In the Stacks: Short Stories about Libraries and Librarians

by Michael Cart

Here, in one volume, noted author and librarian Michael Cart has assembled a fascinating collection of twentieth century short fiction about libraries and from such classics as Borges's "The Library of Babel" and Isaac Babel's "The Public Library," to such contemporary gems as John Cheever's "Trouble of Marcie Flint" and Lorrie Moore's "Community Life." Love, lunacy, obsession, and the joy of reading come together in a collection that readers, booksellers, and librarians would agree is long overdue.

Genres: Short Stories, Books About Books, Fiction, Anthologies, Unfinished, Library Science, Adult

268 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Former Director of the Beverly Hills (CA) Public Library and a Past President of the Young Adult Library Services Association, Michael Cart is a nationally recognized expert in children's and young adult literature. Now a columnist and reviewer for ALA's Booklist magazine, he is the author or editor of eight books, including From Romance to Realism, a critical history of YA literature; MY FATHER'S SCAR, a young adult novel that was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and the anthology LOVE AND SEX: Ten Stories of Truth, also a Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

Michael teaches young adult literature at UCLA and is the recipient of the 2000 Grolier Foundation Award. He lives in northern California.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a library dork. I eat, sleep & work library, so of course, I had to read this book of short stories about libraries and librarians. So many good stories but my favorite was "Exchange" by Ray Bradbury. It gave me such a sweet sadness; it is a beautiful story. After I read that story I had to just close the book & let the feelings wash over me. It's a rare author that can make you feel precisely what he wants you to. Ohhhh....Ray Bradbury has become one of my favorite authors.

Many other wonderful authors included in this are Ursula K. LeGuin; Francine Prose; Alice Munro; Saki & many others I didn't know. This book is varied in authors, who vary in nationality & era. Another good thing is that each story is different genre. Some are mysteries, some are political commentary, some are romantic, some are romanesque. "QL 696.C9" by Anthony Boucher is a memorable little murder mystery.

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Short Stories About Libraries and Librarians" - How could I pass that up?
Well, I didn't!
However, overall, I have to say this collection was good, but not awe-inspiring. Too many of the stories merely featured libraries or librarians, rather than having something to say *about* them. The collection as a whole didn't give me any particular sense of cohesiveness.

A general in the library /Italo Calvino
A very short story, well-crafted, about the unintended effect a library has on the soldiers assigned to censor its holdings.

The phoenix /Ursula K. LeGuin
A re-read; this appeared in LeGuin's collection: The Compass Rose. A nice companion to the Calvino piece; it also takes place in a country at war. A woman risks her life to save the librarian across the street. But his views are frustratingly ambiguous. Lovely and thought-provoking, like all of LeGuin's work.

Gloss on a decision of the Council of Nicaea /Joanne Greenberg
A librarian joins a protest about African-Americans not being allowed to use the public library due to segregation; and ends up in a jail cell with several black women, one of whom is particularly hostile to her. A deft commentary on the complexity of race relations.

Miss Vincent /Maria Dabrowska
A completely incompetent librarian needs to be fired - but the woman in charge finds it harder to accomplish than it ought to be.

Who is it can tell me who I am? /Gina Berriault
A homeless man asks if he can sleep in the library, and the librarian, unsurprisingly, tells him he cannot. Add some philosophy. I didn't find this one very memorable.

The public library /Isaac Babel
More of a vignette than a story, describing a library in Russia.

Community life /Lorrie Moore
Although a library is in the story, this is a story about a horrible relationship, and the woman who feels trapped in it, partially because of her status as an immigrant. I didn't enjoy it.

The cobweb /Zona Gale
Again, although one of the sisters in this story runs a library of sorts, the story is about the relationship between the two sisters, not about the library. Again, didn't love it.

The retirement party /Lisa Koger
A librarian with no desire to ever have been a librarian, after 20 years in the same position, is attending the retirement of her superior. No one realizes how trapped she feels, and how little of life she has experienced. people praise her for caring for her ailing father, not realizing how it has destroyed her life. Eh. I had no sympathy for the woman.

Summer librarian /Sue Kaufman
Again, although the protagonist is a part-time librarian, the story is about a relationship... she is pursued by a boy she thinks is too young for her, but he's awfully persistent... and awfully handsome. I thought it was really sweet.

