The goodness of Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is something of a treasure to libraries, and not just because of the incredible books he writes. He is a strong advocate for fiction and reading which is very evident in his recent lecture 'Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming' 
It is no wonder with quotes like "Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one" that Mr Gaiman is beloved by librarians the world over :)  

The following are my top 5 Neil Gaiman recommendations. This was a pretty difficult list to narrow down, but these are my personal favourites - I'd love to hear which are yours!

Number 5
I'm going to cheat a little and link both The Sandman comic series and the various Death comic mini-series together, as they are after all connected. The Sandman comics were amongst the first I read when I was getting back into the whole comic scene in the mid 90's, and it is easy to see why they are considered classics in the genre.
The series centres around Morpheus, also known as Dream from The Endless, and he and his siblings Death, Destiny, Destruction, Desire, Delirum and Despair take us on a series of unbelievable exploits. The series has a very mythological feel to it, as do many of Mr Gaiman's works. I'll always have a soft spot for Death, who is always so much fun to cosplay, and the deluxe edition of her tales are well worth checking out.

Number 4
Mr Gaiman is a very diverse author and writes for ALL ages. He has many titles for kids under his belt, from the super cute Chu series of picture books to the rather spooky Coraline (I still look at buttons and shudder). But my favourite of these is the wonderful Fortunately, the milk.
Mum is away and Dad is in charge, and he's forgotten the milk for breakfast! Luckily he has some rather marvellous adventures getting it. Such a fun story to share with the littles (or not so littlies) in your life.

Number 3
From the very creepy beginning of The graveyard book where a small toddler manages to survive his entire family being murdered by a mysterious assassin, I was hooked. Bod (Nobody) Owens ends up being raised by the spooks at the nearby graveyard, a crazy assortment of characters. This was one book that stayed with me long after I finished it, in the very best way possible. I'm not sure how you can be creepy but heart-warming at the same time, but this book somehow manages it.

Number 2
Unbeknownst to me, I already owned a Neil Gaiman book long before I was even a fan. Another of my all time favourite authors is Terry Pratchett, and I own many of his books, including Good Omens: the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, a witch, which a little later down the track I realised was a collaboration with that same comic guy I really liked :)
In this fantasy comedy about the impending end of the world, Aziraphale the angel, and Crowley the demon are on a mission to find the (rather nice) 11 year old Antichrist and avert Armageddon.

And in my top spot - Number 1
Stardust is probably the only book I own in any format I can get it. I have the exact hard copy as pictured above. I have the stunning 4 part graphic novel set, beautifully illustrated by Charles Vess. I have the DVD of the movie adaptation (the book is better, lets face it, it usually is - but the movie is pretty lovely). To me this has the same magical timeless quality of The Princess Bride.
Tristran Thorn sees a falling star, and sets out to retrieve it in order to win the heart of his supposed one true love. He is not the only one questing to retrieve the star, and a fantastical adventure ensues. This book makes it not only on my top five Gaiman list, but also on my overall top five book list!

So those are my personal favourites, and I have missed so many wonderful titles I also loved off this list - the novels American gods (hopefully soon to be a TV series) The ocean at the end of the lane and Neverwhere, the stunningly beautiful The sleeper and the spindle (he retells the classics like no one else), his recent short story collection Trigger warning: short fictions and disturbances....I could seriously go on! Thanks Mr Gaiman for letting us share in your daydreams, they are indeed a magical (and sometimes very spooky) place :)

Today's the Day... New Wellsford Library is Open for Business

After months of planning, building and organising the new Wellsford Library building is finally opened for business. 

And it's a wait that's been well worth it as the new library building is just wonderful.  Light and bright and airy with plenty of space and energy efficient too with 115 solar panels making it the first solar-powered library in New Zealand.

It's certainly a far cry from the cupboard in the town hall that acted as the Wellsford Library back in 1946..

Yep you read correctly - a cupboard.

To say that the new building is a massive improvement from that very first library is... well an understatement.  It's a great testament to all the people who have been involved.

