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Free for All Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangsters in the Public Library
Mild-mannered librarian tells all in shocking new book!
Not long ago, the public library was a place for the bookish, the eggheaded, and the studious -- often seeking refuge from a loud, irrational, crude, outside world. Today, libraries have become free-for-all entertainment complexes filled with rowdy teens, deviants, drugs, and even sex toys. Lockdowns and chaperones are often necessary.
What happened?
Don Borchert was a short-order cook, door-to-door salesman, telemarketer, and Christmas-tree-chopper before landing a job in a California library. He never could have predicted his encounters with the colorful kooks, touching adolescents, threatening bullies, and tricksters who fill the pages of this hilarious memoir.
In "Free for All," Borchert offers readers a ringside seat for the unlikely spectacle of mayhem and
absurdity that is business as usual at the public library. You'll see cops bust drug dealers who've set up shop in the men's restroom, witness a burka-wearing employee suffer a curse-ridden nervous breakdown, and meet a lonely, neglected kid who grew up in the library and still sends postcards to his surrogate parents -- the librarians. In fact, from the first page of this comic debut to the last, you'll learn everything about the world of the modern-day library that you never expected.
Not long ago, the public library was a place for the bookish, the eggheaded, and the studious -- often seeking refuge from a loud, irrational, crude, outside world. Today, libraries have become free-for-all entertainment complexes filled with rowdy teens, deviants, drugs, and even sex toys. Lockdowns and chaperones are often necessary.
What happened?
Don Borchert was a short-order cook, door-to-door salesman, telemarketer, and Christmas-tree-chopper before landing a job in a California library. He never could have predicted his encounters with the colorful kooks, touching adolescents, threatening bullies, and tricksters who fill the pages of this hilarious memoir.
In "Free for All," Borchert offers readers a ringside seat for the unlikely spectacle of mayhem and
absurdity that is business as usual at the public library. You'll see cops bust drug dealers who've set up shop in the men's restroom, witness a burka-wearing employee suffer a curse-ridden nervous breakdown, and meet a lonely, neglected kid who grew up in the library and still sends postcards to his surrogate parents -- the librarians. In fact, from the first page of this comic debut to the last, you'll learn everything about the world of the modern-day library that you never expected.
First published November 13, 2007
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About the author
Don Borchert
3 books11 followersDon Borchert is an assistant librarian in suburban Los Angeles. He lives in Lomita, California.
Before working in the library, Don was a short-order cook, door-to-door salesman, telemarketer, and Christmas-tree-chopper.
Before working in the library, Don was a short-order cook, door-to-door salesman, telemarketer, and Christmas-tree-chopper.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 664 reviews
February 8, 2018
Free for All is an accurate depiction of life as a librarian in a public library.
Sometimes, the job is funny. Other times, it's incredibly sad. If you've never worked in a library system, this book will reveal some of the secrets of a librarian's day-to-day life.
Before I worked at a public library, I thought it was a quiet, organized mecca for students and bookworms. Now, that I've spent some time on the librarian-side of the desk, I know better. My idea of a library was far too simple.
It is a study hall, archive, playroom, home for the homeless, kitchen, bank, movie theater, video game store, newspaper kiosk and so much more. I guess the appropriate question is: what doesn't a library do?
And a public librarian is so much more than just a librarian. She is a counselor, a computer wizard, a curator of excellent and free entertainment.
She talks to the lonely, uplifts the lost and helps the public navigate the dangerous waters of the internet.
Librarians are my heroes.
If I ever cease writing for a living, look for me at the library. Odds are, I'll end up back there.
Perhaps some of the policies at Don Borchert's library have changed, but at the time that he wrote this book, they charged 50 cents to put a hold in for a patron. This policy shocked me, as my library always offered that service for free.
Borchert cheerfully documents the difficulties with summer reading people vs the school year regulars. It's a real problem.
If Borchert's book is too edgy for you- he uses rough language and doesn't hold back on some of his opinions- read Gina Sheridan's I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks.
Both are excellent and realistic non-fiction books about the trials, tribulations, and, sometimes, life-enhancing satisfaction of working at the library.
Sometimes, the job is funny. Other times, it's incredibly sad. If you've never worked in a library system, this book will reveal some of the secrets of a librarian's day-to-day life.
Before I worked at a public library, I thought it was a quiet, organized mecca for students and bookworms. Now, that I've spent some time on the librarian-side of the desk, I know better. My idea of a library was far too simple.
