Project Gutenberg 2014-09-22 Public domain in the USA. 440 Pearson, Edmund Lester 1880 1937 Pearson, E. L. (Edmund Lester) The librarian at play The interest gauge -- The gardener's guide -- Vanishing favorites -- By telephone -- A literary meet -- "The desert island test" -- The conversation room -- The literary zoo -- Their just reward -- The crowded hour -- To a small library patron -- By-ways and hedges -- Mulch -- A bookman's armory. Produced by Giovanni Fini and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Librarian at Play" by Edmund Lester Pearson is a collection of humorous essays written in the early 20th century. The book explores the quirky and often comical interactions and experiences of librarians, blending fiction and real-life library anecdotes. Through engaging narratives, the author reflects on the challenges and idiosyncrasies of library work, which may resonate with those familiar with the literary world or library settings. The opening of the book introduces us to a whimsical scenario involving a fictional device called an "interest gauge," invented by a psychologist to measure reader engagement with books. The narrator, a librarian, tests the gauge on various literary works, revealing humorous insights into the varying levels of reader interest. Characters such as Professor Frugles and Mrs. Crumpet provide comic relief through their interactions, emphasizing the absurdities encountered in the world of libraries. This initial glimpse sets the tone for a lighthearted exploration of literature and those who engage with it, making the collection appealing to anyone interested in the comedic side of library life. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 82.7 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Libraries -- