We here at Library Shenanigans have pointed you toward The Two Ronnies before, but we must do it again. Here’s the shouting in the library sketch. Thanks, David Kay!
a floating zine library?
Is it “an experimental public art project” or a floating library of artists’ books and zines? Both, apparently, and maybe more. Planned for August 2013 at Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of today it appears that the design and contents of the library are still up in the air, with this warning:
PLEASE NOTE that by submitting your materials for access on the Floating Library you acknowledge that any of these things may happen to your printed matter:
-extensive water damage
-stepped on at the bottom of a canoe
-sand between the pages
-borrowed and never returned
-returned but tattered after being enjoyed by many people.
Thanks, Emily Lloyd!
longest book domino chain ever
Record-breaking domino chain at the Seattle Public Library! Time-lapse photography shows the set-up. Over 2000 books go down. I particularly like the picnickers’ tableau! Thanks, BoingBoing.
Similarly, at the Colorado School of Mines in 2017:
https://www.facebook.com/arthurlakeslibrary/videos/1028789033920896/
(Thanks, Anita Pariseau!)
dancing in the library
Ohhhhhh …. look at these many dance performances incorporating books and/or libraries. At least two of the dances took place in the glass-walled stacks of a rare book library! The final video on the list reminds me of playing you-can’t-touch-the-floor and using books from a multi-volume set as stepping stones. Thanks, Dina Wood.
Stereotank’s Little Free Library
Cool waterproof futuristic mini-library in Nolita in NYC from Stereotank. Part of the Little Free Library project. We’ve seen other examples here at Library Shenanigans, but this one is my new favorite. Thanks, BoingBoing!
Dorny and Padgett pyramid book
In May of 2013 we purchased a copy of Petite Ode à Jean François Champollion by Ron Padgett and Bertrand Dorny. We have number 8 of 24 copies signed by the author and the artist. Each copy is somewhat different, with hand-glued collages throughout. Both the original text and the collage materials (maps, etc.) are in French. The book can be stored flat or displayed in a pyramid shape. Our particular copy comes with typed instructions from Padgett himself on how to configure the pyramid. (It isn’t difficult to configure, but those of us who find spatial relations challenging — this Curator included — will be glad to have the instructions.)
We are the second U.S. library (with Yale) and the third world-wide (with the Bibliothèque Nationale) to own a copy of this book. We look forward to sharing it with students and scholars.
a Hulk statue at the library?
The Northlake Public Library in Northlake, Illinois is hoping to raise money to purchase a nine-foot statue of the Hulk to promote its collection of graphic novels and comics. The perks for donating are pretty awesome, including, for just $20: “A librarian…will dress up as a comic character and take a picture of him/herself in random places in Northlake holding up a speech bubble. You send us what you want said in the speech bubble.” I wonder if the Incredible Hulk would get along with the Credible Hulk.
Thanks, Tom Mukite and ALA Think Tank on Facebook!
Pac-Man teaches you about copyright
Here’s My (Call) Number
Erica Carlson Nicol posted this sign to the ALA Think Tank on Facebook. It’s from the Neill Public Library in Pullman, Washington. Thanks, Marianne Aldrich!
Lego librarians, Oranges and Peaches
Lego recently introduced a librarian minifigure holding a copy of Oranges and Peaches, which is a bit of an inside joke for librarians (though really, in the age of Google, are there any truly inside jokes any more?).
Oranges and Peaches (a misunderstood Origin of Species) is an imaginary book made real; full story here. (The tale almost certainly originated in the 1995 movie Party Girl; a reference to it appeared in a scholarly article the following year.)
The description of the Lego librarian leaves something to be desired: it contains references to overdue books and shushing, not most librarians’ idea of the important part of our work. But of course, the librarian minifig has already been repurposed: Kristin Bell has made a Lego Viking librarian (something we all need in our minifig collection). I might also like to see mash-ups with the Warrior Woman or Medusa, but maybe not the Street Harassment Construction Worker.
Thanks, Joan Petit!