It is a study hall, archive, playroom, home for the homeless, kitchen, bank, movie theater, video game store, newspaper kiosk and so much more. I guess the appropriate question is: what doesn't a library do?
And a public librarian is so much more than just a librarian. She is a counselor, a computer wizard, a curator of excellent and free entertainment.
She talks to the lonely, uplifts the lost and helps the public navigate the dangerous waters of the internet.
Librarians are my heroes.
If I ever cease writing for a living, look for me at the library. Odds are, I'll end up back there.
Perhaps some of the policies at Don Borchert's library have changed, but at the time that he wrote this book, they charged 50 cents to put a hold in for a patron. This policy shocked me, as my library always offered that service for free.
Borchert cheerfully documents the difficulties with summer reading people vs the school year regulars. It's a real problem.
If Borchert's book is too edgy for you- he uses rough language and doesn't hold back on some of his opinions- read Gina Sheridan's I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks.
Both are excellent and realistic non-fiction books about the trials, tribulations, and, sometimes, life-enhancing satisfaction of working at the library.
February 25, 2008
When I tell people I work in a library, they say "What a nice quiet job" or "It must be nice to read all day".
I'm going to hand them this book and tell them this is what my job is REALLY like. Working with the public in a library is more like working as a mediator, a security guard, a psychologist, a baby sitter, a computer expert or a counselor, none of which most of us have degrees or experience in. And oh yes, now and then we get to answer a few informational questions.
Hat's off to ya, Don, you've gone and written the book we all wish we had the guts and the time to write! Now if only people were still reading instead of surfing the internet and checking out videos....
I'm going to hand them this book and tell them this is what my job is REALLY like. Working with the public in a library is more like working as a mediator, a security guard, a psychologist, a baby sitter, a computer expert or a counselor, none of which most of us have degrees or experience in. And oh yes, now and then we get to answer a few informational questions.
Hat's off to ya, Don, you've gone and written the book we all wish we had the guts and the time to write! Now if only people were still reading instead of surfing the internet and checking out videos....
February 20, 2015
I've never met the author of this book; never been to his library, never even heard of him, but I am willing to swear to his honesty and authenticity: Everything you read in it is true. Fecal-covered dildoes tossed into the bookdrop? Oh yeah, not surprising. Punk kids using the library as a base of operations for god-knows what? All in a schoolday's work. People refusing to be held accountable for their fines? People falling in love? Perverts exposing themselves? Housewives attacking each other in the parking lot? Ho-hum.
I have to give this book five stars out of professional solidarity, and even if I didn't have the professional solidarity thing, I'd still give it five stars for being a great book. It shows the human face of librarians--cussing, swearing, disgruntled librarians who would throw down if the city would give them half the chance, thankyouverymuch.
Those of us "in the know" will relate to it and know it to be the "Everylibrarian"'s memoir, and know that what the author tells is so completely par for the course in the day of a public library.
Those of you not in the biz will be shocked, appalled that this sort of nonsense goes on in the library; but you will also be entertained, amused, and hopefully inspired by what we put up with, and the smiles that come to our face with the inadvertent kindness and appreciation of some of the patrons who make our time in the profession worthwhile. At times, the book makes you want to cry; it effectively illustrates the ignorant bureaucracy, the patience and generosity of under-paid civil servants, and the painful pathos of underprivileged, sometimes unbalanced men, women, and children who view the library as their haven, comfort, and last resort.
And if you have read Unshelved, you will end with a sneaking suspicion that the author brought the characters of the comic strip to life. The author could be Dewey, and Terri could be Tamara's twin sister. If Mel were a little more Machiavellian, she would be Juanita through and through.
Everyone should read this book: librarians, for comfort, solidarity, and the reminder that they are not alone; non-library users, so they could realize how misguided their preconceived notions of who librarians are and what they do; politicians, so that they can see how much they affect themselves and society with each budget cut they approve; bureaucrats, so that they might see how counter-productive so many of their measures are; and library users, so that they can be aware of, and appreciate, how hard it might be for us to smile some days.
And yet we keep on smiling.
I have to give this book five stars out of professional solidarity, and even if I didn't have the professional solidarity thing, I'd still give it five stars for being a great book. It shows the human face of librarians--cussing, swearing, disgruntled librarians who would throw down if the city would give them half the chance, thankyouverymuch.
