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I'm a public librarian and a writer (screenplays and poetry).

I facilitate and lead a Writers Group every second Wednesday each month with a different topic each month. We focus on craft topics and conversations that help through writing hurdles. We do not focus on publishing - though I'll occasionally bring in editors to discuss that process. This past month we talked about audiences, particularly young audiences with a guest writer. In the past year we discussed writing from real life, sound devices, and building a protagonist. I create these handouts using craft books and online resources then provide them to any patron if they're new to the Writers Group via a voluntary Email List. Feel free to PM and I can email these handouts if you like.

I also host open mics every season or so for writers to share their work in front of an audience should they choose so.

My core Writers Group folks focus on creative writing or creative nonfiction, less on boosting basic writing skills. For the folks in the former I will find a resource that works best for their next step. We'll establish a writing goal and I'll find a book to use as inspiration, or a craft book that may serve them well.

For folks who need basic skills work, I'll usually work with them via a Book a Librarian/one on one session, or direct them to LearningExpress Library or BrainFuse which provide fantastic resources for writing. BrainFuse, in particular, allows patrons to submit writing for constructive feedback.

I also use university Writing Center's handouts for inspiration, such as UNC's Writing Center.

I have books I commonly recommend, but if you're interested in starting a creative writing group I highly recommend Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin, which provides prompts and examples for specific writing topics.

I highly recommend a Brother printer! Especially if you are using a Print Release Terminal such as LPT One. We have the older version of this printer https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L8360CDW-Networking-Automatic-Replenishment/dp/B06XDSMKLT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2EDVPMYVGL8KF&keywords=brother+hl-l8360cdw&qid=1557509769&s=gateway&sprefix=Brother+HL%2Caps%2C282&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1 but they are both the same make, just different model numbers. These printers print extremely fast, and have a nice life span as well. The colors are amazing, and your patrons will definitely compliment you whenever they print something out in color.

Librarians aren't archivists. Some are, but those of us who work in public libraries- we are not. It's our job to make sure our resources are what the public wants now and it's never our job to determine what they should want (we did try that about a century ago, but it made for boring book collections). It is disappointing when cool, old things go and I'm always sad when I see a book I loved as a kid on the weeding cart (most recently, it was The Tub People), but it has to happen. A lot of times it isn't any easier for us to get rid of things as it is for you to watch us get rid of things.

Let me assure you that a lot of libraries that have cool things (like government documents) do consider themselves stewards. At the school where I got my MLS, anything purchased for the academic collection cannot be weeded. Not ever. They have a huge SUPER COOL repository where they store things that are either rarely used or too fragile to be shelved. Public libraries don't have the means to do this- but that doesn't mean it isn't being done at all.

"The Winter of Our Discontent" by Steinbeck. Available in large print Very easy read, I wouldn't say it would lighten the mood, but it would foster great discussion and is excellent.

Here's another example of a great non-fiction graphic "novel". It's growing and definitely warrants being distinguished from fiction.

I had a family member give me this when I got my MLIS. It's more for a laugh than anything else, but might be fun:
https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Pearl-Librarian-Action-Figure/dp/B0006FU9EG

I'm an agnostic academic science librarian. That said, I'm going to drop this here:

Library Bill of Rights (ALA, 1996). Sections I and II: "Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval."

If you're worried about children whose parents are not creationist being exposed to the DVD, one solution would be to find a way to clearly indicate that the item is creationist. You might also buy a copy of this to balance things out.

"A graphic novel cannot be non-fiction." What? A graphic novel can easily be nonfiction. That is OP's point. Example: http://www.amazon.com/Pyongyang-Journey-North-Guy-Delisle/dp/1897299214

I think you are the one stuck on semantics.

Edit: Clarity.

How good or important was it, compared to something like The Best And The Brightest? The library here explained that it didn't carry many books about the Vietnam War "because that was a long time ago."

Kind of off topic, but this is my favorite book I've ever weeded: Love and Marriage: Bill Cosby

This is ridiculous.

What happened was that a few years ago (wow, it's been almost ten already) is that lots of people read Anne Rice's latest book and hated it.



