In the Stacks: Short Stories About Libraries and Librarians
A Book Review

That cynical comment, made mostly in jest by a friend who knows best how to rile me, is perhaps sadly too reflective of popular (read "common") perception of libraries and those employed within. But if that misperception can be overcome long enough to read just a few of the stories contained in this book, the reader will be amply rewarded. This collection is most definitely eclectic, with libraries or librarians serving as the only cohesive element. At times the stories are rather bizarre, and there are a few which were rather disappointing, but overall the writing and the plots were engaging and entertaining. Works by such well-known authors as Ray Bradbury, Ursula Le Guin, John Cheever and Saki are included. The book's final story is Jorge Luis Borges' "The Library of Babel," which many of us may recall being mentioned in Understanding Information last Fall.

Some personal favorites are "A General in the Library," "Who Is It Can Tell Me Who I am?" "Ed Has His Mind Improved" (that would be Ed, the Talking Horse) and "Exchange." Each of these stories gives a different perspective on librarians and the service they provide to their communities.

• "A General in the Library" by Italo Calvino: "One day, in the illustrious nation of Panduria, a suspicion crept into the minds of top officials: that books contained opinions hostile to military prestige. In fact trials and enquiries had revealed that the tendency, now so widespread, of thinking of general s as people actually capable of making mistakes and causing catastrophes, and of wars as things that did not always amount to splendid cavalry charges towards a glorious destiny, was shared by a large number of books, ancient and modern, foreign and Pandurese." (14). If you're not hooked by that first paragraph, you've not been listening to the world news! Can the books reform Panduria? This story is too realistic for that. But Signor Crispino, the long-suffering, ever-dutiful and very clever librarian, succeeds in acquiring several new patrons, while the military loses some officers.
   
• "Who Is It Can Tell Me Who I am?" by Gina Berriault: Public libraries are, by definition, open to the public. Most of us have been in discussions about interacting with the less-than-pleasant members of that public. "Who Is It Can Tell Me Who I Am?" is a poignant telling of one such possible story.
   
• "Ed Has His Mind Improved" by Walter R. Brooks: Ed has learned to read, but when his owner, Mr. Pope, leaves town for ten days, Mrs. Pope has all the books in the barn returned to the library. Ed can't bear to be without reading material, and so ventures to the public library on his own. His thirst for literature is supported by the librarian, Miss Sigsbee. Will Ed's un-horse-like skills rescue the library from financial peril?
   
• "Exchange" by Ray Bradbury: Maybe too sentimental for some tastes, although it could just as easily be called "touching," this story records an "exchange" between an elderly librarian and a former patron, now an Army officer. Here are a few of their lines:
   
  • "Don't mind me, Miss Adams. You smell new books? ... Like fresh bread when you're hungry."
  • "Was I lot of trouble?" "Yes ... a fiend ... But I loved you."
  • " ... when I was a boy I used to look up and see you behind your desk, so near but far away, and ... I used to think that you were Mrs. God, and that the library was a whole world."
  • "Most libraries today, too much light. There should be shadows, don't you think? ... So that late nights the beasts can prowl out of the stacks and crouch by this jungle light to turn the pages with their breath."

Pack In the Stacks into your bag for the ALA conference in Orlando, or keep it on your nightstand. When you have ten or twenty unscheduled minutes, find yourself waiting for something or someone, or just need a quick break, treat yourself to some fun reading. Also be sure to share the book with coworkers, friends, and family. Start a grassroots movement to challenge the aforementioned popular perception that stories about librarians are unlikely to involve an interesting plot!

Publication of the
Department of Library & Information Science
School of Information Sciences
University of Pittsburgh  
135 N. Bellefield Avenue  
Pittsburgh , PA 15260

biblio@mail.sis.pitt.edu