Johnson, Marilyn (2010). This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All. New York: Harper (ISBN 978-0-06-143160-9)
This is an easy-to-read and entertaining book. The author is clearly enthusiastic about the many talented, knowledgeable librarians she has met in her travels. The profession has undergone a number of dramatic transformations through the years especially as librarians have continued to stepped up to more complex problems. In addition, they have also made their users more aware of who librarians really are and what they are able to accomplish through their intellectual capabilities, training, experience, knowledge, and their use of technology. More than once librarians have "saved the organization’s bacon" by finding the missing data and magically using their instincts to pull together the various pieces to solve highly complex problems. Many library users are unaware that professional librarians have great organizational and analytical skills, curiosity, wide-ranging knowledge, good memories, and usually a deep subject knowledge background. But they (these users) all seem to appreciate the answers and information "we" provide them...In the newer environments special librarians are making use of avatars in their exploration of the virtual world known as Second Life. Johnson mentions this "knowledge seeking" activity in her book.
Johnson’s volume mentions a few early professionals, such as Frederick Kilgour who was one of the professionals in the early seventies. He headed the efforts to combined a few dozen college libraries catalogs into a world catalog, called the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). Henriette Avram helped to automate the records of the Library of Congress. She is credited with writing the first code for the computerized catalogs called MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging). According to this book the MARC format is still used today. Avram and others helped to inspire a generation of librarians to combine library work and computers. Computerized records helped libraries to change from a collection of books into automated research centers. The continuing strongest quality of librarians has been their desire to be of service. It has been said that perhaps their earliest values tended also to include truth, free speech and universal literacy. Many considered free access to information as the foundation of democracy.
There is continuous praise of librarians throughout this book. In addition there are interesting tidbits which add to its charm, e.g., the suggested use of Bounce dryer sheets to absorb musty book odors. Everyone should find something of interest as they read through This Book Is Overdue, including a few smiles or perhaps even chuckles. In addition to twelve enjoyable chapters, it also includes the following end sections: Chapter notes (pages 257-266); bibliography (pages 267-273) and acknowledgments (pages 253-257). I discovered this book through a review by Christine Rosen on page A17 of the February 9, 2010 of the Wall Street Journal.
Karen Takle Quinn
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