Jessy Randall's Blog, page 19

Lena Dunham student film at the Oberlin library

Lena Dunham’s student film “Pressure,” filmed in the Oberlin library when she was 19 (so, about 2005). I don’t know if she got permission to film in the library. I’m guessing not.

loud eating in the library

I must confess, this one made me laugh out loud, somewhat against my will. Seeing someone take big bites out of a head of lettuce would probably be funny in any context, but it’s especially funny in a library.

We think this may have been filmed at UCCS, which suggests that the pranksters could make Colorado College their next pranking site. Not sure if that makes me happy or worried. Thanks, Steve Lawson!

did you mean goddesses for biscuit?

Damn You Auto Suggest brings together outlandish “did you mean…” responses from library catalogs. Send them a screen shot! But I doubt you can beat “did you mean goddesses for biscuit?”. Thanks, Steve Lawson!

Rupert Giles’s library school classes

If you’ve been looking for a list of library school classes that prepare you for being a Watcher to a Slayer, look no further. Thanks, Shanon Lawson!

amazing library cake

Kathy Knaus made this cake for someone called Sarah. I await further information and will share it if I get it. Thanks, Tabitha Dial!

card catalog shenanigan

I have categories for library shenanigans perpetrated by students, staff, and animals. This one is perpetrated by ghosts. It’s the New York Public Library card catalog frenzy in Ghostbusters.

Watch out! We’ve got some science over here!

Here’s a shenanigan that makes new use of the Neil deGrasse Tyson meme. Nobody seems to know what library did this, but perhaps a Library Shenanigans reader will recognize the ceiling or the rug? Thanks, Diane Westerfield, for calling this to my attention!

Hombre McSteez’s aug(de)mented reality

Hombre McSteez uses an unusual stop-motion technique to make wonderful short videos. Check out the library shenanigan at the 1:03 minute mark:

Thanks, Suzie DeGrasse!

library check-out card t-shirts

Seems like it would be even cooler if these check-out card t-shirts from had a bunch of names scrawled on them, though maybe that would look obscene or braggy (“look how many people have checked me out!”).

Hey wait, I see that if you go to the Shopjustwish site you can pay $5 and get an author, title, and name added! Awwright! What book would you want on your t-shirt?

Thanks, Steven Kotok!

a quiet prostitute in the library

Libraries provide a great many unofficial services we don’t learn about in library school. According to a recent news story, a woman in Nashua, New Hampshire has been arrested for solicitation in the Tewksbury Public Library. She and the undercover detective communicated using written notes so as not to disturb the library patrons. Yay?

The public comments on this story are predictably amusing. I’ll share a couple of non-public comments made to me:

“Was she on the library staff? I only ask because so many library workers find it necessary to supplement their incomes by taking on second jobs.”

“I get the impression that [college and university libraries] they are among the most favored places for assignations. However, with the increased use of motorized compact shelving I worry about unwary ‘patrons’ being crushed.”

Thanks, Megan Lewis!