The Secret Society of Librarians

After completing their library studies in 1936, Jo, Joyce, Grace, Beth, Evelyn, Clara, Annie and Dorotha decided to form the Secret Society of Librarians (SSL) and produce a newsletter Libertatem per Lectio.  Most of the women worked in libraries in various parts of England while Dorotha returned to her home country, Poland. Then in 1939 Hitler's army invaded Poland and England was at war with Germany. The last that the SSL hear from Dorotha is a letter Joyce receives requesting that the SSL assist Adela, her young sister, when she escapes Poland to travel to England. Adela initially works with a family that has left London for a house in the country.

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson tells the story of life in England during the Blitz and in a Jewish ghetto in occupied Poland through the eyes of Joyce in London and Dorotha in Poland. Members of the Secret Society of Librarians resolve that if people cannot come to their libraries then the role of the librarians is to get the books to the people. Many of the libraries are bombed along with homes, shops and factories. However the women strive, when possible, to make reading material available to those who need to read books as a distraction from the devastation occurring around them.

In some cases parts of libraries can still be used but library staff carry books to people who cannot visit a library. Joyce makes it her mission to establish a mobile library. Libraries are also established in underground shelters. Library staff also conduct reading sessions for young children.

The story is revealed via Joyce's life in London during the Blitz and Dorotha's struggle for survival in Poland, especially when family members disappear. In London Joyce takes responsibility for looking after Adela who helps her with the library projects. When the war ends the SSL hear no news from Dorotha.

Once again Kate Thompson has written an important account of the effects of war on ordinary people and the resilience of people in their attempts to survive. The novel is also about the importance of books and reading in the lives of ordinary people, particularly in times of stress, and how libraries and librarians are an important part of communities.

At the end of the novel the author includes extensive historical notes relevant to events in the story plus excerpts of oral histories from people who experienced the Blitz in London. 

What Rhymes With Murder?

Frida and Ben have a six month old son, Finn, who they both love dearly. But Frida has trouble adapting to motherhood and is constantly afraid that something might happen to Finn. She sees a psychiatrist regularly and knows that she must make an effort to leave the house and explore the outside world again with her son. However it is not easy.

Then she decides to attend the Baby Rhyme Time session with Finn at their local library. Finn appears to be enjoying the session and Frida begins to relax and chats to some of the parents until there is a scream and a body is discovered in the library. Things like this should not happen in suburban East Melbourne. When Frida tries to work out what actually happened she discovers that a number of other library users also have opinions about how Beatrice died.

What Rhymes With Murder by Penny Tangey is primarily an amusing cosy crime novel that also has a serious side as it also touches on themes of abortion, post-partum depression, anxiety and women’s rights.  The novel follows the attempts of an eclectic collection of amateur sleuths as they investigate the cause of how and why a body landed on the floor of the library. Eventually they join forces in their investigation and, as well as discovering what happens, new friendships are formed.

What Rhymes With Murder is an easy to read crime novel which includes references to parts of East Melbourne that will be familiar to many readers. I suspect that there may be sequels to this book in the future.

The Cat Who Saved the Library

Nanami spends most of her time in the library so she knows the collection well. Until one day she noticed that books had vanished from the shelves. Feeling concerned she watched some of the other library users until one evening she spied a strange man who may be the thief. Nanami began to follow him until a cat appeared and warned her that danger lies ahead.

Nanami and Tiger, the talking cat, work together to retrieve the missing books that are now in a building in a different world. The entrance to this other world is via a passage in the library but there is no guarantee that it will always be there. Another passage, Nanami discovers, leads to a book shop. 

In The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa,  Nanami and Tiger discover a world where the occupants are expected to mechanically follow what others are doing and not think for themselves. Questioning decisions and beliefs is harmful and not an option. That is why books that encourage readers to question different theories and beliefs, to experience different worlds and ideas through literature and come to their own conclusions are being removed. 

For those who love books and reading this is a book worth considering for your to be read list. It is a sequel to the first book in this series - The Cat who Saved Books.

The Bookover's Library

One of the advantages of reading novels is often discovering aspects of history. On visits to  England we had been aware of Boots the Chemist stores. However, through reading The Booklover's Library by Madeline Martin, I know now that Boots the Chemist also housed circulating libraries in their shops from the late 1800s. This historical fiction novel also provides information about living in England during the Second World War. 