QL 696.C9 /Anthony Boucher
This library murder mystery would probably be found to be more clever by people who are not actually familiar with cataloging systems.

Ed has his mind improved /Walter R. Brooks
You know, I never knew that the talking horse, Mr. Ed, was a literary figure before he starred in his own TV show. Well, he was, and this is one of the stories, in which the horse develops a passion for reading Westerns. Funny, and historically interesting.

The tractate middoth /M.R. James
A most excellent and spooky classic horror story. I love pretty much anything with a cursed manuscript, and this one really delivered. Good fun.

The story of St. Vespaluus /Saki
A peer tells his friend, a Baroness, the story of the fictitious St. Vespaluus, a hypocritical heir. Very good. You can read it here: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-sto...

The trouble of Marcie Flint /John Cheever
A woman with a really crappy husband, who lives in a town with no library, has an affair with a man who argues (in vain) in favor of opening a library. Again, the focus is one the relationship, not the library (or the potential thereof.)

Rubber life /Francine Prose
A librarian develops a crush on a patron, and starts reading all of the books he checks out. An affair begins... but a ghost unexpectedly interferes... A little odd, but not bad.

Hard-luck stories /Alice Munro
Some old friends get together for lunch and gossip about affairs and such. Annoying people. Not my kind of thing.

Exchange /Ray Bradbury
An excessively sentimental, but extremely effective story. A soldier comes home on leave, but none of his friends are there to greet him. But he visits the public library, where the librarian remembers him from boyhood, and they take a trip down memory lane together, with the help of the books...

The library of Babel /Jorge Luis Borges.
A re-read. Classic speculative piece about a Universe that is also a library.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you love libraries and have a genuine fondness for the hard-working, knowledgable folks who keep libraries accessible and exciting, you should avoid this book. For the record, I do not care for the short-story genre, but these seemed particularly distasteful with their stereotyping and dismissive attitudes. Boucher and Bradbury and, perhaps, Greenberg rescued the collection form a one-star rating.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting a cute book with a cute gimmick, a book with stories about librarians. What librarian wouldn’t buy that? I was surprised to find lots of good stories, stories that would have been good whether the main character was a librarian or a garbage collector. Favorites were stories by John Cheever, Saki, and Walter R. Brooks.

[whimsicalmeerkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad as far as themed short story collections go. I was unable to read all of the book before having to return it to the library, but enjoyed what I did read. I particularly liked "The Phoenix" by Ursula K. LeGuin, and, for entirely different reasons, "Ed Has His Mind Improved." Overall, interesting book.

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but only 4 stories out of 19 were any good

[Jordan Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, really wanted to like this one and it was just tough. Some stories were gripping and page turners and others were........well.......not like that at all. Quick read though and worth picking up if you got a beach chair, a beach, and a lot of sun and nothing else to do like I did the day I read this book.
#forMarkita

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
The theme of this short story collection is libraries and librarians, but the content was fairly uneven in quality. A short biography of each author was included at the end, but I think it should have been included either before or after the actual story, to give you a feeling for the time period and place the author is coming from.

My favorite story was 'Who Is It Can Tell Me Who I Am?' by Gina Berriault, about a San Francisco librarian encountering a homeless person who discusses the poems he has read and copied down onto scraps of paper that he keeps.

I also enjoyed 'Exchange' by Ray Bradbury about a man who returns to the library of his childhood to thank the librarian for letting him explore the many worlds of books.

'Rubber Life' by Francine Prose had a small town librarian become enthralled with the book choices of a patron and start reading all the books as he returns them.

And the oddest was 'Ed has His Mind Improved by Walter Brooks, since I had no idea that the concept of Mr Ed the talking horse was based on a series of stories.

I found the John Cheever entry 'The Trouble of Marcie Flint' irritating in the sexist and classist attitudes.

[Jerry Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

People sneaked looks at the title of this book as I rode the El, and then looked up at me with pity in their eyes. Clearly I was the most boring man they had ever encountered on the train. Well, the hell with them. I really enjoyed the book.
The authors range widely: Italo Calvino, Ursula LeGuin, Isaac Babel,John Cheever, Ray Bradbury. And Alice Munro, of course. The law requires any short story collection to to include at least one by Munro. Or it should.As with any such collection of authors, appeal varies. While they are all good writers there are simply styles I prefer over others. Should I admit that I didn't know Lisa Koger? Was everyone else familiar with her? Well, I'm familiar now and hope to read more of her soon. The same kind of quiet insights and exquisite description that you see in the best writers.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first few stories in this book, but they dropped into the mediocre soon after-- possibly because they all began to feature glum lady librarians who were unsatisfied with their lives. Still, I probably would have given it another star if it weren't for all the typos. They got really, really distracting.

