of crazy happenings at his workplace, and I think he made the most of some funny situations. It's too bad he didn't dig a little deeper, explore some characters or relationships more, or try to tie some things together in the second half of the book.

I was also annoyed that, even though he app More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 12, 2008

Trishia rated it:

My recent phase of reading books about books/book-related topics began with this memoir of a library assistant's experience in a California public library. The book starts off with a great quote about why we read as well as a few surprising stories about the happenings at the author's workplace, including an "unexpected discovery" found between books that had been dropped off. Also, I found myself laughing out loud at the author's commentary. To my disappointment, halfway through, t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 09, 2008

Hadley rated it:

This book had some genuinely funny moments, but overall the experience of reading it was like talking to someone with severe ADD. Some reviews of this book have criticized the author's lack of credentials, but I just think his writing could use some serious work. There was a lot of rambling and many moments that tried to be funny that were just...not. Maybe there aren't enough memoirs of public library employees in existence, because most of the reviews I've seen of this book have been positive, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2008

Sean rated it:

This is more a book about what it's like to work at a library, and less about the oddball patrons as promised in the title. Still, the book has a lot going for it, including the fact that the author is a much better writer than I expected. I did expect more in the way of crazy stories, especially for a California library. The patrons are surprisingly tame compared even to the smalltown library where I work. I have stories that would make Borchert's weirdest patrons seem relatively harmless. High More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 03, 2007

Catherine rated it:

Borchert gives an interesting blow-by-blow account of the happenings and mishaps in the branch library where he serves as an assistant librarian. He covers everything from the culture of working in a civil service position, to irate library patrons, to what happens to all of those books that are donated to the library. His writing was very easy to read, with a warm, conversational style. I have a particular familiarity to his branch since I lived in the same area and frequented that library f More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 24, 2008

Julia rated it:

I value this author for his candor and think he does a lovely job revealing the dark underbelly of the library world. The book seems a good balance of the virtues and vices of the public library - what could have easily turned into a biblio bitch-fest is softened by stories of latch-key kids and off-beat patrons that are more than their quirks.

As to the debate surrounding "is he a real librarian?" Borchert has done his tour of duty long enough to capture the nuances of p More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 02, 2009

Barky rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Oct 30, 2010

Cornmaven rated it:

This a really a memoir and not necessarily a treatise about libraries, although that does filter in. I was disappointed in this fact, because the title implies otherwise. I think my husband thought the same, because he bought me the book.

Too many times the author moves to a different topic, spending way too much time describing his vacation in Hawaii, when the chapter was supposed to be about the problem of taking vacation when you work in a library, or a long story about the makeu More...

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Jul 15, 2010

ICPL added it

Ok, so maybe a book about working in a public library isn’t for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Borchert works in a branch of a suburban public library in southern California and his tales of the trials and tribulations are often entertaining and sometimes heartwarming and even frightening. He is a front line worker, dealing with the public at their best and worst. There are encounters with them when they have fines, act in inappropriate ways or view the library as a home away from hom More...

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Apr 11, 2008

David rated it:

I loved this, and I actually think that someone who doesn't work in a library might love it, too. There's such a nice understated sense of humor about it - just sort of the right balance of self-mockery and heart - a voice I will always associate with Max Miller's "I Cover the Waterfront." A book I would have liked to have written, and an attitude I aspire to, rather than the library-pious 'tude that is so easy to adopt in our line of work.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Stacy rated it:

i almost threw this book across the room when the author wondered why libraries were mainly staffed by women - he thought perhaps it was because all of the men went off to WWII. so you're writing a book about the library and you didn't bother to do any research? you didn't bother to find out that the first library schools were all-female? you didn't bother to do any reading about Dewey and the establishment of library schools and how Dewey felt it was a perfect profession for college-educated wo More...

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Apr 29, 2008

Patricia rated it:

While a true account of the various happenings, trials, and tribulations of working in a public library, this book barely skims the surface. I expected to laugh, cry, wince, or snicker much more than I did - I know first-hand what library life is like and the author left out a lot. But, for someone who isn't an insider, it's a decent if skimpy introduction to the "quiet" (HA!) life of a public librarian.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 29, 2009

Ashley rated it:

I have mixed feelings on this book - on one hand, I think Borchert does a phenomenal job describing what an amazing resource a library can be and the power of books. But on the other hand, this isn't the tell-all book I thought it would be. It's part memoir of his work in a library and part commentary on the state of various topics such as latchkey kids, race relations, and public schools. But the commentary is very rarely spoken outright; oftenimes it's more implied.

At any rate, som More...

0 comments like

Jan 08, 2008

Chloe rated it:

As a public librarian, the anecdotes in the book felt a little too familiar to me. I suppose that speaks to the authenticity of the author's voice, but really, I could have just been sitting at my desk in the back room, listening to my male co-worker talk about his day. My husband got a kick out of it though, so maybe this book is a better read for non-librarians.

0 comments like

Jan 30, 2008

Leslie rated it:

The title of this book is the perfect way to describe a public library! So, based on the title alone I had high hopes for this book. While I can appreciate all of the stories presented here simply because I am a public librarian, I thought it would be funnier. There were a few laugh out loud moments, but for the most part I was not all that impressed.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 14, 2011

David rated it:

Very engaging book about his stint working in a public library in Los Angeles. Funny, but not lighthearted, if that makes sense. Author is by his own admission a wise-ass, and cynical about bureaucracies and such, so on one level it's a workplace nonsense expose of a type that I'm sure could be and has been written about many other types of workplaces.

But it's also a poignant account of the cast of characters he encounters among the library patrons. Under-supervised kids who kill ma More...

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Sep 08, 2008

Iroquois rated it:

Ha, this dude was hilarious! He works in an LA library as a library assistant. It's the best job description of working in a public library ever. There are some sad anecdotes, but mostly it was bust-out-loud laughing stories that capture the patrons & public library stuff flawlessly. AND @ the end there's selected reading:)

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 14, 2011

Khairul H. rated it:

Mildly amusing but that's about it. Borchert merely relives his experiences working in a public library and the many people he encounters in his work. He isn't a qualified librarian and doesn't have a degree in Library Science. He chose to be one because he needed a job after a period of unemployment and chose to work in the civil service because you cannot get fired from a government job unless you're really a moron and sometimes not even then.

The basic premise of this book is this: l More...

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Jan 02, 2008

Brenda rated it:

Unfortunate that this guy corroborates so many negative stereotypes about libraries and librarians. His attitude toward unions is also distressing especially when there are so many fine, protective organizations out there. Some of the scenarios are mildly amusing, but on balance, not a book I would recommend.

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Feb 13, 2008

LaJuan rated it:

I enjoyed reading this primarily because working in a library myself, you can relate to many of the situations that the author discusses. I was a little put off by some of the generalizations the author made about his patrons, but overall it's good light reading!

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