Emma Taylor lives in Nottingham. She is a widow with a young daughter and is trying to find a job to help pay the bills. However this is a time when women were required to leave work when they married. Emma's luck changes when she is employed at the Booklover's Library at the local Boots the Chemist store on the condition that people do not know that she is married. 

Mixing work with being a mother is not easy and Emma faces many challenges but is assisted by a friendly landlady who offers to look after Olivia after school. But then World War Two arrives with the threat of German air attacks and Emma realises that Olivia would be safer living with a family in the country.

This is a story about community, understanding difficult people and, of course, the value of books and reading in providing support to individuals. The knack of choosing the right book for a person is a special skill that Emma has. It is also a book about the effects of the Second World War on families and the efforts of communities to work together. It is also about how danger and challenges can create opportunities for people to work together and sometimes form new friendships and relationships.

Book-lovers Library - Gold Star Guides

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: true stories of the magic of reading

American author James Patterson has collected stories from booksellers and librarians, throughout North America, describing why they enjoy providing books for people to read. Finding the right book for someone to read is a challenge enjoyed by most librarians and booksellers. However recommending books to read is not a one way street. When I worked in libraries library patrons would often also recommend authors or titles to me. Reading can and should be a shared experience. 

The book is divided into five sections:

• To be a bookseller, you have to play detective
• I could talk about books forever
• I can't imagine what people do without books in their lives
• It doesn't matter what you like to read, as long as you love to read
•  Just one more chapter, please, just one more chapter
  

Stories in the book include a number of discussions on choosing books for people of different ages, interests and needs at a particular time. Promoting collections is also an important part of running a bookshop or working in a library and a range of promotional and outreach projects are described as well as arranging author talks. COVID-19 provided challenges for those operating bookshops and libraries. Censorship of collections and campaigns to ban books is also discussed. Libraries and bookshops (especially independent bookshops) are increasingly becoming community hubs. Research indicates that readers continue to enjoy reading physical books.

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians is a book that the reader can dip into at leisure to enjoy reading the observations of people who love books and reading. 

As an aside, some of the accounts refer in passing to books by Patterson while there is a long list of books he has written or co-written at the end of the book.

The Royal Librarian

Sophie Klein was living with her family in Vienna when Hitler annexed Austria. Sophie had promised her mother that she would take care of her younger sister, Hanna, but where could they go? As her father's family was Jewish, staying in Austria was not an option.

Sophie managed to find a place for Hanna with a group of other young children being shipped to the United States. Sophie had worked in libraries and as she was fluent in German and English she eventually managed to find a position working in a library in England where part of the job description was to translate German documents into English. The library position was at the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.

In this work of historical fiction by Daisy Wood, we learn of Sophie's life and challenges from 1938 until 1943. The story is also told from the viewpoint of Lacey Jones who lives in Philadelphia in 2022. One day Lacey discovers that her grandmother had been born in Austria and that her grandmother had a sister who had worked in England in the Royal Library. Lacey decides to go to England to try and find out about her great aunt's story and why her grandmother never mentioned her sister.

The Royal Librarian is a work of fiction laced with historical facts but the information about living in the castle during the war is mainly fictional. However the author creates an atmosphere of what living in Austria and England was like during the Second World War, including the fears faced by the citizens of England as they waited for the impending German attack. It is another readable book about the challenges of living in England during the Second World War.

The Other Bridget

Julie Jones decided to name her daughter Bridget after the main character in a book she had been reading. At the time she did not realise how popular the books and subsequent films would become. Therefore Bridget's name was later shortened to Bee. Like her mother, Bee loved reading books and discovered that she had the talent of being able to recommend the right book for someone to read. She therefore became a librarian working in the public library in Freemantle.

Bee is successful in her job and has a close set of friends however this success does not extend to romantic relationships. Then she meets Fabio, the Italian barrister, who works at a local cafe and makes the best coffee. Could this develop into a successful relationship? She also has a new neighbour, Dr Michael Sullivan, who is definitely not friendly and is learning to play the bagpipes.