Favorites:
Italo Calvino, "A General in the Library"
Ursula K. LeGuin, "The Phoenix"
Joanne Greenberg, "Gloss on a Decision of the Council of Nicaea"
Gina Berriault, "Who is it Can Tell Me Who I Am?"
Anthony Boucher, "QL 696.C9"
M. R. James, "The Tractate Middoth"

[Mellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. A few of the stories were a bit boring and gloomy. But most were worth reading. I read the book for a class, looking for stereotypes of librarians. Otherwise I don't think I would have noticed how the stereotype of the middle-aged, white, spinster librarian is used in several of the stories to represent the institution of the library; I also thought that male librarians represented some broad idea of knowledge.

[Kristi Hovington · Rating 5 out of 5]

a book edited by a librarian about libraries and/or librarians?!? my partner saw this on my nightstand and laughed, remarking "this book is like you finding a unicorn on a hike through the forest." this, among many other reasons, is why i love her.

what a lovely collection of stories that all center around books or people who love books!! I didn't want it to end.

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I would try reading some short stories, and now I remember that they just don't really work for me. I need something more massive. I really liked a few of these, especially one which hinged on deciphering an LC call number. Otherwise, just meh.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the selection of short stories presented here, and the order they were in, although some of them weren't really about libraries, and using them was a bit of a stretch. My personal favorites were The Story of St. Vespaluus, A General in the Library, and The Library of Babel (which interestingly was made into reality online!). I'll try now to review them all individually, but I might forget the details of some, since I read one a day.
A General in the Library: A great start, a very humorous short story about the value of information against totalitarian states. I enjoyed the ending, and the sense of community built in the library.
The Phoenix: A little confusing at first, but very poignant, about why a woman saved a man, as she struggles to make sense of who he is, and why anyone does anything.
Gloss on a Decision of the Council of Nicaea: I enjoyed the comparisons to medieval religious history, and the complexities of the jail cell. This story was incredibly well-written, as was the main character's progression to understanding the decision of the council.
Miss Vincent: I don't remember this story very well, but I remember finding the dynamic between Natalie and Miss Vincent very interesting!
Who is it can Tell me Who I am?: An interesting piece about assumptions and responsibility, with a tragic ending.
The Public Library: An interesting picture, of very realistic librarygoers with a very shocking contrast at the end.
Community Life: I don't remember this story well, but the way Olena did and did not share information about herself with people was interesting.
The Cobweb: The relationship between the two sisters was interesting, relating to pride and feelings of superiority, but the story wasn't really about a library or librarian.
The Retirement Party: I loved how this story conveyed the protagonist's feelings of being stuck, and her relationship to the two other librarians who worked with her. At the end, I could see how she saw her entire life from that moment, recieving the promotion cemented her into becoming her superior.
Summer Librarian: I'm torn about this one! On one hand, the writing was fascinating, as was the progression of the protagonist and her views towards the kid who came into the library and the library itself, but on the other hand, the ending and the entire premise made me deeply uncomfortable.
QL.696.C9: Given that this is in a book about libraries, it was pretty obvious what the clue was pointing towards, but the exposition about Noble's life felt a little unncessary. I'd like to look into some more of his works though, I love a good detective story!
Ed has his Mind Improved: A really funny story about a horse learning how to read. I enjoyed how people reacted to Ed, especially the fact that he only wanted to read Westerns.
The Tractate Middoth: I wish there'd been a little more buildup to the romance at the end, but this was a great story, and I enjoyed the suspense throughout, and the setting.
The Story of St. Vespaluus: Absolutely hilarious! I loved this story, from the dialogue between the baroness and poet to the hilarious ending, and the actual reason for his surviving the bees. I'd love to read more of Saki's writing!
The Trouble of Marcie Flint: Not really about libraries, more about Marcie Flint, but she was an interesting protagonist, although I wish the book had ended on her and not her husband, despite it matching the beginning.
Rubber Life: An interesting story, especially the part about her reading his books, and how much of an invasion of privacy that felt like. I don't remember much about this story.
Hard-Luck Stories: Perfectly captured the feeling of wanting to run away with your friends, and begin anew, to feel young and free.
Exchange: A simple but sweet story about a man returning to his hometown and finding only one place unchanged. I thought it was a little cheesy, but I enjoyed it.
The Library of Babel: I read this months ago and still think about it, of all the possibility and near infiniteness must be in that building. Not only is the concept great, but the writing, and descriptions of reactions to the situation are just as fascinating.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and it introduced me to a number of authors to look into!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

