ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries Celebrating libraries (and humor) e v e ry day B y S u sa n V azakas A little h u m o r m akes librarians m ore approachable L ibrary patro n s, particularly th o se w ith all- co n su m in g academ ic w o rk lo ad s, a p p re c i­ ate a little h u m o r in th e library. A university scien ce a n d en g in ee rin g library is th e d e n o f th e very serious. T hey enter, grim -faced, b e a r­ ing im m ense organic chem istry to m es (so ld by w e ig h t at th e b o o k sto re), an d c a rd b o a rd bo x es filled w ith circuit b o ard s o r plastic m o d els o f DNA. T hey travel from d o rm ro o m to class to lab a n d b ack again in an u n e n d in g cycle; their c lo n es b e c o m e contam inated; th eir c o m p u ter p rogram s crash; their pro tein s d e n a tu re as so o n as th ey tu rn th eir backs. T he p e o p le w h o com e to u se o u r S cience/ E n g in e e rin g Library h a v e th e w e ig h t o f th e w o rld o n th eir shoulders, a n d p e rh a p s it is th e co n stan t high-intensity level o f their existence th at m akes th em so d e e p ly ap p reciate a w ell- c h o s e n carto o n o r u n u su a l sight w h e n th ey co m e to study. L ib ra ry d ecor m a k e s p a tro n s sm ile O u r bulletin b o a rd alw ays has a selectio n o f carto o n s th at p o k e fun at science a n d te c h n o l­ ogy: air fares th a t ch an g e w ith con tin en tal drift; th e p o o r s o u l w h o h a s ta k e n to a p p ly in g H e is e n b e rg ’s u n c e rta in ty p rin c ip le to every­ thing, a c ro w d o f scientists d ro p p in g everything a n d ru n n in g o u t th e d o o r to w a rd a n a p p ro a c h ­ ing ice cream truck. My office d o o r sp o rts a sm all b u t choice collection o f library cartoons, including th e clas­ sic co m p lain t by a co u p le th at they have n o th ­ ing in co m m o n b e cau se o n e search es b y a u ­ th o r a n d th e o th e r b y title. A n o th er sh o w s a pristine ro o m filled w ith n eat ro w s o f co m p u ter term inals; a forlorn-looking fellow stan d s in the m iddle, spraying from a large can lab elled “Eau d e Library— E ssence o f Card Catalog D raw er.” In m y office is a giant fram ed p o ste r o f th e “p eriodic table o f d esserts,” co m p lete w ith Latin n a m e s a n d th e average n u m b e r o f calories p e r dessert. T his is flan k ed b y a p ainting o f an al­ ch em ist in an atm o sp h eric candle-lit room , an d a n ALA p o ste r featuring the crew o f th e U.S.S. E nterprise. My w in d o w sill is p o p u la te d b y a h e rd o f plastic d in o sau rs o f various colors an d sizes, all creeping, flying, a n d lum bering to ­ w a rd a n u n k n o w n destination. D in o s a u r fe e t D uring final exam w eek, I w ear a p air o f w oolly d in o sau r feet colored a m ottled green w ith large y ellow claw s. T h ese are a favorite o f m y c o ­ w o rk ers, an d p atro n s b e sto w d elig h ted sm iles as I w alk past, e v en w h e n th ey are in th e throes o f designing airfoils o r studying en zy m e k in et­ ics. Library p atro n s have m ad e special trips to m y office o r th e circulation d e sk to ask h o w th e y can g e t th eir o w n c o p ies o f th e posters. T h ey lau g h o u t lo u d at th e carto o n s o n th e bulletin b o ard , an d p e o p le passing outside m y office sto p a n d say “O oh, look at th e dinosaurs!” (I also u se d in o sau r m odels as prizes during m y bibliographic instruction sessio n o n C hem i­ c a l Abstracts-, th ey w o rk w o n d e rs to lo o sen u p th e crow d.) A n occasional charge in th e library litera­ tu re has b e e n th at w e take ourselves to o seri­ ously. It is very adm irable th a t w e tak e o u r jo b s seriously; h o w ev er, w h e n w e tak e o u r­ selves lightly, th e p atro n s enjoy it, .and w e b e ­ co m e m o re ap p ro ach ab le. A nd this m akes us b e tte r ab le to d o o u r jobs. ■ Susan Vazakas is a bibliographer a t Boston University February 1 9 9 3 / 6 7 If You Think an Automated M edia Tracking System Is a Luxury... Just Try Losing One of These... 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