Haunted Libraries

Happy Halloween, iSchool!

In celebration of today, please enjoy George Eberhart's "The Haunted Library Series." He's been posting entries throughout the week based on geography, and Thursday's was the one for the Western U.S.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?), there isn't anything in it about the University of Washington libraries being haunted. But oddly enough, last month while working at the Suzzallo Information Desk, I got a question about the Grand Staircase in the library being haunted. I sent the inquirer to the reference desk, but then got curious myself and decided to do a quick Google search. In the Google Book preview of Ghosts Among Us, there is a passage about a ghost in Suzzallo Library (though not in the Grand Staircase).

The ghost of a woman in a raincoat is reportedly seen at the University of Washington's Suzzallo Library. While some say that the ghost story is a hoax, others insist that the tall, slender apparition appears at closing time and is seen heading toward the stacks.

Hmm. There are a lot of stacks in Suzzallo. I'm curious about whether the people who claim to have seen her told the author of the book in what part of Suzzallo the ghost appeared.

Anyway, hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

Book Challenges - "Bunny Suicides"

Thanks to 2006 MLIS-er Robert Felthousen for sending us this story:

Mom wants to ban, burn "Bunny Suicides"

A Halsey mother has filed paperwork to have a popular graphic novel banned from the Central Linn High School library.

There's just one hitch: Taffey Anderson refuses to return "The Book of Bunny Suicides" to the school district so a committee can review her complaint.

She won't budge. In fact, she reportedly plans to burn the book.

It would appear that Anderson has since relented a bit: Bunny Suicides Complainant Douses Book-Burning Talk.

Anderson told American Libraries that the book was returned October 24 to the library, which serves both junior high and high school students. After the story was picked up by wire services and prompted unfavorable editorials and blog posts, Anderson softened her stance. “I was talking completely out of anger,” she said. “I did apologize in the newspaper and should never have said that, but I don’t think it’s a book for school-age children.” She also indicated she would be satisfied if the book was kept behind the circulation desk and restricted to high school students.

I'm guessing that Anderson wouldn't be a fan of David and Goliath's Goodbye Kitty line, eh?