Library: exension of the street, disfunctional home, etc.
Posted by Jacque on December 23rd, 2007
The aptly titled memoir of a public library assistant, Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library, gives a picture of goings on probably undreamed of by the majority of patrons accustomed to a well-ordered library environment.
Yet Don Borchert’s “expose” rings true say customer reviews at Amazon.
The author’s tales and anecdotes focus on the small percentage of activities that the library and its employees face, such as drug deals in the restrooms, floods of latchkey kids and unattended children as young as two, “the homeless, the mentally ill, occasional pedophiles, … con artists, thieves, and people who are in general angry with every level of state and federal government.”
Borchert’s book is witty and sometimes profane, says the reviewer for the Seattle Times, but provides the occasional out-loud laugh. He also celebrates the thrill “of giving someone the right book that can change his or her life,” and he describes the challenges and frustrations of working in a place “that welcomes everyone,” notes USA Today.
