Dream Reference
Last night I had what I believe was my first library work-related dream. I dreamed I volunteered on a school field trip to a science museum, and I saw a 9-year-old boy carrying a book and started talking to him about it. He liked the book, but it was really depressing and was making him sad (I think it may have been a non-fiction book about slavery?). I told him that for his next book he should read something silly and fun, and I offered to help him find a good one. He gratefully accepted, and we went into the science museum’s library, which was a children’s library featuring all types of books, not just science-related ones. I sat down at the unstaffed reference desk to find something, but when I did all the parents of the other kids realized that I was a librarian and started bombarding me with their own requests for books for their kids, and somehow I never got around to locating a fun book for that kid. Throughout the dream, I kept racking my brain to think up a recommendation, and the only thing I came up with for his age group was Bunnicula, and I wasn’t sure if that was quite right.
When I arrived to work at my practicum, which is at a public library, this morning, I was directed to the kids’ reference desk. The first thing I did was boot up NoveList Plus to find a list of humorous books for kids ages 9-12, and kicked myself for not remembering Sideways Stories from Wayside School and M.T. Anderson’s Whales on Stilts! (and felt vindicated that Bunnicula was on their list as well). Too bad that kid was just an aspect of my subconscious, because I finally have the perfect books for him.
Originally published at ElenaGleason.com. You can comment here or there.