An Imperfect Librarian - Elizabeth Murphy [0]
An Imperfect Librarian
A NOVEL
ELIZABETH MURPHY
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Murphy, Elizabeth, 1958-
An imperfect librarian / Elizabeth Murphy.
ISBN 978-1-55081-247-3
I. Title.
PS8626.U753I46 2008 C813’.6 C2008-903100-8
© 2008 Elizabeth Murphy
Cover image: www.MediaFocus.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777. We acknowledge the financial support of The Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the support of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities. Printed in Canada. A Personal Anthology by Jorge Luis Borges. Copyright © 1967 by Grove Press Inc.Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. Excerpts from St. John’s Waltz by Ron Hynes. Used by permission of author: Ron Hynes. Peer Music (pub.) www.hynesite.org Excerpts from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719, taken from http://www.gutenberg.org/airs/etext96/rbcruio.txt MAN, THE IMPERFECT LIBRARIAN MAY BE THE PRODUCT OF CHANCE OR OF MALEVOLENT DEMIURGI. – JORGES LUIS BORGES for CHAPTER ONE the bibli-oasis “You can’t stop the flood with a finger poked in the dyke,” I said. “One of these days, it’s going to explode. If you’re not prepared, you’ll be washed away.” Henry shook his head then eyed me as if to say I should know better. “If there’s any poking in a hole, it won’t be with my finger.” That was it for the conversation and I’ve been avoiding talk of floods and fingers ever since. The orientation ended with a summary. “The most important fact you need to know about this library is that Information Services Librarian Henry Kelly takes a break every afternoon at 3:30. We’ll meet at the cafeteria tomorrow to continue. I don’t mind sacrificing my spare time for a good cause. If you have any questions, you can ask me then. I’ll be sure to know the answer.” I saw Henry that next day, the next and the next, 3:30, at the campus cafeteria. The location and time never varied. Nor did his complaints. “How much for a medium stale coffee plus two of those shrivelled-up biscuits?” he said to the girl. Later, while he scouted for a table, I cleaned up after him. “He’s the same with me,” I whispered to her. “Don’t take it personally.” It wasn’t long after that I proposed we have our coffee breaks in my office. He’d provide the coffee and cookies. I’d supply the coffeemaker and location. At the time, I assumed it was a fair bargain. The alternative would have been his basement office in the Librarians’ Auxiliary Branch, but Henry had already rejected that idea. “I wouldn’t have my coffee break in the LAB if Tim Horton showed up in person to serve me. No walls, no windows, no peace or quiet, no respite from the persistent drone of mindless chatter. You can’t even pick your nose in private.” He raised a finger, shook it at me and said, “Consider
Ficciones by Jorge Borges. Copyright © 1962 by Grove Press Inc. Translated from the Spanish, copyright © 1956 by Emecé Editores, S.A., Buenos Aires. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
JIMMY & MAISIE
IMET HENRY DURING MY first week of work at the library. Of all the people they could have picked to orient me, they chose him. The orientation, if I can call it that, turned out to be nothing more than an afternoon at the campus cafeteria listening to his rant about how the Internet was going to corrupt the soul of the library, diminish our collective intelligence and turn books into relics. I’d heard it all before.