This doesn't pertain to us

The Swiss Army Librarian blog posted Swear like a Librarian, positing that sometimes serving the public is stressful enough to make one swear, yet swearing is the last thing one does when working with the public. While the librarians at the Santa Fe Public Library do not relate to this tendency at all, we did find the list of swear substitutions to be quite humorous, despite a few bordering on PG-13.

Also, I believe that this tendency doesn't entirely belong to other librarians. One of the examples given is Jeepers Crow, which reminds me of my much-missed departed grandfather's favorite, Cheesum Rice. Interestingly, this was almost always followed by him hollering "Shut the front door!"—another phrase on the list. I'm also reminded of colorful old-timey favorites such as dagnabbit and goldarnit. And yet, what I'm really reminded of is the end of summer, children & teachers back in classrooms, the ease of the last few months gone in just a few weeks, and I'm sure more than a few folks are biting their tongues, the phrase "Mother of Pearl" escaping from between clenched teeth.

Happy End-of-Summer, everyone! And no, that isn't a substitution for something PG-13.

Let the world know that you love us!

If you love the Santa Fe Public Library—and we know you do—and you have a way with words, please think about entering the American Library Association / Woman's Day Essay Contest.

You need to (1) Be a woman and (2) write 700 words or less about how the Santa Fe Public Library is special to our community. It should be easy for you, since we know it's what you talk about at brunch and cocktail parties anyway!

The deadline for the contest is May 9th, and details can be found here.

Happy Writing!

A Tasty Lesson

At Main Library, we were recently treated to a box of Señor Murphy's bolitas. Either the chocolate gave us a sugar rush, or we're just such consummate reference librarians that we couldn't permit ourselves more than one, no, make that two*, bolitas apiece without looking up the meaning of bolita.

I went to my 2nd favorite Spanish-English dictionary, the Velázquez. Looking up bola—which bolita is the diminutive of—gave us some interesting options. The first definition is the obvious origin for the namesake candy: "Ball, globe, pellet; marble, bolus". But did you know that bola also means "Lie, falsehood, humbug, hoax, fib"? Or "Blacking for shoes"? And there are several more definitions for bola, both solo and in colloquial phrases, that are listed in the Velázquez.

My colleague, likewise intrigued and chocolatized, went the internet resource route. Babel Fish translates it simply as "small ball". Wikipedia, however, delves into the brief history of the Bolita Lottery in Florida. According to Slow Food USA, the Bolita Bean got its American start right here in Northern New Mexico, and is more richly flavored than look-alike pintos. And on the Señor Murphy site: "A Santa Fe legend says these little balls of rich chocolate fudge will bring happiness." So true, oh so true.

We are of course surrounded by Spanish-speakers—staff, patrons, family members—but sometimes we just need a good excuse for an informational scavenger hunt. We're not only much more informed now, but hopefully our massive brain excursions burned at least some of the calories from the bolita-feast. So come on in to any of the Library's reference sections and get us started on a new search. Unfortunately, we've already finished the box of bolitas!

* The reference librarians had more than two bolitas apiece, of that you can be sure.

I've Been Schooled

Not often, but often enough, I've been hearing or reading the phrase, "a myriad of," and my ears or eyes chafe. Let's say the original sentence is "You have a myriad of possibilities," using myriad as a noun. Well, my inner editor would immediately do some cutting in order to hear, "You have myriad possibilities," where myriad is an elegant and economical and lyrical adjective.

My inner indignant editor finally reached critical mass today, and I went to the convenient Merriam-Webster. According to this trusted source...I'm wrong, but apparently I'm in a wrong majority. Myriad can function as both a noun and an adjective, and its use as a noun precedes the adjective by about two centuries. M-W even editorializes in its usage section:

"The noun myriad has appeared in the works of such writers as Milton (plural myriads) and Thoreau (a myriad of), and it continues to occur frequently in reputable English. There is no reason to avoid it." [Emphasis added.]

Just to make sure, indubitably sure, I consulted two of my favorite word sites for confirmation: A.Word.A.Day and World Wide Words. They both back up Merriam-Webster, albeit with a tad less scolding. AWAD has even fielded letters about this word, while making pleas to all to allow the English language to breathe and grow.

So, my ears and eyes must adjust to this breathing growing language. I can start by saying how thankful I am that everytime I sit down to write, I have a myriad of words to choose from. It still sticks a bit, but at least it's not incorrect.