This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cyberarians Can Save Us All

Small confession: Libraries and I do not mix. Kind of an odd revelation, considering how much I love books. I don't like that the number of books a patron can check out is limited. I don't like knowing that others have touched the books. I don't like the whole due date thing.

In short, I am a librarian's worst nightmare.

At the same time, I love libraries. I love research. At the university where I attended undergrad and graduate school, I LOVED walking through the stacks, just browsing. I'd go in for books on one subject (H.P. Lovecraft) and come out with six books on something else (Blind lesbian mystery poetry, anyone?).

"The Book is Overdue," by Marilyn Johnson, is a really great read. She discusses the different types of librarians. She discusses the different types of libraries. She talks about how libraries and librarians have adapted in the age of Google and economic downturn.

The part that I found most fascinating, however, is the story of how a group of librarians fought the government's request that they turn over their patrons' electronic card catalog searches. It was all very cloak and dagger, and I'd love to read an entire book about the event. It made me swell with pride to think that there are people in the world who still stand up for civil liberties.