Not only is the new library building a vast improvement but the collection that fills it is sure to please the local patrons.

More than 2000 new items have been added, ranging from books to CDS to DVDs and magazines. 

There is something for everyone.

So if you live in the area or just passing through why not pop into the new library and check it out.

Inappropriate books for young people

Here in libraries, we're used to the stereotypes. We're all dull intellectuals with the sense of humour of a damp lettuce sandwich, and can possibly be incited to murder by the sight of a book shelved out of sequence. Just try it sometime.

Either that or we fall vaguely into one of these categories:

1) Sci fi and fantasy geeks who come to blows over whether Anne McCaffrey's books really count as fantasy when the dragons are genetically engineered.

2) Repressed madams who just want a man to unleash our inner tiger.

3) Beaming freaks who address everyone like a class of kindergarteners, clap our hands a lot and think everything is "woooonderful"!

No one - no one - ever views us as crusaders for social justice, or defenders of your freedom to speak. But we're that too.

There was a piece in the Daily Mail recently that really pissed me off. Ha. I can say things like that because I'm a librarian and we don't censor. Here's the link (with thanks to Syfygirl): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2256356/The-sick-lit-books-aimed-children-Its-disturbing-phenomenon-Tales-teenage-cancer-self-harm-suicide-.html

You may remember me having a go at Sherryl Jordan for criticising violence in teen fiction, particularly The Hunger Games. Well, would you believe it, this author deplores books like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (and presumably the likes of New Zealand's own See Ya, Simon) that feature dying teenagers. They're "distasteful", apparently. Kaayyyyy. Furthermore, the argument goes, they are preoccupied with sex and swearing. I would posit that the author knows few teenagers. And if she does, that she doesn't recognise that they too are capable of wanting more than mere escapism.

I'm the first to admit that I don't like books like John Green's. While I admired See Ya, Simon, and would recommend it to anyone, it's not the sort of book I would normally go for, either. Terminal illnesses, teen pregnancy, self-harm, abuse and doomed love - I avoid them all like the plague. But why should I stop others reading about them? The people who say that teens aren't ready for such books are also the ones who then complain that teenagers care about nothing but themselves, live in a fairyland, and want only to be famous (or marry someone who is). Which is it? Do we "protect" our kids from reading about real issues - and these are
real issues - and then curse them for not understanding?

I think teens read what they are ready to read. If a book disturbs them, they won't read any more like it - but they will have learned. Like the child psychologist says at the end of the piece, parents' role is not to ban them, but to be there for them, and support them in their questioning. Or do we stop them asking questions too? I would suggest that a lot of society's worst problems are the ones that happen in silence. It's sad that some teens feel inspired by books about suicide and self-harm - but the double standard Carey talks about between newspapers and books is there for a reason. The books are generally about fictional characters, or, obviously, by survivors warning of the dangers of adolescent life. They're about misery.

Newspaper articles are about real people. Bans on reporting suicides prevent fingers getting pointed at grieving families. Also, think of the public reaction, and the vast outpouring of grief. It is this that can cause copycat behaviour among teens, seeing the love and remorse that are released after someone takes their own life. They think: "They'll be sorry too when I'm dead".

Reading about others' misery is cathartic - especially if you talk it over with adults. Reading about what could be perceived as a triumph is far more dangerous. The important thing to remember is not to let your kids read in a vacuum.

At Auckland Libraries, any borrower can borrow any book, unless there is a strict, official censorship rating. You may not be aware that children are perfectly free to wander the shelves checking out books of borderline art or illustrated bedroom manuals. With the use of self-check machines, we can't even always catch them and ask to check with parents first. If this bothers you, watch your children in the library. Taking your kids with you and showing an interest in what they're reading is also the best way to encourage them to read - it's a win-win. But it's not our job as librarians to lock ideas away.

So don't blame publishers for publishing books that challenge the reader. Don't blame libraries for stocking them, either. We believe in letting kids be kids - and that includes asking uncomfortable questions.

