This Book is Overdue and so is it's salute to the new age of librarians

While Marilyn Johnson was doing research for her book about obituaries(The Dead Beat)she soon became interested in the workings of the libraries she frequented and in particular,the library staff who were in the midst of embracing the new technological challenges in keeping up with the internet era that we're living in.

Naturally this lead to another book for her-This Book is Overdue,which goes over a whole slew of library professionals both online and off who are dedicated to extending the opportunities for knowledge expansion for their patrons. Many of these folks are not your old school Marian the Librarian stereotypes but have the same love of books and learning as that idealized figure represented:





The subtitle of the book is "How Librarians and Cybrarians can save us all" and there are plenty of them out there,such as the infamous Connecticut Four who defied the Patriot Act in order to uphold the privacy of their patron's records and the folks who created and still maintain an interactive library and reference center at the online avatar haven Second Life.

A major influence on new ways to look at libraries are the folks behind the reference desk who have become bloggers that talk openly(at times perhaps too forth coming for some)about the day-to-day business of library life.

The offbeat nature of many of the modern day library professionals is refreshing to see,not only for their more approachable appearances and willingness to tackle the world wide web via WorldCat,but their amazing enthusiasm for their work that's quite infectious.

From starting up collections of zines(those self published magazines that reflect street culture and personal stories) for their stacks to library book cart drill teams who perform for the delight of others at ALA conventions,these book savvy folks prove that bibliophiles can be just as fun loving and creative as many of the literary artists they celebrate:





Marilyn Johnson makes for a wonderful guide into this world,with the same fervent passion for books and libraries as her subjects and a friendliness on page that lets you share her excitement from chapter to chapter.

Even the end notes are amusing to read and that's a section I must confess to skipping and/or skimming many times when reading nonfiction. Here,it's like special features on a DVD that you won't want to miss out on.

This Book is Overdue is out and about,at a bookseller and hopefully a library near you as well. Whether you're a faithful library user or someone who hasn't been to one since you needed to look up something back in grade school,this book will open your eyes to the brave new world of library science and the folks who are smoothing the path for their fellow readers to follow. They're not just shelving books any more and that's a good thing for us all: