Experiencing Edgar Allan Poe

Not so long ago, I made a promise to myself to read something a little spooky every Halloween. I am a complete wimp - a trailer for a scary movie is enough to give me nightmares. So, I decided to start fairly low on my personal freak out scale and re-read some of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe stories. Poe is not just a dusty classic book hidden away somewhere in a library anymore. Instead, there are many different ways to experience Poe - whether it be for the first time or the tenth and whether you want to read the unabridged version or look at some creepy pictures.

I like looking...        

One of my recent discoveries was two graphic novel collections of Edgar Allan Poe stories. Gris Grimley - the illustrator - has done a particularly good job of creating a haunted, moody atmosphere through his artwork. Although graphic novels are often decried by their critics as being unacceptable reading material, I have always found them to be excellent doorways to classic literature for people (and I count myself in this crowd) who don't want to read the entire text in the original. Give either Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Madness or Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Death and Dementia, both illustrated by Gris Grimley a try.

I like listening...

My graduate school years have marked the first time in my life I have had to deal with a long commute (I know, I know, I can hear my audience rolling their eyes). But to a girl who's longest wait time prior to this was about 15 minutes, it was a bit shocking. However, one upside to sitting in traffic has been a new appreciation for audio books. As I was browsing the library's book on CD collection I stumbled upon a collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories that had been adapted for radio in the 1940s and 1950s. Not only did these stories completely distract me through rush hour traffic, I also got to hear 40s/50s era radio shows - complete with sound effects, famous voices and tobacco and smoking commercials like you would not believe. Listening to these stories was a fun look into the past - if you can find this particular collection, I highly suggest you give it a listen. This is Edgar Allan Poe Smithsonian Legendary Performers Series.

I like reading...

If you do simply want to give Poe a read in the original, look for a set of his complete works. Most of his stories are not novel length, so it's easy to while away an evening reading several of his short stories. Also, after listening to stories that I had not read in a long time ("The Pit and the Pendulum" anyone?) I wanted to re-read them to see how closely the audio adaptations followed the actual story. Also (and I didn't remember this until recently) Poe wrote a great series of stories about a brilliant Parisian detective. So even if spooky reading isn't your thing, the mysteries might interest you. Reading Poe is always fun - and at times where real life can be tough, it's interesting to escape to a place where even inanimate objects like the trees and ground can be gloomy and atmospheric. Look for The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe at your local library.

Liberoriate -- explanations on the name of this blog

There was a time, not so long ago, when everyone knew exactly what librarians did. They sat behind a giant, wooden reference desk in state. Their gimlet eyes surveyed you as you crossed the room towards them, like some kind of ancient ruler awaiting a subject to beg a favor. If you phrased your question in a way that pleased them, they might point a commanding finger in the direction you must go to attain your goal. If you were really lucky, they might remove themselves from their throne and actually show you the treasure you sought. You would leave, having attained whatever document it was that would save your psychology paper from being, at best, a well worded but unsupported argument. Above all, you would be awed - nay, grateful beyond measure - that the supreme guardian of information had actually given you a few moments of their time and helped you find something.

Fast forward to my last dental appointment. I'm just finishing my final year in school and am very close to completing my Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS). I also had been feeling the need to get my teeth checked. Having been asked the inevitable question (You need a masters degree to work as a LIBRARIAN?) that every library student across the globe has been asked countless times I had felt myself more or less prepared to answer and defend my profession whenever I met someone new. However, at this particular time, I was at a distinct disadvantage. My mouth was propped open with something that tasted nasty and the nice lady who was cleaning my teeth was plying her instruments  with what I can only describe as cheerful, rampant enthusiasm. It was the moment when my mouth was being rinsed that she chose to proclaim "I don't see why we even need librarians anymore - I mean, we have Google, right?". She chattered on, oblivious to my gurgles of outrage and slit-eyed, glaring visage (I suppose she could have put that down to the light she was shining in my face). It was until later, when the (one-sided) conversation had moved on and I was again able to close my mouth that I gave some thought to what she had said.

The general public doesn't really know what librarians do. Indeed, before I went to library school, I didn't really have a clear idea of what librarians did. They just got to play with books all day, right? I was thinking this over when I posted a question to my circle of Facebook acquaintances. "You know what I just thought of? Librarians don't really have a verb. I mean, teachers teach and actors act but librarians don't exactly 'library', you know what I'm saying?". My friends and colleagues came to the rescue (as they always do) and offered alternatives (made up words) as well as several actual verbs. The made up word you see at the top of the blog here - "Liberoriate" was my favorite. The actual verbs were many. We refer, we teach, we acquire, we catalog, we find, we liberate, we direct, we help, we read, we suggest (or recommend), we organize, "or if we're really lucky, we tell stories" (thanks Scott!). So, for my own peace of mind, I decided to start a blog where I could practice my awesome (my own word) librarianship degree and present myself as an approachable and capable librarian (that's the 'portfolio' pages you might glimpse). I'll store my favorite web and print resources here and practice the fine art of reader's advisory, which I'm always trying to improve. This is my craft and I hope as you watch me practice it (dear-non-existent reader) that you'll come to understand what it is that librarians do. Liberoriate away!