Pop-Up Book of Phobias
Greenberg
1999
Once in a while Holly and I get submissions that are just awesome and wonderful. Do they fit in a library collection? Depends on your audience. I have a couple of these books that are just too fun not to talk about. Hint: these might make good gifts for that special librarian in your life. Feel free to give me one these books as a gift.
Submitter: I was recently in a class where we did a mini weeding workshop, and while most of us went for either old, tattered books or new ones with multiple copies just sitting there, one guy came across The Pop-Up Book of Phobias. When you open up the page, the phobia pops out at you. Like, a big clown face propelling itself from the center of the book. I’m not so much thinking this needs to be weeded but I’m really curious about where you’d catalogue it! I mean, I hope it’s not in the psych section! Also, what is the audience for this book? How many libraries have it on the shelf, what is the circulation… I hope you’ll take a look at it because to me, it just seemed… WRONG!
Holly: This is hilarious! Yes, wrong, wrong, wrong, but funny. There are close to 200 library holdings in WorldCat, and it is cataloged as an adult book with subject headings like “phobias–miscellanea,” “toy and movable books–specimens,” and “phobias” with a call number of 616.85. A few libraries do have it in the youth non-fiction section.
Bar Mitzvah Disco
Bennett, Shell and Krull
2005
The music may have stopped, but the party’s never over
Are you a fan of Awkward Family Photos? Would you die if your teenage years were published for all to see? This is your book. Organized like a scrapbook, this lovely book features bad fashion, teen angst and assorted memories for everyone. Not awful, this book is AWESOME! And how cool to have a foreword from the Village People?
Mazel Tov!
Mary and Holly
Click to the next page to see some internal shots of these books
Awful Library Books 