In Other Words: Celebrate Library Love all Month Long

Valentine’s Day is only one day, but all of February is . Here are some items with Librarians as main characters or libraries as there settings.

Camel Bookmobile. Masha Hamilton. 2007. Librarian Fiona Sweeney from New York looks for adventure and a chance to do good by bringing books to the people in remotest Kenya by way of a camel bookmobile. The access to books elates some, but intimidates the tribal elders who fear change. Little did Fiona expect that her intended good would cause a tribe to start feuding. Although this story is fiction there is such a thing as a camel bookmobile.

Dewey Decimal System of Love. Josephine Carr. 2003. Ally Sheffield, a 40-year-old, unmarried librarian is finally in love. That the object of her affection is a world famous and very married orchestra conductor doesn’t stop her from trying to get his attention. In the process she discovers some interesting things about her friends, her coworkers and herself. Will she find a better love with someone more attainable than the conductor?

Lethal Legacy. Linda Fairstein. 2009. Librarian Tina Barr is attacked then disappears before authorities can question her about the attack. Another woman is found murdered in Tina’s abandoned apartment and then Tina is also found dead. Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper and her NYPD sidekick Detective Mike Chapman are called on to solve the crimes. Their investigation leads them to the New York Public Library in search of a priceless edition of Alice in Wonderland and a legendary map that people are willing to kill for.

Time Traveler’s Wife. Audrey Niffenegger. 2004. Also a Movie on DVD starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. This is the love story of Artist Clare Abshire and Henry De Tamble an adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time. The knowledge that they may be separated without warning helps them treasure the moments they have together.

Library Gingerbread Man. Dotti Enderlee. Colleen M Madden, illustrator. 2010. Grades 1-4 The Gingerbread Man who lives at 398.2 on the library shelves gets restless one day and escapes the librarian’s grasp. He is chased by characters from other parts of the Dewey Decimal System, including a thesaurus at 423.1, a giraffe at 599.630, and a robot at 629.892. He is saved from the Arctic fox in 998 when the Librarian catches him and returns him to his book for the next eager reader.