:) The librarian's mindset is very obvious in the selections made for this book - striving to capture a diversity of genres, countries, and time periods, and letting readers form their own conclusions, rather than trying to present a coherent narrative. It was an interesting lens to view the variety of ways that libraries and librarians are perceived. I was especially interested to see the very different ways that male and female librarians were portrayed.

I'll confess the first half was a bit dull, but I loved the last half. I should also mention that the copyediting was pretty bad on this one.

3.5 stars. I think this one is more appealing to librarians than library lovers, although the Ray Bradbury story is sentimental in all the right ways for those of us that consider the library an important part of our development.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, a bit of an uneven collection. There were a few stories that I (a retired children's services librarian) could not relate to as a librarian. The characters just did not seem very real to me. Other stories were more relatable. I especially liked "Ed Has His Mind Improved" by Walter R. Brooks (also author of the Freddy the Detective stories for children). This Ed is Wilbur's talking horse, of course, who learns to read, and prefers mysteries. In fact, the TV show of the 1960s was inspired by Brooks' several "Ed" stories. I also really liked Anthony Boucher's short mystery "QL696C9." I also liked that I was able to figure out "who dunnit." Boucher was the inspiration for Bouchercon. So, some stories I really liked, and others that I just found odd.

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an anthology of stories about libraries- why is no one commenting that the editor is Michael CART?
CART!!!!!!!CART!!!!!!!!

I did not enjoy the first couple of stories and was disappointed because what a great idea.

I loved
The Cobweb by Zona Gale
The Retirement Party by Lisa Koger
both authors I am not familiar with but will look for more

I liked
Summer Librarian by Sue Kaufman
Ed has his mind improved by Walter R Brooks (the Freddy the Pig books author)
Exchange by Ray Bradbury

the rest-ugh! There were some I hated and were hard to get through, but I'll let you decide

CART!!!!!!

[Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book but unfortunately I didn’t love the content so much. There were only a handful of stories I really liked - Isaac Babel, Lorrie Moore, and Anthony Boucher were my favourites. But I have to say that it’s hard to rate and review collections as there’s really something in there for everyone!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these short stories were excellent, some I struggled to get and some were just weird - so just like literally any other short story collection. I loved Michael Cart's intro and several of these stories are definitely going to stick with me like the best of short stories, but overall, the whole book was pretty average.

[phil breidenbach · Rating 1 out of 5]

Out of the 19 stories included in this book, I only considered two worth reading. I had to force myself to finish the book, knowing that the two at the end were the best. (Ray Bradbury's Exchange and Jorge Luis Borges's The Library of Babel)

I have read so many other books on this subject and enjoyed them, this one let me down!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impossible to rate the whole book. As collection of short stories some are gems, and some didn't touch me. I loved Italo Calvino's "A General in the Library"and Ray Bradbury's "Exchange" particularly.

[Bob Kaufman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories were good, others only so-so.

[Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really wanted to like this one, some stories were better than others. Not as much about libraries/librarians as I was hoping.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of great short stories from prominent authors about libraries and librarians? What could be better?

[Bette · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eclectic collection of stories presenting different library connections. It was fun to browse through and read stories from favorite authors.

[Ellie Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book, but it just tried to be too clever which stopped me enjoying it that much.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some were better than others. But they all state the same message- libraries and librarians are essential.

[Gail Kennon · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed some more than others and as previously the borges was bewildering to me...

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Exchange
By Ray Bradbury

[Nancy Noble · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book, which was given to me by a friend, but I just didn't find the stories to be that interesting. Many of them also lent to the stereotype of librarians (which is disappointing, considering the editor himself is a librarian). I did like a few of them: "Summer librarian" by Sue Kaufman, "QJ 696. C9" by Anthony Boucher, and "Exchange" by Ray Bradbury. But overall it took me a long time to get through this book as I was distracted by other books that were more gripping.