Holly, Author at Awful Library Books

Women’s Guide to Handguns

November 1, 2021 Holly Ladies only! 3 comments

The Women’s Guide to Handguns: A Primer for Safe Self-Defense
Carmichel
1982

Submitter: First, this book is from 1982 and gun laws have changed in many states, especially our state of Massachusetts. That alone makes this an easy weed with a replacement. Second, I love how the opening starts out with scary statistics, a promise not to use fear in this book and continues on with more scare tactics. Not to mention condescending…

Holly: Handgun ownership by women is wayyyy more popular now than it was 40 years ago. This definitely needs to be updated!

Friday Fiction: Amos Fortune: Free Man

October 22, 2021 Holly Friday Fiction 10 comments

Amos Fortune: Free Man
Yates
1951

Submitter: Somehow this book from 1951 was still on the shelf, maybe because of that shiny Newbery sticker on the cover. Or maybe it just got overlooked. Either way, a story of a slave written in the 50s is likely going to be questionable today, and I would say this one is. Descriptions comparing Black characters to dogs and untamed animals are jarring. The idea that Africans needed to be civilized before they could handle freedom seems to be presented not as something that many people wrongly believed at the time but as actually being true. At one point it is spoken directly from the still-enslaved main character himself. With some guidance and discussion, this book could be instructive of assorted historical and current trends in racist thought and language, but the public library kids biography section isn’t the place for that.

Rhythmic Activities

October 12, 2021 Holly Fine and Not So Fine Arts 8 comments

Rhythmic Activities Series II
Stuart and Ludlam
1955, 1963

Submitter: This set of cards with songs and activities is not only ancient and falling apart, it’s also not even remotely useful to our users (academic library). We do have an Education program, but no self-respecting teacher or teacher-in-training wants something this old! Though it did circulate last in 1995.

Holly: I think you can weed this one on condition alone! Cute idea, just wayyyy outdated.

Games the Indians Played

October 5, 2021 Holly But it's Historical!, Sports, Games, and Exercise 8 comments

The Games the Indians Played
Lavine
1974

Submitter: This book uses outdated and culturally insensitive terms like “redskin.” It contains a decent amount of research from when the author was a teacher on a reservation. He interviewed many of the indigenous people there and I’m sure meant this to be a teaching tool about the culture, but it is a really old book that is now falling apart. Plus, it just gives off vibes of “oh, let’s look at the white man’s view of the savages’ primitive games.”

Holly: I’ve been learning a lot about collection diversity audits recently. While libraries may solely be looking for the percentage of materials about and by BIPOC, they need to use the opportunity to weed inappropriate materials like these. Please, please, don’t just count it as “diverse” and leave it in the collection! Look at the materials closely and audit the content while you’re at it.

Clowns, the Fun Makers

September 27, 2021 Holly Fine and Not So Fine Arts 11 comments

Clowns: The Fun Makers
Boring
1980

Submitter: This book has not circulated since 1999, and I can see why. The photos are pretty boring. Plus being a history book on the topic of clowns that is now over 40 years old – it’s time to replace and update.

Holly: Or, as Mary says, “Clowns: The Nightmare Makers.” I guess if your last name is Boring and you’re a writer, you find something fun to write about. It’s basically just a history of clowns and circus entertainers (ending at 1980, obviously). Not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, but definitely old and…well, boring.

Ouch!

September 8, 2021 Holly Health and Safety 6 comments

Ouch! A Book About Cuts, Scratches, and Scrapes
Berger
1991

Submitter: The information in this book is fine, but it’s pretty visually dated and hasn’t been checked out in about 10 years. Mostly I’m chuckling over the extremely dramatic, unrealistic drawings of blood spurting from assorted wounds. Be sure to check out the images of the interior pages for that.

Holly: Not to mention the advanced vocabulary, like “fibrin” and “platelets.”

The Black Death

September 1, 2021 Holly Health and Safety 6 comments

The Black Death
Day
1989

Submitter: Other than the cover (is that E.T. wielding the scythe of death? Why is he not wearing any clothes? Why is the dead man on the ground smiling?), this book is actually not that bad, just really old. Old enough to be concerned that “AIDS may soon become as damaging as the plague once was.” The pages are yellowed, the illustration style is pretty dated, and there are plenty of good newer books on the topic available. At 32 years old, this book has had a full life.

Holly: All the people in all the pictures in this book look like Zombies.

Neither Proof nor Trace for the Holocaust cover

Holocaust Handbook

August 30, 2021 Holly Unexplained and Just Plain Crazy 19 comments

Deliveries of Coke, Wood and Zyklon B to Auschwitz—Neither Proof Nor Trace for the Holocaust
Holocaust Handbooks, Volume 40
Mattogno
2021

Submitter: As a collection development librarian who receives email suggestions, you never know what you’ll find when you open a request. We received this eBook as an unwanted donation this week. It’s a Holocaust denying book that is totally crazy and full of inaccurate information. I am hoping the other 39 volumes are not on their way!

Holly: I can’t get past the series title: Holocaust Handbooks.