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Saturday, December 10, 2011

Dewey Makeover: 001.9

When a library collection hasn't been weeded or updated in a while, patrons' overall impression of the collection will suffer. Most people don't have the time or patience to sift through the shelves looking for the diamonds in the rough. One of my goals for the upcoming year is to go through the non-fiction collection, which hasn't gotten much attention in a while. Might as well start at the beginning!

Dewey Decimal number 001.9 covers "controversial knowledge." Think Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, unexplained psychic phenomenon, etc. I loved these kinds of books about the paranormal when I was a kid. I also like to pull them to plump up Halloween displays.

I'll be getting rid of titles like these, which are all more than 25 years old, obviously shabby and haven't circulated in over five years.


Into the Unknown: Nine Astounding Stories
by Stephen Mooser
HarperCollins Children's Books
April 1980

It's hard to tell exactly, but I think this cover is supposed to look like a face, exploding with psychic possibility.






Monsters of the Mountains
by Jon Jameson
Franklin Watts
January 1980



A face only a mother could love.

The Earth is Flat and Other Great Mistakes
by Laurence P. Pringle
William Morrow & Co.
October 1983

Wow! This cover takes you right back, doesn't it? I love the backwards "E" in the title.








If You Were Really Superstitious
by Jane Sarnoff
Scribner Book Company
April 1980

I do love the crossed fingers on this one. Don't know if you can make out the couple kissing under a ladder as a black cat crosses their path.








Hopefully, (budget permitting!) I can replace them with titles like this:

Unexplained: An Encyclopedia of Curious Phenomena, Strange Superstitions, and Ancient Mysteries
by Judy Allen
Kingfisher
October 2006

Maybe one day we'll laugh at this cover (it looks like a yodeler atop a cat mask, to me) but in person it doesn't look so bad, and I've read great reviews of the short accessible stories of the mysterious within.



The Legend of Bigfoot
by Thomas Kingsley Troupe
Picture Window Books
August 2010

Published for the school market, the cover appeal and recent pub date put this book miles ahead of what we currently have.





Tales of the Cryptids: Mysterious Creatures that May or May Not Exist
by Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears, Roxyanne Young
Darby Creek Publishing
September 2006

One of my favorite books, ever. Seriously! An awesome book.


The Earth is Flat! Science Facts and Fictions
by Mary Atkinson
Children's Press
September 2007



Okay, I cheated. This book is actually in the Dewey 500's but I still think it works quite well. I love the woodcut cover. It's deliberately retro.

5 comments:

  1. You librarians always make me jealous. So many books around. There was always a little (okay big) part of me that wanted to be a librarian but I have no idea how to do it!

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  2. I think it's great that you write posts like these - something a bit different and we get to see the inner workings of a library too.

    I like the title 'controversial knowledge' too. Makes sense, I guess!

    The cover for the last book is gorgeous! Vintage but not. I'd definitely grab that off a library shelf!

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  3. @ Sherre - To be a librarian, you get an undergraduate degree in anything you want. Then you get a master's degree in Library or Information Science. Then you apply for jobs all over the country and go where the work is!
    You don't need a master's degree to work in a library though - you can apply to work as a shelver or a clerk, and "try before you buy" see if you like it before you commit to all that schooling. ;)

    @ Hanna - Thanks! I like to keep things looking fresh! Comes from my background working in a retail bookstore, I guess.

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  4. TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS is one of your favorites? Man, you made my day, my week, my month! That was a fantastic book to write -- one of my favorites, too. So thanks for saying so.

    Kelly Milner Halls
    www.wondersofweird.com

    PS IN SEARCH OF SASQUATCH is available now from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. And ALIEN INVESTIGATION will be available next month from Millbrook. Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow!!! Cue some genuflecting, and "we're not worthy, we're not worthy!"
    Thanks for stopping by Kelly! I'm honored!

    I recommend your book to kids all the time, and they love it. Thanks for the heads up on your new titles! :D

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