Those of us "in the know" will relate to it and know it to be the "Everylibrarian"'s memoir, and know that what the author tells is so completely par for the course in the day of a public library.
Those of you not in the biz will be shocked, appalled that this sort of nonsense goes on in the library; but you will also be entertained, amused, and hopefully inspired by what we put up with, and the smiles that come to our face with the inadvertent kindness and appreciation of some of the patrons who make our time in the profession worthwhile. At times, the book makes you want to cry; it effectively illustrates the ignorant bureaucracy, the patience and generosity of under-paid civil servants, and the painful pathos of underprivileged, sometimes unbalanced men, women, and children who view the library as their haven, comfort, and last resort.
And if you have read Unshelved, you will end with a sneaking suspicion that the author brought the characters of the comic strip to life. The author could be Dewey, and Terri could be Tamara's twin sister. If Mel were a little more Machiavellian, she would be Juanita through and through.
Everyone should read this book: librarians, for comfort, solidarity, and the reminder that they are not alone; non-library users, so they could realize how misguided their preconceived notions of who librarians are and what they do; politicians, so that they can see how much they affect themselves and society with each budget cut they approve; bureaucrats, so that they might see how counter-productive so many of their measures are; and library users, so that they can be aware of, and appreciate, how hard it might be for us to smile some days.
And yet we keep on smiling.
March 22, 2008
Yes, I can relate to the lingo and overall unpredictable atmosphere of the public library that Borchert describes, but just a plain 'ol memoir without analysis on how to cope with or improve the system is plain 'ol boring for me. I don't want to get hierarchical over job titles but I'm miffed that the book is marketed as a "mild mannered librarian tell[ing] all" and that's not the case; Borchert is not a librarian, has no interest in getting a library degree, and doesn't come off as being particularly mild mannered. I guess I was expecting this to be more of a study that could be used in the field as well as the classroom, rather than Borchert haphazardly rehashing experiences and conversations from his library colleagues.
October 21, 2014
Too much of the chaos Borchert depicted was behavior I too experienced.*
I believe working in a branch city library wouldn't be as appealing as managing a rural small town operation.
*Some of my favorite "that's disgusting" memories:
The soft shriek of disgust from my assistant when she opened a returned book containing a used condom. When I explained to the patron why she needed to pay replacement costs, she stated with weary, "My granddaughter ..."
The expression on the parole officer's face when he came in to visit his home schooling family, after scanning the public Internet computer participant array, leaning across the circulation counter to whisper, "You have five of my caseload in here now." Indeed, I knew some of them too well. In the year after we became an Internet computer provider, we had more police related episodes than in the previous 25 years combined.
The day after I let the county administrator convince me to work another month before retiring, when one of the staff asked me to observe the "creepy" man at an Internet computer. Yep, had his pants down to his knees and his hand under the keyboard. Quietly, with amusement, told him his behavior he was inappropriate. Took him a moment, but he pulled up his trousers and departed.
The meth fueled hunting knife waving man shouting into the library's lobby public telephone, ranting at someone in the district attorney's office, while mothers were bringing children to storytime. After police subdued him, the puddle of urine on the floor.
The library's first public use Internet computer had a defective mouse. When the staff first started using it, we learned to "shake the mouse" to get its ball to engage. (Soon thereafter, when we had multiple workstations, someone starting stealing the mice balls.) When our first patron to use the computer sat before the monitor, with three employees looking over her shoulder, the mouse didn't cooperate, so a staffer said, "shake the mouse." To our dismay, and the lady's delight, the screen revealed an erotic threesome. When the younger staff lady placed her widespread hands over the screen, the patron pulled them away, saying "let me see, let me see!"
I believe working in a branch city library wouldn't be as appealing as managing a rural small town operation.
*Some of my favorite "that's disgusting" memories:
The soft shriek of disgust from my assistant when she opened a returned book containing a used condom. When I explained to the patron why she needed to pay replacement costs, she stated with weary, "My granddaughter ..."
The expression on the parole officer's face when he came in to visit his home schooling family, after scanning the public Internet computer participant array, leaning across the circulation counter to whisper, "You have five of my caseload in here now." Indeed, I knew some of them too well. In the year after we became an Internet computer provider, we had more police related episodes than in the previous 25 years combined.
The day after I let the county administrator convince me to work another month before retiring, when one of the staff asked me to observe the "creepy" man at an Internet computer. Yep, had his pants down to his knees and his hand under the keyboard. Quietly, with amusement, told him his behavior he was inappropriate. Took him a moment, but he pulled up his trousers and departed.
