Shady Dell Public Library

As of this afternoon, the fungus began making its way, in the slowest of motion—so impossibly slow that it wouldn’t have registered as movement on CCTV—towards the Children’s Desk. Arms outstretched, face twisted in a look of such hatred that Agnes T., almost had trouble finishing her latte.

Tonight! Agnes T., Children’s Librarian, & Father Zeb will sneak into the Library after hours, remove the fungal overgrowth that has cobbled itself into the shape of Agnes’ long-dead predecessor, & toss her — it, IT! — into the sinkhole. What could go wrong? Agnes wears her blackest cardigan.

Reminder that the book drop is for returning BORROWED LIBRARY MATERIALS only. If you’ve accidentally picked up the wrong teen from Game Night, please bring them around to the front entrance.

#gaming #libraries

I wish the U.S. military would grow some balls and put a stop to this.

We’re just so paranoid about lawsuits, dear…

—right here. Leland looks down at his own boots, toe-to-toe with the last muddy print.
“Hello?” he calls out, fully aware he sounds like a pre-title sequence horror movie victim. The first victim. The least important one.
Leland sighs and heads for the broom closet.

His guys all refuse to do it, so once again it falls on Leland B., Head of Maintenance, to shut down the basement. After the last patron leaves, he takes the elevator as far down as it will go, & hell if the muddy footprints aren’t there again, leading from the locked doors of the archives & ending—

Dr. Daphne Hall, local veterinarian, wonders why, whenever she reads alone in the Quiet Reading Room, she can suddenly hear the soft breathing of all of the cats and dogs she’s euthanized over her long, busy career—soft, but not completely Quiet.

If you applied for a library card between March 2017 & January 2025 from an entity/group of entities claiming to be the Franklin Branch Library, you may be eligible to join a class action lawsuit. Call the Main Branch Tipline immediately. Press 9 at the menu.
#publiclibraries #booksky

Five dolls dressed in various bright crocheted outfits on light blue background. The title is Crochet for Dolls by Nicky Epstein.

Agnes G., Cataloging Librarian, poring over Epstein on her smoke break, can’t see what everyone is going on about. She’s on the fifth pattern and hasn’t found a single mention of Trump, nor anything more untoward than a typo or two.
#epsteinlist #crochet #libraries

Does the dark path propose a solution for this??

All that is holding me back is the cruel impossibility of kissing my own elbows.

“Beware the 600s,” a carnival fortune teller once warned Agnes W., Head Librarian. Now, when a patron requests a cookbook, she walks them as far as the 590s & stops. There have been a few complaints, but mostly they seem to understand. Everyone has that Dewey category they would do well to avoid.

Leland B., Maintenance Head, throws a poppet into the sinkhole for the health of Hookland residents.

I’m so sorry to hear Hookland is unwell! SDPL was founded by a staunch Hooklandite, lo these many 10-12 days ago. I doubt the Library would be where it is today if it weren’t for the strange, cursed people of your county. The Librarians root for you.

Join us at 2 p.m. at the Murder Barn for “Crafting with Cat Hair.” All ages. Hair provided.

Can’t have been a pleasant weekend for that poor kid, Valerie R. muses as she moves a third promo email from Zenni to the trash.

Valerie R., HR Admin Assistant, is back at her desk today after a brief sick leave. She will begin processing payroll and rescue Maddie, prospective page, from the dead zone between the admin offices and the staff ladies’ room as soon as she catches up on email.

The modern public library is a vibrant and well-used & space! Kids laughing, teens gaming, the eerie whistle of the wind blowing over the sinkhole opening in the basement archives, meetings in the conference room…it’s all par for the course.

Ask about our Quiet Room if you need a silent work area!

Thanks, Tom! However, we’ve noticed your library card has lapsed. Please call to update that at your earliest convenience or we will be forced to request that you get our name out of your mouth.

Father Zeb’s card reads:

~Father Zebulon Serpico~
~Our Lady of Occasional Obeisance~
~Exorcisms, Blessings, Party Tricks~

It isn’t until late morning, when the fungal growth resembling her long-dead predecessor sprouts an appendage that appears to be a well-worn copy of A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, that Agnes T., Children’s Librarian, decides to take more drastic action.

She finds Father Zeb’s card and dials.

Say what you will, Agnes T., has never seen “shadows and cobwebs”blink, and the growth resembling her long-dead predecessor, Agnes B., is definitely *blinking.*

Nevertheless, the mycelium bloom in the corner of the Children’s Room persists.

Agnes T., Children’s Librarian, has reported it to Maintenance but when they stopped by this morning for a look they said it was just shadows and cobwebs…

Storytime at 10! Drop off your potty trained kids!

Historically this has gone well

We’re big Octavia Butler fans, but also…that bookmark is amazing! What’s the story behind it?

Also, The Super Bowl.

The Librarians are confused tonight. Where is everybody? The Library is completely dead—rare for a Sunday!

ETA: Oh, of course! The book burning at the sinkhole! Father Zeb from Our Lady of Occasional Obeisance has sworn to destroy every book that doesn’t have the word “America” in it. 🔥

As she hurries down to the maintenance closet for cleaning supplies, she bumps into Agnes T., Children’s Librarian, muttering to herself and carrying a bucket filled with bleach and sponges.

Agnes O., Reference Librarian, arrives for her Sunday shift in the dark early hours to find that someone has vandalized the Library overnight. Everywhere, spray painted in gold across the exterior: jackals. A whole pack of them.

Really? she thinks. Again with the fucking jackals?

#booksky