The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns is a romantic comedy exploring Bee's challenges at work and in developing relationships. The book has an interesting range of characters who keep the story moving. The power of books and reading and the importance of libraries as community spaces is emphasised throughout the novel. The book also looks at the effects of childhood cancer on families. 

I don't read many books in the Romance genre but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

What You Are Looking For is in the Library

Needless to say when I saw this title I knew that I had to read this book and I was not disappointed. What you are looking for is in the library, written by Michiko Aoyama and translated from Japanese by Alison Watts, tells the story of five people who are at crossroads in their lives and how they make decisions that will impact on their future. Although the five chapters each feature one of the main characters, interactions between characters occur throughout the book to create an interweaving story.

Tomoka sells clothing in a large department store, Ryo is an accountant in a furniture manufacturing firm, Natsuma is a young mother who was a magazine editor before the birth of her child but now reluctantly works in the Information Resources department, Hiroya wants to be an artist but is currently not employed in any work and Masao has recently retired. The common thread is that they all discover the local community centre and the library where they meet librarian, Sayuri Komachi, who not only helps them find the books they are initially seeking but also suggests an entirely different book that in all cases influences the next decisions that they make about plans for their future.

How books and reading can effect a person's view on life is a theme of the book. Another theme is the importance accepting one's involvement in a community.

What all the characters finally learn is that it is OK to look at life differently and decide what they really want in the future, not necessarily what they feel the world expects of them. As the librarian explains to one of the characters - "Readers make their own personal connections to words, irrespective of the writer's intentions, and each reader gains something unique". Some characters changed careers or changed their attitude to the work they were doing. Others discovered how to incorporate new interests or hobbies into their normal lives creating a lifestyle that was more than just work. 

All in all this is an uplifting novel showing the importance of books, libraries and librarians in communities. The novel also encourages readers to consider how books can influence their lives.

The Librarianist

Bob Comet is a retired librarian living alone in a house inherited after the death of his mother. He spends most of his time reading and going for an occasional walk. On one occasion he comes across an elderly woman standing still gazing at a display in a Seven / Eleven. Bob notices that she is wearing a lanyard which includes the name of the home where she lives so he guides her back to where she belongs. Bob is shown around the home and decides that he may be able to help as a volunteer. 

Gradually Bob gets to know the residents on his regular visits to the home. Then an event occurs that triggers Bob's memories of past events in his life - growing up in the 1940s including a time when he ran away from home, and his relationship with Connie and Ethan.

The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt is a book about self discovery and about relationships. It is about evaluating the events of the past in order to understand life in the present.  This story of the relationships of people sometimes on the edge of society is told with quiet humour.

The Body in the Library

Recently when watching Pointless, one of the answers on the board was The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie, a title that I knew well but hadn't read, so I borrowed a copy from the library. The book was first published in 1942 and features Miss Marple as one of the characters. Needless to say Miss Marple does solve the crime before the police work out who committed it.

Colonel and Mrs Bantry wake one morning to be told by their staff that there is a body of a young woman lying on the floor in their library. The police are immediately called and Dolly Bantry also contacts her friend, Miss Marple, for her assistance. There is a long list of suspects, especially when it is discovered that the victim had been befriended by Conway Jefferson who had ammended his will leaving her a large sum of money. Then the body of another young girl is found in a burned out car in a quarry. The police and Miss Marple work together to solve the mystery.

The Little Wartime Library

The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson is a work of fiction based on actual events. Bethnal Green's first permanent library opened in 1922 financed by Andrew Carnegie. Then in September 1940 a bomb crashed through the roof of the building destroying the library. The Bethnal Green Underground was half completed at the start of the war but when the bombing of London began the local community took possession of the underground area. Tiers of bunks were installed where those whose homes had been destroyed could stay and a small underground community evolved including a nursery, theatre space and a library.

The characters in the book are fictional but the novel conveys the local community spirit that existed in that time of danger when so many people not only lost their homes and possessions but also members of their families in London, as well as those fighting overseas.

Clara Button was the children's librarian in the old library but she is now in charge of the underground library, assisted by close friend, Ruby Munroe. Together, with the assistance of many of the library patrons, they provide a service for those who need a distraction from what is occuring above ground. In the novel we meet a range of characters, including the children who swarm to the library for storytime each evening. The novel examines what reading and libraries mean to people.