The meth fueled hunting knife waving man shouting into the library's lobby public telephone, ranting at someone in the district attorney's office, while mothers were bringing children to storytime. After police subdued him, the puddle of urine on the floor.
The library's first public use Internet computer had a defective mouse. When the staff first started using it, we learned to "shake the mouse" to get its ball to engage. (Soon thereafter, when we had multiple workstations, someone starting stealing the mice balls.) When our first patron to use the computer sat before the monitor, with three employees looking over her shoulder, the mouse didn't cooperate, so a staffer said, "shake the mouse." To our dismay, and the lady's delight, the screen revealed an erotic threesome. When the younger staff lady placed her widespread hands over the screen, the patron pulled them away, saying "let me see, let me see!"
July 13, 2013
Librarians of the world, unite!
That's what I feel like shouting after reading this enjoyable memoir of a longtime public librarian. Don started working at a branch library in California when a friend suggested he apply for a civil service job. He's good at dealing with difficult patrons and telling rambunctious kids to knock it off. Like most librarians, he's had his share of weird stories: the time police arrested two guys who had been dealing drugs in the library; the time someone tossed a used dildo in the book drop; the time a staff member had a severe allergic reaction to a wild animal that was brought in for a children's program, etc., etc.
I used to work in a public library and I could relate to Don's experiences. I think this book would be enjoyed by anyone in library world, and I would add it to the suggested reading lists for library science students.
That's what I feel like shouting after reading this enjoyable memoir of a longtime public librarian. Don started working at a branch library in California when a friend suggested he apply for a civil service job. He's good at dealing with difficult patrons and telling rambunctious kids to knock it off. Like most librarians, he's had his share of weird stories: the time police arrested two guys who had been dealing drugs in the library; the time someone tossed a used dildo in the book drop; the time a staff member had a severe allergic reaction to a wild animal that was brought in for a children's program, etc., etc.
I used to work in a public library and I could relate to Don's experiences. I think this book would be enjoyed by anyone in library world, and I would add it to the suggested reading lists for library science students.
January 30, 2008
Librarians and library workers will find no surprises in this book other than a satisfaction that they are not alone. Library users on the other hand may be alternately fascinated, repelled, and touched by the stories that Mr. Borchert relates, as he delves into the kind of things that really go on in public libraries.
August 11, 2016
In the mid-sized city where I live, we have 4 or 5 city libraries, 2 branch libraries that are partly school libraries and partly city libraries. This is nearly the scenario described in this memior, -Free for All-. In the memior, the branch library is in walking distance from 2 public schools. Some of the same structuring of services of the 2 libraries here include quiet study areas, areas off-limits to students who can get rowdy, and community programs. So I got a better insight to a couple of our libraries here.
Don Borchert writes in an easy, humorous style. The patrons and employees are treated respectfully. The expected humor to the end of the memior hits just the right note. A well-written memior about a topic I don'the always think about. I appreciate the service, and I appreciate the librarians, but I never think to thank them.....And now I will think of how.
Don Borchert writes in an easy, humorous style. The patrons and employees are treated respectfully. The expected humor to the end of the memior hits just the right note. A well-written memior about a topic I don'the always think about. I appreciate the service, and I appreciate the librarians, but I never think to thank them.....And now I will think of how.
December 30, 2008
In my experience, any time you put a bunch of library staff in a room together, no matter what the purpose -- meeting, holiday party, professional conference, anything -- eventually the conversation will turn towards weird patron stories. This book reads like a compendium of one library worker's entire career's worth of weird patron stories: the really hilarious, really unbelievable stuff that gets framed into biting yet quasi-treasured anecdotes and then passed around to others to blow off steam and unite the teller and listeners in a sense of solidarity and purpose. The purpose is, of course, to look past the nonsense and continue to serve the public to the best of our ability.
As an information professional, reading the author's memories gave me an immediate sense of kinship. If you're already a part of Library World, you could get a kick out of this book. If you're not, and you want an authentic glimpse of that world, you'll feel like you know it as soon as you start flipping pages in this quick, enjoyable memoir.
As an information professional, reading the author's memories gave me an immediate sense of kinship. If you're already a part of Library World, you could get a kick out of this book. If you're not, and you want an authentic glimpse of that world, you'll feel like you know it as soon as you start flipping pages in this quick, enjoyable memoir.
