Scream at the Librarian

by Joel J. Rane, Raymond Pettibon (Illustrator), Cristin Sheehan Sullivan (Illustrator)

ABC ISSUE NO. 3: A limited edition trip into a public servant's nightmare, published by the Booklyn Artists Alliance, 2007.

"After five years at the central library, I seriously doubted the humanity of my peers." - Joel J. Rane

A chapbook version of the instant cult classic, Scream at the Librarian sucks you into the flop house grime of downtown Los Angeles at a time when it was abandoned by all but the terminally desperate. The Screamer, Mr. Brain Damage, and The Devil are just a few of the unforgivable characters populating Rane’s real-life accounts from deep within the stacks of a library that had become a refuge for squatters, drug addicts, and the mentally deranged.

Each story is accompanied by stunning new illustrations by native Californian Cristin Sheehan Sullivan and Raymond Pettibon, progenitor of LA's punk rock art scene.

84 pages, paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got to read a special edition bound at Brooklyn- incredible piece of book art

[David Macpherson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to like it. A short illustrated book that lists the characters the author dealt with as a librarian in Los Angeles for five years. You see homelessness and mental health issues and people who scream a lot. This is all fine and interesting but as we went on, the meanness of the narrator just destroyed anything worthwhile. He did say that he quit because of what he became but there is not contrast, all we see is him one upping and being unpleasant to these broken people. When I read that he quit working at the library, I said, "Good."

[YoSafBridg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scream at the Librarian: Sketches of Our Patrons at Downtown Los Angeles> (illustrated in horrific detail~which is probably a good thing~by Raymond Pettibon & Cristin Sheehan) is Rane's account of his (rather terrifying) five-year tenure (from June 2001 to April 2006) in the Literature and Fiction Department of the Central Library, Downtown Los Angeles (at least it wasn't the General Reference desk though that seemed to make little difference.)
This somewhat entertaining, somewhat frightening is very similar to this and other librarian accounts (as well as many other public servant woe-filled blogs and books) of the ignorance and psychosis that we deal with on a daily basis. The only caution i would give you is that this was written once Rane took his (much-needed) leave of the position, and though it is filled with wonderful sarcasm it is also rife with bitterness and anger and not so much light-hearted humour. Perhaps best taken in small doses by those contemplating entering the profession, but great exposure, nonetheless...

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of an illustrated book than i expected. Short and fun.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

So there are Urban Library Patron Archetypes. Good to know we're not alone in Portland. Also, scary. As I often say, this cannot be what Ben Franklin had in mind.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple zine focusing on the nonsense that a public librarian hears. Reading this gave me some serious flashbacks to my time as a public library worker.