But the war is never far away and the reader is constantly reminded of not only the impact of recent events on a close knit community but also devastation of the war overseas and its affects on families at home.

Throughout the novel the importance of books and libraries is stressed and at the beginning of each chapter there is a quote from librarians who comment on the importance of libraries and of reading. At the end of the book the author includes a history of the real Bethnal Green Library which was recently closed to become a COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Centre. During recent years library services have been reduced or removed from many communities in the UK and a campaign was launched to ensure that Bethnal Green Library would reopen again. At the back of the book there is also a detailed section on the campaign to save public libraries and a detailed bibliography providing information about books about libraries as well books mentioned in the novel.

The Little Wartime Library is definitely one of the best books that I have read this year.

The Midnight Library

For Nora there appeared to be no reason for living until she found herself in a space between life and death. In the Midnight Library she once again met her former school librarian, Mrs Elm, who introduced Nora to a heavy volume listing the many regrets that Nora had about life. The rest of the library was full of books that allowed Nora to slide back to the incident causing the regret and discover the outcome good or bad that could have occurred. What may her life been if she had made other choices? The more life events that Nora encounters, the lighter the book of regrets becomes.

As Nora investigates how her life may have been she gradually realises that much of her life had been lived endevouring to please family and friends and often the regrets that she accrued were not necessarily due to her own faults. As Nora learns more about herself she realises that she really wants and needs to live.

In The Midnight Library Matt Haig uses the concept of the possibility of many lives lived governed by choices made and allows characters to slide (time travel) between those lives. However this only works when the clock in the Midnight Library remains at 12 pm. Once time moves on the Midnight Library will be destroyed. The Midnight Library is about the many choices we make in life and adjusting to the relationships and consequences that can arise from those choices.

The Paris Library

My granddaughter has been known to comment - Once a librarian always a librarian. This probably explains why I am drawn to reading about libraries and about books. I also enjoy novels based on historical events so The Paris Library by American author Janet Skeslien Charles was almost guaranteed to be a book that I would enjoy.

There are two story threads and time periods woven throughout the novel - the story of twenty year old Odile Souchet, her family, colleagues and friends in occupied Paris plus the relationship between a much older Odile in 1983 now living in Froid, a small town in Montana. Lily, a teenage girl living next door to Odile in Froid, escapes from family pressures when she is befriended by Odile who teaches her French and helps Lily deal with life's challenges. Gradually we learn of the events that led to Odile settling in America and, with Lily, discover secrets long hidden.

The America Library in Paris was established in 1920 so it celebrated its centenary last year. The novel is largely based on actual events. Miss Reeder was director of the library when the Germans occupied part of Paris and when she returned to the USA the Countess de Chambrun took charge. One of the librarians, Boris Netchaeff, was shot by the Gestapo and many of the incidents described were based on actual events. This novel therefore portrays a slice of history during the Second World War.

This novel is also a story about friendship, trust, jealousy, misunderstandings, courage and love. It is the story of facing challenges that a person should not have to face but finding ways to survive in dangerous situations. Throughout the War the library remained open continuing to provide books for library members as well as for soldiers serving their country. I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the power and importance of books and reading in people's lives and the people who worked so hard to maintain the library service through difficult, and often tragic, times.

The library of lost and found

Martha Storm works as a volunteer in an English public library though she hopes to shortly obtain permanent employment. Martha obviously loves working with and helping people, most of the time, but eventually she decides that it is time to declutter her house and reorganise her life.

Martha has always helped other people including looking after her parents for many years when they were ill instead of marrying the man she loved. Martha's childhood memories, however, are of good times spent with her grandmother, Zelda, and the stories that they would write. But then in 1982 Zelda died.

Many years later Martha found a book of short stories with the inscription - June 1985, To my darling, Martha Storm. Be glorious always, Zelda x. - a book containing many of the stories Martha had written as a child.

This was the beginning of new life for Martha as she strove to discover not only the whereabouts of her grandmother but why she had been told that her grandmother had died. Other family stories are also revealed as Martha reunites with her grandmother and learns about her past. Martha also learns the true meaning of friendship and independence.

