Awful Library Books

Mass Media and Elections

March 7, 2023 Mary Kelly But it's Historical! 4 comments

Mass Media and Elections
Joslyn
1984

If there was ever a book that was outdated, I think this one might be in the top 10. Aside from the craziness of campaigns, the choice of candidates, and fake news, this book is missing a whole chunk of information.
Updates should probably include things like social media, the Internet, and for the American audience: Russian interference, conspiracy theories, false identities, massive voter fraud, mail in voting, fake news, and a whole chapter on Fox news.

God’s Handiwork

February 27, 2023 Holly Department of God, Feelings and Self Help 16 comments

If I’m God’s Handiwork, Would Someone Please Explain These Thighs!: Discovering Your Unique Destiny
Lechner
2002

Submitter: I work at a public library in a small city in NC. We found this book from 2002 during a recent sweep. I think it’s a good example for your blog because of the outdated humor both in the title and within the work, as well as the outdated design of the cover and call outs within. The book never had particularly good circulation numbers and probably should have been weeded a decade ago.

Holly: I know it doesn’t seem like that long ago, but 2002 was 21 years ago. Let it gooooo!

Hunger Games

February 13, 2023 Holly Department of God 19 comments

Hunger: Understanding the Crisis Through Games, Dramas, and Songs
Sprinkle
1971

Submitter: This is a book of literal Hunger Games by an author whose last name is Sprinkle. You just can’t make this up. The idea of the book is to help church-goers and likeminded folks better understand the experience of hungry people. There are bingo games for kids, as well as the attached activities. I find the drama interesting; Jane, the “active churchwoman” actually tells the long-haired young man to cut his hair to find a job. Spoiler, she dies at the end, goes to heaven, and gets a bread crust, an empty jar, and an old bathrobe. There’s also a song called “We plough the fields with tractors.”

Weeded from an academic library. Last circulation: ILL in 1987. Browsed in 1993. Not applicable to any academic program at the university… and probably not of lasting interest for students, faculty, or staff, either.

Holly: What does listing on a placemat what Jesus ate (second image below) have to do with learning about people who have nothing to eat?

how to profit from the coming rapture book cover

Business Plans for the rapture

February 6, 2023 Mary Kelly Department of God 11 comments

How to profit from the coming rapture
Getting ahead when you are left behind
Levy
2008

I was searching for something and came across this book. My first thought was this was a serious effort by some religious nuts. When I started reading and laughing, it was clear it was a spoof.

It was actually fun for about a half an hour. Then it was done, at least for me. Sometimes books like these tend to be too long. The joke just went on too long. What concerned me is the owning library had it classified in the 200s. I would have stuck this in the 800s with other humor books.

Fun and Games

February 2, 2023 Holly Sports, Games, and Exercise 21 comments

Early Pleasures and Pastimes
Kalman
1947

Submitter: We found this gem in our Children’s department of our public library, on a recent much needed weed. The children on the cover seem to enjoy waterboarding Grandpa. The actual photos inside are very disturbing. They dare you to wrestle a bear, and how about the crying little girl watching her beloved turkey get it’s head chopped off. I don’t understand why we had this one on the shelves for so long!

Holly: None of these are pleasures or appropriate pastimes for children! Pretty sure Grandpa is bobbing for apples. He doesn’t seem to be very good at it, though.

Carpentry for Kids

January 23, 2023 Mary Kelly For the Kids 10 comments

Carpentry for Children
Walker
1982

My general rule of thumb for kids nonfiction is that it shouldn’t be older than the age of the kid. Please don’t write us about all your examples of the exceptions. I get it. There are probably thousands of exceptions. But I digress…

This book was brought to me by one of my co-workers. Topic is fine, but this particular book was old and tired looking. (As I am old and tired looking, I feel qualified to judge.)

In this example, the date published makes me question the following:

Is the instructional component and other content appropriate for the age group?
Are the tools/equipment/materials available and safe? (Beware of products/materials that are no longer available.)
Do any of the projects or commentary use outmoded or inappropriate language when describing people or things?
Are the projects something kids would be interested in now? (Not 40 years ago.)

Again, I am not saying that just because it’s old, doesn’t make it an automatic weed, however it does mean we need to check further.

The Taming

January 20, 2023 Holly Friday Fiction 16 comments

The Taming
Deveraux
1989

Submitter: If your idea of a romantic hero is a dude with anger management issues, zero people skills, and a bad case of lice, then here is the book for you! This is the tale of a lady who marries an impoverished misogynist and scrubs his entire castle. Despite the fact that he does not maintain his estate, she is somehow able to produce elaborate multi-course feasts. There’s a ghost, too, so maybe any kind of realism was too much to expect.

Also, we’re an academic library. Every book its reader notwithstanding, how in the name of S.R. Ranganathan did this get into our collection?

[Images, below:] 1 cheesy book cover with bad font (for a good 10 minutes, I thought the title was The Famine); 1 page of lice; 1 page of the most disgusting living-dining room situation in print; and 1 page of a downright miraculous meal.

Holly: Oh, Jude. Jude Deveraux was super popular back in the day. The cover DOES look like The Famine!

Smuggling Made Easy

January 16, 2023 Holly Vice Patrol 16 comments

Sneak it Through : Smuggling Made Easier
Michael Connor
1984
Paladin Press

Submitter: This book was found on shelf by one of our library clerks and brought to my attention. A surprising purchase, and my only guess is a collection development librarian had watched too many episodes of Magnum, P.I., Remington Steele, and or the A-team. However, its value to a public library seems limited even with the published date of 1984. For those like us in the northern climates, will enjoy the snow on the car roof trick.

Holly: Because, as the back cover says, “You never know what you might want to smuggle when times get tough!”