June 15, 2008
sounds somewhat more interesting than it actually is…
(i, at least, have managed to bite my tongue before the curse words actually emerge, or at least muttered them under my breath)
Free for All: oddballs, geeks, and gangstas in the public library is a book that i saw somewhere and thought would be somewhat entertaining (i, like many others like me, snap up those tales of libraries and bookstores for the camaraderie, relatability, or something like that.) Dan Borchert
“was a short-order cook, door-to-door salesman, telemarketer (did a bit of that myself back in the day...), and Christmas-tree-chopper before landing work in a California library. He never could have predicted his encounters with the colorful kooks, bullies, and tricksters who fill the pages of this hilarious memoir.”
(Some note should be made here that Borchert isn’t a MLS degreed librarian~nor did he ever call himself a librarian in the book~apparently there has been some not-mild controversy surrounding this because in his marketing or publicity interviews or some such, he has been called a librarian; and of course many librarians, having worked hard and paid much for that grad school degree, resent people taking the title librarian unjustly~let me just say here, that, tho i am among those~to a certain extent~who cling to that title so proudly and possessively, i’m not sure if this is his mistake or those marketing him and i’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and much of the public is unawares so that can’t really be blamed [to a certain extent~i believe it is at least partly our job to educate the public…] {and we have a librarian assistant at my library without whom i would be lost~but she's still not a librarian~perhaps Borchert's system should put a firmer delineation between tasks that various job functions perform than they currently seem to~because his book makes it appear a little haphazard...and maybe it is...})
Having got that out of the way, Free for All was quite a bit less than i wanted it to be. As many other librarians have said i have much more humorous (and frightening~though a few of his were unique in some respects~i'm sure every librarian has at least a few of those...) tales to tell {and is this really an urban Los Angeles library~it sounds a bit more like a smaller town~or is that just my cynical jaded self?}) I must say i was not overly impressed with Borchert’s writing ability either (nor his seeming equation with the way things are done at his library, in his system with the way things are done in all systems~such as who does what and way as well as the way his bureaucracy function.) I’m not a big fan of the book's organizational scheme either. It wasn’t a complete waste of time, though, and there were some amusing moments. Perhaps this would actually be of more interest to those who do not work in libraries to discover that all is not quiet in the library or that we do not "just sit around and read all day, perhaps for me it is more like a “busman’s holiday” for me
http://talesofarampaginglibrarian.blo...
(i, at least, have managed to bite my tongue before the curse words actually emerge, or at least muttered them under my breath)
Free for All: oddballs, geeks, and gangstas in the public library is a book that i saw somewhere and thought would be somewhat entertaining (i, like many others like me, snap up those tales of libraries and bookstores for the camaraderie, relatability, or something like that.) Dan Borchert
“was a short-order cook, door-to-door salesman, telemarketer (did a bit of that myself back in the day...), and Christmas-tree-chopper before landing work in a California library. He never could have predicted his encounters with the colorful kooks, bullies, and tricksters who fill the pages of this hilarious memoir.”
(Some note should be made here that Borchert isn’t a MLS degreed librarian~nor did he ever call himself a librarian in the book~apparently there has been some not-mild controversy surrounding this because in his marketing or publicity interviews or some such, he has been called a librarian; and of course many librarians, having worked hard and paid much for that grad school degree, resent people taking the title librarian unjustly~let me just say here, that, tho i am among those~to a certain extent~who cling to that title so proudly and possessively, i’m not sure if this is his mistake or those marketing him and i’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and much of the public is unawares so that can’t really be blamed [to a certain extent~i believe it is at least partly our job to educate the public…] {and we have a librarian assistant at my library without whom i would be lost~but she's still not a librarian~perhaps Borchert's system should put a firmer delineation between tasks that various job functions perform than they currently seem to~because his book makes it appear a little haphazard...and maybe it is...})
Having got that out of the way, Free for All was quite a bit less than i wanted it to be. As many other librarians have said i have much more humorous (and frightening~though a few of his were unique in some respects~i'm sure every librarian has at least a few of those...) tales to tell {and is this really an urban Los Angeles library~it sounds a bit more like a smaller town~or is that just my cynical jaded self?}) I must say i was not overly impressed with Borchert’s writing ability either (nor his seeming equation with the way things are done at his library, in his system with the way things are done in all systems~such as who does what and way as well as the way his bureaucracy function.) I’m not a big fan of the book's organizational scheme either. It wasn’t a complete waste of time, though, and there were some amusing moments. Perhaps this would actually be of more interest to those who do not work in libraries to discover that all is not quiet in the library or that we do not "just sit around and read all day, perhaps for me it is more like a “busman’s holiday” for me
http://talesofarampaginglibrarian.blo...