She comes back with a 1100 word paragraph. (A repost because I'm not digging through 44 pages of reviews to find the original)

As a (former) Anne fan...

She started alienating a lot of her fan base years ago. Memnoch started it, but I think the coup-de-gras was with Merrick. Her writing quality had deteriorated (lost her muse and tried to force out books? I dunno), she butchered beloved characters (literally and figuratively), and frankly a lot of her readers weren't into the overt religious themes.

At the same time there's a very active fan fiction community based around Anne's work starting around the time Memnoch came out. Basically, there'd been a fan fic community since the early days of the Internet. Around the time this book came out (or a little earlier): she sends cease and desist orders to authors.

Okay, the characters are her intellectual property, she has the right to do that. But it backfires. A lot of the fanfic was/is really good, some of the authors are professional writers. Second...how many authors do this to their fans? Not many, if any others. The main fanfic sites shut down, go underground (they still exist, you have to look for them though).

This whole time she's turning out books that her original, hard-core fans hate. What do people do on the Internet when they hate something? They give their opinion on it.

I honestly think Anne was not used to this, and took offense. And has her fan base (at least for her new work) has deteriorated over the years, the butt-hurt has just gotten worse. It's not bullying when someone in the public sphere puts out work, and gets criticism.

Do people take this criticism too far? Absolutely. There's a huge difference between saying "Your work was awful and here's why" to "Your work sucks and you should die". I also don't doubt that there are people who get obsessive about it. But this is more about Amazon and other sites not enforcing their own community guidelines when it coms to assholes than about authors being persecuted.

Here are a few thoughts:
Banned Books bracelet
Monogrammed stationery set
*Penguin book cover postcards

No matter what, definitely write a detailed handwritten thank you card or letter.

[edit - do bullet points not work with links?]

The library from Beauty by Robin McKinley. It's in a castle and it has every book that ever was and will be published. The book was originally published in the 70s, so I wouldn't be surprised if Disney got some of their inspiration for Beauty and the Beast from this novel.

my old boss, like many many jobs ago, was an academic library and our circulation manager even wrote a book on displays. i don't actually know if there was any correlation between what Sue did and our circulation or census, but if you want to do displays, do it!

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Displays-Your-Library-Step/dp/0786431644

I hope they will include
http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Animals-Jonathan-Safran-Foer/dp/0316069884/ref=zg_bs_14454_1
and
http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Liberation-Definitive-Classic-Movement/dp/0061711306/ref=zg_bs_14454_9
or
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Dogs-Pigs-Wear-Cows/dp/1573245054/ref=zg_bs_14454_14
or
http://www.amazon.com/Terrorists-Freedom-Fighters-Reflections-Liberation/dp/159056054X but i guess not.

This is not old enough to be your book unless it is a 2nd printing but I'll throw it out there... https://www.amazon.com/Pippin-Christmas-Pig-Jean-Little/dp/0439650623

Reminds me of [this book.] (https://www.amazon.com/Bullshit-Harry-G-Frankfurt/dp/0691122946)

It's Penn Jillette's Every Day is an Athiest Holiday

The way this is written reminds me a lot of the Max books by Ed Vere!

> and tons of vanity press publications that people are donating as a way of trying to get their cult's manifesto- seriously, we get a lot of manifestos- into the system.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Good-bye-Depression-Constrict-Everyday/dp/0595094724

Are you an expert on "black Americans and their inequality" or are you just one of the people Mona Charen wrote a book about?

Any organization that does and says what Black Lives Matter does and says is a hate group. What I wrote was about librarians pushing a hate group into public schools, in this case BLM. I leave the issue of proving the hate group is a hate group to others.

I even specifically wrote, "[That BLM is a hate group is evident from its repeated calls to kill police officers, along with the murders of multiple police officers. That's my opinion. I leave the proof to other reporters. Here's just one recent report: ....]"

So if you want evidence Black Lives Matter is a hate group, look elsewhere. I'm not providing it. And I'm darn sure not providing it for a brand new pseudonymous account on Reddit--you can't even say your real name--you literally created your account just to troll me.