Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas
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(Hardcover)
- Pub. Date: March 2008
- 330pp
- Sales Rank: 353,957
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: March 2008
- Publisher: Da Capo Press
- Format: Hardcover, 330pp
- Sales Rank: 353,957
- ISBN-13: 9780786720910
- ISBN: 0786720913
Synopsis
An unexpectedly raucous and illuminating memoir set in a Southern California public library
Booklist
Clear[s] away stereotypes about public-service librarians and affirms their worth.Offers unique and utterly engaging insights, valuable for public librarians, managers, and trustees.
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Scott Douglas is a librarian at the Anaheim Public Library, a job he has been chronicling for the McSweeney’s Web site since 2003.
Customer Reviews
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Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarianby Anonymous
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August 22, 2008: Equal parts witty, thoughtful, and pretentious, Scott Douglas' ''Quiet, Please'' is a generally enjoyable memoir from the frequent McSweeney's contributor. Last year when Don Borchert's ''Free for All'' was released, numerous librarians jumped on it, mostly because Borchert did not have his master's degree, therefore he should not be able to call himself a librarian. At least one review on this website wished for a book from Scott Douglas. Well, here it is, and guess what? It's not all that different from Borchert's. The format is mostly the same -- each tells how they came to their current profession, and spins a number of anecdotes [some amusing, some heart-wrenching, and some in between] peppered with their thoughts on the role of libraries in our communities. They certainly take different perspectives on the latter. Scott Douglas -- who was by his own estimation on the intellectual side to begin with -- takes an historical view and is full of passion for all aspects of the library profession. Borchert's book is a bit more blue-collar, and he's certainly not one to wax philosophical about what he does for a living. That doesn't really make one book better or worse than the other. They're simply *different*, and both deserve to be read because they both have worthwhile things to say. The only major drawback to ''Quiet Please'' is the pretentiousness I mentioned earlier. Douglas knows his library history. He knows a lot of stuff, for that matter, and he loves to show it off. Each chapter contains a ''commercial break'' where he interrupts the narrative to briefly discourse on topics as varied as Henry Adams and his praise for the invention of the dynamo, the history of popcorn, and the practice of human sterilization. By and large they're distracting and add little to the book itself, except as little nuggets of data to file away for Trivial Pursuit night. Still, I recommend you read this book, especially if you are a librarian or you're thinking of entering the library profession.
Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarianby Anonymous
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March 01, 2008: This is a great coming of age book with a lot of dry wit and humor in it. Scott Douglas is honest, smart and quick to write a great memoir. I read this book and all the times I have been in the library thought 'So true!'. It is relatable and funny and surprisingly heart warming. This is a book I did not want to end.
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