February 10, 2008
I just didn't like the writer's tone; I felt like he was trying overly hard to shock and dismay. It's hard enough keeping up your own morale sometimes, and to go home and read about all the negative aspects of library work from a bitter cranky guy seems defeating. Also he complained about kids and teens a lot, which bugged me - I don't think he ever called them "hooligans" but he came close.
November 5, 2008
While this quasi-memoir definitely had its moments, I think it lacked the depth that would have made for a memorable and more meaningful story. As a librarian, I can appreciate the descriptions of crazy happenings at his workplace, and I think he made the most of some funny situations. It's too bad he didn't dig a little deeper, explore some characters or relationships more, or try to tie some things together in the second half of the book.
I was also annoyed that, even though he apparently hadn't set foot in a library/graduate school, he gave himself a professional librarian's title and rank, and proceeded to make some snide remarks about the degree.
These criticisms aside, I thought it provided an fairly amusing and accurate glimpse into life at an urban/suburban public library.
I was also annoyed that, even though he apparently hadn't set foot in a library/graduate school, he gave himself a professional librarian's title and rank, and proceeded to make some snide remarks about the degree.
These criticisms aside, I thought it provided an fairly amusing and accurate glimpse into life at an urban/suburban public library.
February 10, 2016
A fun memoir about a man who works for a branch library in Los Angeles, California, and about various things that happen in and around the library on any given day. Short chapters and memorable characters.
April 16, 2008
The book is told from the point of view of the author, Don Borchert, who is a library assistant at a California public library. Each chapter focuses on either a different aspect of the library world, a different issue a library may face, or a different staff position. There didn't seem to be too much of an order to the chapters, it just kind of jumped from one topic to another, which I didn't mind at all. Some of the stories are funny, some are heart-wrenching, and others are just plain aggravating (more so if you work in a library). I think the author did a great job of sharing the stories with a nice conversational tone, and added his opinion or a bit of background information when appropriate.
While not all of the stories may apply to every library, it was interesting to see what it's like at a different one than you either go to or work at.
While not all of the stories may apply to every library, it was interesting to see what it's like at a different one than you either go to or work at.
February 13, 2008
My recent phase of reading books about books/book-related topics began with this memoir of a library assistant's experience in a California public library. The book starts off with a great quote about why we read as well as a few surprising stories about the happenings at the author's workplace, including an "unexpected discovery" found between books that had been dropped off. Also, I found myself laughing out loud at the author's commentary. To my disappointment, halfway through, the book jumps from one anectdote to another, with no apparent connection between them, making me lose interest in the process.
So, follow the author's suggestion and support your local library by checking this book out if you're still interested.
Basically, borrow instead of buy.
So, follow the author's suggestion and support your local library by checking this book out if you're still interested.
Basically, borrow instead of buy.
December 4, 2007
Borchert gives an interesting blow-by-blow account of the happenings and mishaps in the branch library where he serves as an assistant librarian. He covers everything from the culture of working in a civil service position, to irate library patrons, to what happens to all of those books that are donated to the library. His writing was very easy to read, with a warm, conversational style. I have a particular familiarity to his branch since I lived in the same area and frequented that library for a few years. But I don't think you would miss anything from his stories. They're universal to most libraries.
January 10, 2008
This book had some genuinely funny moments, but overall the experience of reading it was like talking to someone with severe ADD. Some reviews of this book have criticized the author's lack of credentials, but I just think his writing could use some serious work. There was a lot of rambling and many moments that tried to be funny that were just...not. Maybe there aren't enough memoirs of public library employees in existence, because most of the reviews I've seen of this book have been positive, and I didn't think it was anything special. It was actually hard for me to finish. But, there were some funny moments, so I can't totally trash it.
April 29, 2008
While a true account of the various happenings, trials, and tribulations of working in a public library, this book barely skims the surface. I expected to laugh, cry, wince, or snicker much more than I did - I know first-hand what library life is like and the author left out a lot. But, for someone who isn't an insider, it's a decent if skimpy introduction to the "quiet" (HA!) life of a public librarian.
May 20, 2008
This could have been written about any library USA!
