I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks

Shirley J.                  Adult Non-Fiction:Humor                     Funny (real) stories of life at a public library 

I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks by Gina Sheridan     160 pages

I loved these stories of real conversations that took place at public libraries Gina Sheridan has worked at.  Too funny from Library Fairies who are responsible for reclaiming books that suddenly disappear from homes (after the parent has read the book for the umpteenth time) to the child who put a book in the bookdrop right as the Librarian stubbed her toe and yowled in pain.  The child cried, "Oh, Mommy!  I think we hurt the book!" to the homeless lady behind the counter standing next to the Librarian who was 'helping out' by putting a newspaper away in a cubby hole, herself to the newly arrived foreign family who all just got their library cards and the youngest picked out the tiniest books she could find because she thought they would be cheaper for her parents to buy.   So many great stories, patrons distrustful of new faces waiting on them at the counter, and of course the encounters with the high and drunken.  Gina Sheridan takes it all with a sense of humor and a poker face until she gets out of view and hearing distance so she can laugh.     A fun read for library workers and the public.   I recommend this one to middle-schoolers on up.