Gotta wonder . . .

[penmage]

Okie. So I was in the library on friday, and I finished perusing the adult section, and was in the children's section. I always go there, to see if anything new and wonderful has appeared. Anyway. I'm standing right next to the kiddie fantasy section when two of the senior librarians start walking towards the fantasy section. I overhear the following converation:

Librarian 1: Did you try the fantasy section?
(now this is what got me curious and made me stand and eavsdop - I can never pass up a good fantasy reference)
Librarian 2: No, I didn't think of it.
(Librarian 1 rummages in the fantasy section and pulls out a book - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!)
L2: Hmm. I wonder why it's in the fantasy section.
L1: It's got kids going to another land through a closet, talking animals . . .
L2: Oh, that seems to fit, then . . .
(and they walk away)

Now I'm standing there, goggle-eyed and open-mouthed. These are senior librarians. Childrens librarians. How could they not be mildly familiar with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? I mean, honestly!

Comments

[tarlia.livejournal.com]

I used to feel the same as you about librarians. Then came a smack of reality: My mother became a school librarian. My mother, who've never read anything thicker than the newspapers. XD But the fun part is I get to help her shop for new books (translation: Get her to buy stuff I want to borrow).

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Hey, that's great! You've got pull in the library!

I've got pull, sometimes, depending on which librarian is doing the ordering. I've been the golden child of the library for years, always winning the summer reading progam (for most books) hands down and shocking them with the amount of books I took out, so sometimes they'll let me suggest what to order.

But hey! Your mother! That's excellent! Must be fun, too.

Re:

[tarlia.livejournal.com]

I used to be a daily visitor to my former school library, even if their selection sucked. My mother works in an international school, which meant higher budgets and a reasonably current selection. Of course, it's quite gratifying when she told me one of my picks got very popular with the students. ;-)

[penchantnyc.livejournal.com]

On a related note. I don't understand how bookstores catagorize things sometimes. Anne Rices vamp books (fantasy) and Crighton's (s/f) books are often in the regular fiction section.

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Yep. And just the other day, I found a whole bunch of Terry Pratchett books in mainstream fiction.

I mean, really!