Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Oct 4, 2021 11 tweets 5 min read Read on X
It's #LibrariesWeek this week, so today I'm asking you to something very brave and noble.

I'm asking you to visit your local public library... #MondayMotivaton
The Public Libraries Act of 1850 (And the 1853 Act in Scotland) established the principle of free public libraries for the self-improvement of all citizens in Britain, irrespective of their income.

It was a hard-won battle...
Opponents of the Act believed public libraries would become sites of social agitation: extending education to the lower orders of society would lead to libraries becoming working class "lecture halls" full of radical ideas and demands.
Later Acts built on these noble ideas of 1850, and the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 created a statutory duty for local authorities ‘to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons.'
But things have been tough for libraries for a while now. Statistics from the 2018 Libraries Taskforce showed a continuing decline in public library use (both in visits and book issues) in England...
...and then came COVID19.

Look, librarians are tough cookies. We fight on the front line of ideas every day. And we need you guys to back us up!
So that's where YOU come in! Rather than tweet about the need for public libraries I need you to take a brave pill, get on the bus, and go visit yours.
As it's #LibrariesWeek Your local public library will have made itself especially alluring for lapsed library patrons, as well as making itself COVID secure. They'll do all they can to encourage you to come back to the habit of borrowing books for free.

FOR FREE!!!
I mean, think about it: these are FREE BOOKS they're offering. You'd queue up in the rain for a half-priced Starbucks cinnamon latte, so why not go somewhere where stories and knowledge are FREE?
How much do you spend on books? Go on, add it up. Gulp!

Now let me tell you - you can more than double your reading without spending a penny more! You just need to visit your local library. They're online too if that's easier, and they'll probably have kerbside pick-up as well.
Put it this way: in Escape From New York what did Snake Plissken do to save the President, defeat The Duke and his hoodlums and escape across the Queensboro Bridge?

Rob a gun store?
Hack into the internet?
No: he went... TO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY!

This #LibrariesWeek be like Snake.

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More from @PulpLibrarian

Jun 30
Given the current heatwave, I feel obliged to ask my favourite question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?

Let's find out... Image
Now we all know what a man's lounge suit is, but if we're honest it can be a bit... stuffy. Formal. Businesslike. Not what you'd wear 'in da club' as the young folks say. Image
So for many years tailors have been experimenting with less formal, but still upmarket gents attire. The sort of garb you could wear for both a high level business meeting AND for listening to the Moody Blues in an espresso bar. Something versatile. Image
Read 16 tweets
Jun 29
Time once again for my occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"

Let's see what's in the library... Image
The Voice of the House, by Margaret Erskine (an Inspector Finch Gothic Mystery). Ace Gothic, 1973.

She'll fall over if she leans like that. Image
The Three Sisters of No End House, by Mona Farnsworth. Ace Gothic, 1972.

I said she'll fall over if she leans like that! Image
Read 10 tweets
Jun 27
Today in pulp I look back at the publishing phenomenon of gamebooks: novels in which YOU are the hero!

A pencil and dice may be required for this thread... Image
Image
Gamebooks are a simple but addictive concept: you control the narrative. At the end of each section of the story you are offered a choice of outcomes, and based on that you turn to the page indicated to see what happens next. Image
Gamebook plots are in fact complicated decision tree maps: one or more branches end in success, but many more end in failure! It's down to you to decide which path to tread. Image
Read 22 tweets
Jun 18
Time for a pulp countdown now, and today it's my top 10 public relations campaigns! Image
At no 10: prunes! Let's get this party started. Image
At no 9: butter! Don't suffer from a lack of it. Image
Read 12 tweets
Jun 15
You know what I haven't done in a while? Bad book covers!

Let's change that... Image
Ooh you little lyre... Guardian Angels, by Joseph Citro. Zebra Books, 1988. Image
How I answer the door in the mornings... Encounters With Aliens, by George W. Earley. Charter House, 1978. Image
Read 13 tweets
May 11
He was the terror of London; a demonic figure with glowing eyes and fiery breath who could leap ten feet high. The penny dreadfuls of the time wrote up his exploits in lurid terms. But who was he really?

Today I look at one of the earliest pulp legends: Spring-Heeled Jack! Image
London has always attracted ghosts, and in the 19th Century they increasingly left their haunted houses and graveyards and began to wader the capital's streets.

But one apparition caught the Victorian public attention more than most... Image
In October 1837 a 'leaping character' with a look of the Devil began to prey on Londoners. Often he would leap high into the air and land in front of a carriage, causing it to crash. It would then flee with a high-pitched laugh.

The public soon named him "Spring-Heeled Jack." Image
Read 14 tweets

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