February 14, 2018
Author Don Borchert offers some of his own personal history and a bunch of vignettes about the kids and adults who use, work at, or simply hang around a public library in Los Angeles. A number of the stories are poignant, and I think he intends some to be funny, in a kind of vaudeville or situation comedy way. But too many of the anecdotes ended too soon for me - they were the beginnings of great stories, but without the follow-through, or the final insight, that would have cinched them in memory. Sometimes it felt that Borchert just wasn’t that curious, or empathetic; patrons entered his world, behaved in odd or trying ways, and moved on, and he didn’t really dig beyond that to find out where they had come from before or where they went or what their lives might ultimately mean. Or maybe that was exactly the point: that working in the library, there isn’t any closure or depth to the temporary relationships one establishes with patrons. Still, several of the stories show some of his colleagues forming those deeper relationships, so I think the author either couldn’t or didn’t want to share his experience that way.
recommended
May 7, 2008My friend Bonnie recommended this book to me. In her own words, "If you ever wondered what it was truly like to work in a library, I highly recommend the following book: Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert. We all say we could write a book about the day to day life and shenanigans in the library, and he has done it. He works in a library in California and talks about the library business from the inside. Funny, I could relate to all of his stories and characters. They're all the same here in Attleboro, just different names. It was hilarious, although I wonder if the book itself was truly funny, or if it was funny to me and my co-workers because of our ability to relate on that level. If you read it, I'd be interested to hear your take on it." Thanks for the tip, Bonnie!
February 25, 2008
I value this author for his candor and think he does a lovely job revealing the dark underbelly of the library world. The book seems a good balance of the virtues and vices of the public library - what could have easily turned into a biblio bitch-fest is softened by stories of latch-key kids and off-beat patrons that are more than their quirks.
As to the debate surrounding "is he a real librarian?" Borchert has done his tour of duty long enough to capture the nuances of public libraries. High marks from this library lady.
As to the debate surrounding "is he a real librarian?" Borchert has done his tour of duty long enough to capture the nuances of public libraries. High marks from this library lady.
August 22, 2009
One of my library colleagues noted that this should be required reading for all library trustees and I kept wanting to point out different sections to members of my staff. It has now made the rounds of most of them.
So much was so true and so much made me even more depressed about my job than I am already despite being so #$%* funny.
So much was so true and so much made me even more depressed about my job than I am already despite being so #$%* funny.
July 17, 2014
Because I like libraries, and use the hell out my local, and I've had plenty of experience dealing with the public, I can enjoy reading about a librarian's experiences. I'm easily amused that way.
Library copy, of course.
Library copy, of course.
November 28, 2021
This is a very funny book that I feel tells you what it’s really like to work in a public library. The library is one of my favorite places in the world, and librarian has always been one of my top 5 career choices. Reading this book makes it very clear that being a librarian is not REALLY about books; it’s about people. And people come in all different varieties, and many of them feel entitled to an amazing breadth of free services from the library. This is a book I would have written if I worked in a library — hilarious, a tiny bit cynical, but not completely jaded (because, after all, the library is pretty awesome).
June 3, 2014
Funny, and occasionally sad or moving, this memoir is a bit like the old The Dispatches from a Public Library column in McSweeney's Internet Tendency (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/columns/dis...) -- mostly positive but just a little contemptuous of the patrons and the library itself, in a way only a library worker can understand.
I notice that some other reviews find the author to be too white and too male, which I don't think is his fault. It's a memoir after all. Some of the same reviewers also take umbrage at the fact that he suggests that he is a Librarian despite the fact that he does not have a library science degree and is "just" a paraprofessional. I think he never claims to have a degree but does occasionally talk about "we librarians," so if that is something is that is going to detract from your enjoyment of this book, I guess you should probably avoid it. For anyone else though, it is a pretty enjoyable book, especially if you love libraries*.
*and if you don't love libraries, please consider taking you own life. Thanks. :)
I notice that some other reviews find the author to be too white and too male, which I don't think is his fault. It's a memoir after all. Some of the same reviewers also take umbrage at the fact that he suggests that he is a Librarian despite the fact that he does not have a library science degree and is "just" a paraprofessional. I think he never claims to have a degree but does occasionally talk about "we librarians," so if that is something is that is going to detract from your enjoyment of this book, I guess you should probably avoid it. For anyone else though, it is a pretty enjoyable book, especially if you love libraries*.