A World Without Libraries?

I love libraries.

And yes I know what you're thinking.  I'm a librarian so of course I would love libraries.

But - and it's a very, very, big but.

My love of libraries would still be there even if I wasn't a librarian.  It's a love affair that I've had since I was a kid and it is, hopefully, a love affair that will continue for a great many more years.

So it always strikes me as rather sad when people talk about how unnecessary libraries are in today's world. 

Libraries have of course been around be for a long time.  Like a very long time.

Almost 4000 years in fact (give or take a century or two).  And in those 4000 years libraries have changed and evolved just like they are changing and evolving now.  They have seen governments and countries rise and fall, the invention of the printing press and computers and the planet ravaged by war, disasters and countless other momentous and significant events.

In the scheme of things libraries are doing pretty good.

And that's how it should be. Because libraries are not only important but necessary.

Forget all the things that you think libraries are about.

Forget about the books, the newspapers, the magazines, the music, the movies, the e-books, and so on and so forth.  Though they have all of that.

And don't even think of them as being depositories and custodians for works of cultural, historical and heritage significance.  Though they are that as well.

No, what libraries really are, at their most basic level, are places of knowledge and ideas and imagination.

And a world without any and all of these things would be a pretty sad place.

Knowledge gives us power.  The power to make choices.  To choose to go right or left or back or forward.

Ideas gives us solutions.  Solutions that see us reach for the stars, to grow beyond what we are, to expand our views and opinions.

And imagination?

Imagination encourages and inspires and ignites us.  It pushes us to reach for the impossible, to dare to dream, to hope, to wonder.

And that is probably the greatest gift that we can pass onto another.

That libraries can do all of these things is pretty damn wonderful. 

The invisible library for invisible people

There's a library in this city you must hope never to see, though it has to be the country's most exclusive. Literally. Even its patrons aren't allowed to visit.

Before you cleverly guess it's a digital library, it's not. It's a concrete location. Concrete, and rather a lot of steel.

The 650-plus inmates at Auckland Prison - or Paremoremo to most - have never seen where their books come from. Never experienced the pleasure of wandering through rows and rows of little worlds, in all shades of the rainbow. And fifty shades of grey, of course. Indeed, they don't even have Fifty Shades of Grey - although they have asked.

A few weeks ago, I was led through a grim maze of locked doors to the wee storerooms that house the Paremoremo collection. There, Barbara, the friendly librarian, showed me the shelves of books, mostly donations from individuals and public libraries, that are the inmates' best chance of escape. It was sobering. The weekly reading is wheeled around on a trolley by the library staff for inmates to pick from, and what they see is what they get.

The stereotype of the prisoner is someone with poor reading ability, which is mostly true. However, the Paremoremo library has become a hugely popular lifeline for those stuck inside, helping them learn psychology, get a driver's licence and re-discover the joy of reading. There's no internet in jail, and as everyone knows, TV isn't always the most satisfying, either. That leaves print. Everything from car magazines to Lee Child novels and cookbooks - yes - goes out like the clappers. Recipes and love poems are hotly-demanded fillers in letters home, to show loved ones their partner is thinking of them.

In fact, one of the most popular programmes run for prisoners last year was Storybook Dads. Inmates were able to record themselves reading bedtime stories aloud on DVDs, which were sent to their children for Christmas. At the women's prison in Wiri, Auckland Libraries staff hold Wriggle and Rhyme sessions for female inmates with babies, so they can enjoy some quality learning time with their little ones.

Although the Department of Corrections is starting to build up collections, especially with useful items like road codes and study guides, donations are still needed to keep collections fresh. Some of you might say they're lucky to be given anything at all - but consider, there's a new Government directive that re-offending be reduced by a quarter within four years. It seems obvious that raising literacy and education levels would be a huge help in this. And getting prisoners into books, of course, is key. Reading opens minds - but for these people, it can quite literally open doors.

If you would like to donate any books to local prisons, please contact:
Barbara Austin barbara.austin@corrections.govt.nz