This gentle, often amusing, book by Phaedra Patrick is a story about relationships including discovering oneself. It is also a book about reading and libraries and many of us who have worked in public libraries will recognise some of the incidents and perhaps even people as described in this book about life.

The Librarian

Recently I read a short review in The Age newspaper about this book so, as a librarian, I decided to reserve a copy of The Librarian by Sally Vickers from the library.

I worked as a children's librarian in the late 1960s so as the main character in this book, Sylvia Blackwell, began her career in a children's library in the late 1950s  I was immediately interested in the story. Fortunately the library service where I worked provided a very different service compared to the challenges faced by Sylvia, however I related to her desire to provide a friendly, welcoming space for children where they could choose the books they wanted to read. Unfortunately Sylvia's manager and some members of the library committee do not agree with her plans.

The book also provides a study of relationships and often prejudices in a small English community. Of course romance is a central theme for part of the novel but this is just part of the study of the relationships in this novel.

Throughout the novel the importance of the enjoyment of reading from a young age as well as the necessity of having libraries for all to enjoy is a major theme. This includes references to titles of children's books that I read and recommended to children all those years ago and hope that my grandchildren may also enjoy reading. A list of books mentioned is provided at the back of the book.
Part 2 of the book is short and is set in present times where the author provides an update on some of the characters we met in part one of the book. She also makes reference to the move in some areas of England to close libraries or, in some cases, staff libraries with volunteers instead of librarians.

Throughout the book the author has captured aspects of life in England during the 1950s. This is the second book that I have read by Sally Vickers and I will look for other books by her to read.


The local library helped me to become a novelist - letter to The Guardian by Sally Vickers (2 February 2017)
Why libraries matter - Irish Times (2 May 2018)
Libraries lose a quarter of staff as hundreds close - BBC News (29 March 2016)

The Librarian

Last year on the Sy-fi channel on Foxtel I discovered a program called The Librarians. The fourth series ended this month. A colleague, another librarian, told me that before the television series there had been three television films with the general title, The Librarian. In his opinion the films were better than the series. I borrowed a DVD, The Librarian Trilogy, containing the three films from my local library and have just finished watching them. Some of the events in the telelvision series now make more sense having seen the films though you can still enjoy the television programs on their own.

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear was released in 2004, The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines in 2006 and The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice in 2008. The television series, The Librarians, ran from 2014-2018. A fifth series was planned but was cancelled earlier this month.

Watching these programs takes you into a word of fantasy and adventure and often humour as the staff of The Library attempt to prevent ancient and usually mystical treasures from falling into the hands of those who want to use the power of the object for evil purposes. There are frequent allusions to mythology, literature or history in each storyline.

Flynn Carson is the initially reluctant librarian recruited to work with Charlene and Judson in The Library which secretly houses the treasures of the world. In the films he travels, by conventional transport, to different parts of the world on his dangerous quests. Flynn appears in many of the television episodes but is now The Librarian working with a team of younger librarians, Jacob Stone, Cassandra Cillian and Ezekiel Jones. Each member of the team has special powers. The fourth member of the team is Eve Baird who has the role of protecting the librarians. Jenkins is their mentor and care-taker of the library. In the television series the librarians travel to and from their destination via a special portal.

All in all I have totally enjoyed entering the world of The Library with its special treasures and personality and watching the endeavours of the librarians striving to protect the world and The Library from mystical danger.

The library of unrequited love

First published in French in 2010 with the English translation published in 2013, The library of unrequited love by Sophie Divry consists of a 92 page monologue issued by a librarian who, before opening hours, discovers a patron who has slept overnight in the library. The patron is told that he has to wait the two hours until opening time before he can leave and in the meantime the librarian provides him with a cup of coffee along with her views of libraries, books, library users, library staff, library bureaucrats, the Dewey Decimal Classification System, French culture, the Arts interspersed with her comments about a young researcher, Martin, who she wishes would notice her.

The only voice we hear throughout the book is that of the librarian and although it is obvious that at times the patron interjects we only hear her responses to his reactions. This amusing book is written as one paragraph and should be read in one sitting to be fully appreciated. Anyone who works in libraries or uses libraries should enjoy this short tale.