In the Stacks with Barbara Moon

To kick off BANNED BOOKS WEEK, I'm starting my latest and greatest Blog Section: IN THE STACKS (name stolen from Barbara Moon, and since I'm stealing the cool name, I'm going to start off with her.)


I have never met Barbara but I feel so grateful to her because she was the VERY FIRST NON-RELATED PERSON to write to me about FREEZE FRAME, even reviewing it after just reading the ARC (advanced reader's copy) Since then, we have been in contact (thank you Twitter) and she has become a great "virtual" friend. I hope we can meet someday!!


(AND, if you're a librarian and want your library IN THE STACKS, you can become absolutely famous with my five or six blog readers. Let me know if you want to be here, and I'll send my super questionnaire your way!) :-) Who can resist that kind of an instant-fame deal?

What's your library's name and where is it located?

[Barbara Moon] Suffolk Cooperative Library System (a consortium of 56 independent libraries and their branches located on Long Island )

Why are you a librarian?

[Barbara Moon] I love books. I love people. I love connecting books & people. I love finding creative solutions to interesting problems. I like marketing new books and services.

Have you ever "shushed" anybody?

[Barbara Moon] I have never “shushed” but I have gone up to a couple of teens and mentioned that someone near them was trying to study. If no one is around, I don’t care if there is some noise.

Most people generally think of librarians as schoolmarms. What are three unexpected "non-librarian" things about you (short of being a hired assassin if, in case, you are)?

[Barbara Moon] I’ve hiked in “the bush” in New Zealand ( similar to a rainforest), visited a castle in Spain named for me (Santa Barbara. well, at least it has my first name. The named for me part is doubtful.) I ADORE Tex-Mex food – like it spicy!!!

In Freeze Frame, Mr. Cordoba spends an inordinate amount of time reading the newspaper. I have been told (ahem, oops) that this is pretty unrealistic, however nice it might be. So can you name four things you do in the library that most people wouldn't know about?

[Barbara Moon] hand out candy, play music, use strings of lights to highlight book displays, and an impromptu juggling contest (this is when I was a school librarian)

As for Mr. Cordoba, I know plenty of librarians who spend an extraordinary amount of time with crossword puzzles, facebook, etc. I’m pleased that Mr. Cordoba read the paper. I thought that was great! The one misconception that most people have about librarians is that you spend a great deal of “work” time reading. Not so, all my reading is done in my off hours.

What is your most-requested book? (Or one of the top requested)

[Barbara Moon] Twilight & Fruits Basket

What is your favorite book, one you read over and over again?

[Barbara Moon] This is impossible now. As a child I reread a copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales until I wore out the binding. I literally loved it to death.

If you could have any author visit your library, who would it be? Why?

[Barbara Moon] Too many to count. I have listened to and met some very interesting authors. Recently I heard Tracy Kidder – what a truly human human being. I like his books. I also think that M. T. Anderson and John Green gave some of the most thoughtful speeches at last year’s ALAN workshop. Very thought-provoking. Joan Bauer and Libba Bray are so warm and personable and approachable. The list goes on and on….

The Proust Questionnaire for Librarians:
1. What is your favorite word? yes
2. What is your least favorite word? no
3. What turns you on? trying something new and exciting
4. What turns you off? people who say “we’ve never done it that way”
5. What sound or noise you love? laughter
6. What sound or noise you hate? fingernails on the chalkboard? I don’t know. I have never thought about this.
7. What is your favorite curse word? (Yes, I know librarians curse!! You have whole dictionaries and thesauruses of curse words, I imagine!) I really don’t curse. But I can give you a look that will cause you to stop dead in your tracks.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? something creative with color, paint, or fiber
9. What profession would you not like to do?anything with numbers, illness, or operating a motor vehicle is out.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “welcome home”

a. The Pet Club at Riverhead Library (They collect pet food, blankets and towels for the animal shelter as well as make their own homemade pet biscuits etc.)
b. The wall at Babylon (designed by a local artist)
c. The Port Jefferson craft club (girls knitting)