The Library Book by Susan Orlean

This book was recommended to me by our book vendor, Follett, as a "top selller" in nonfiction.  One of my goals is to update our nonfiction holdings (still hovering in 2002/3 for our average age).  Now, the Dewey Decimal System is kinda weird (OK, let's be honest here, it's outdated, misogynistic, racist, and just plain dumb in some respects); things Library related are in the very first set of Dewey--027.  So that's where this was placed.  True, it does have a lot of Library stuff in it. For example, as topics are discussed, their Dewey numbers are included. Also how Libraries work and how this has changed as the American concept of "Library" has developed, how materials are processed and moved, the various jobs of the staff in a system holding millions of volumes (we hold about 9,000 for comparison), the relevance of Libraries today.  But also History, specifically American/California History tied to literacy, suffrage, urban planning, war, poverty, philanthropy, and politics.  And a lot about fire--how fire burns, how it spreads, and its suppression.  There is also a fair amount of personal autobiography and reflection.  It would be interesting to poll a bunch of Librarians and ask where they'd put it.  I think there'd be a wide spread based on age, location, and level of the Library and Librarian!  If I was going to teach a class or guest speak in a Librarian preparation program, I'd definitely be requiring at least an excerpt from this book and holding an exercise in cataloging.  Maybe something you might see some day?  #wink

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