*and if you don't love libraries, please consider taking you own life. Thanks. :)
December 11, 2018
A pretty entertaining and quick read. It’s amusing to see that every library has the same patrons and stories - the large Los Angeles library branch in this book has many of the same experiences we do at my midwestern, rural, stand-alone library.
I had to share the following passage about the Summer Reading Program with a fellow library staff member because it was just too true:
“And that was it; that was the dilemma in a nutshell. In one day, a girl declared that she had read approximately 1,600 pages. Not counting sleep, dinner and going to the bathroom, she had been banging through about two pages a minute for the past 24 hours. Do you shrug your shoulders and admit you’ve been had, or do you slam your fist on the table, stare the little girl in the eye, and call her a little bald-faced, rat bastard liar?”
There were some typos in this book - which I was of course disappointed by since it was coming from a library worker. And sometimes the author seemed a little humble-braggy. But overall I enjoyed this short book.
I had to share the following passage about the Summer Reading Program with a fellow library staff member because it was just too true:
“And that was it; that was the dilemma in a nutshell. In one day, a girl declared that she had read approximately 1,600 pages. Not counting sleep, dinner and going to the bathroom, she had been banging through about two pages a minute for the past 24 hours. Do you shrug your shoulders and admit you’ve been had, or do you slam your fist on the table, stare the little girl in the eye, and call her a little bald-faced, rat bastard liar?”
There were some typos in this book - which I was of course disappointed by since it was coming from a library worker. And sometimes the author seemed a little humble-braggy. But overall I enjoyed this short book.
December 18, 2007
Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas in the Public Library by Dan Borchert is a quick and compelling read detailing the day to day chaos of working in a public library. As a public librarian myself, I could completely sympathize and relate to the stories told and they all rang remarkably true (and disturbingly familiar). I could even tell a few more that would turn your hair white. It is quite well written, and I laughed out loud in several places.
My only lingering question is whether someone who doesn't work in a public library would find this book entertaining or horribly dull. If anyone else reads it, I would love to hear what you thought. For librarians, this is a pretty entertaining read. The chapters are pithy and blithe and you can read several of them easily in one sitting.
My only lingering question is whether someone who doesn't work in a public library would find this book entertaining or horribly dull. If anyone else reads it, I would love to hear what you thought. For librarians, this is a pretty entertaining read. The chapters are pithy and blithe and you can read several of them easily in one sitting.
September 2, 2019
Add this to the required-reading list for anyone considering working in a public library. Some of the stories I've told elsewhere about 'unusual' things that have happened in our library would fit right in here. The only real difference I see between the author's library and mine is the staffing numbers and arrangement, and the fact that it's pretty much a union shop. Otherwise...yep. I can relate to everything in the book. I even laughed at his description of catalogers, which is far from complimentary, wildly inaccurate in my experience--I would say that, though!--but funny as heck.
My only quibble: I think he must have been forced to leave out some of the Big Stuff because there were very few stories about bodily fluids--poop, vomit, blood--or animals in the library. Oh, and no one in his book ever falls off things when they are drunk. That's a semi-expected occurrence by us. ;-)
My only quibble: I think he must have been forced to leave out some of the Big Stuff because there were very few stories about bodily fluids--poop, vomit, blood--or animals in the library. Oh, and no one in his book ever falls off things when they are drunk. That's a semi-expected occurrence by us. ;-)
February 3, 2016
Three and a half stars, actually. I would have given four stars if it were not for a few incidences of crude humor and the author's penchant for dropping the f-bomb.
This is an insider's scoop on the workings of a library. While some of the details of big-city library employment were not something I could relate to as an employee of a small-town library (union membership, vacation days etc.), much of this book rang true for me. Some of it made me smile. One particular chapter (MMM) had me roaring as I read it on break at work. Several other stories were quite touching.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I was reminded that my work, while primarily providing the general public with services at the library, is really about human interaction. It reminded me that there are "stories" behind the people I deal with and challenged me to remember that.
This is an insider's scoop on the workings of a library. While some of the details of big-city library employment were not something I could relate to as an employee of a small-town library (union membership, vacation days etc.), much of this book rang true for me. Some of it made me smile. One particular chapter (MMM) had me roaring as I read it on break at work. Several other stories were quite touching.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I was reminded that my work, while primarily providing the general public with services at the library, is really about human interaction. It reminded me that there are "stories" behind the people I deal with and challenged me to remember that.
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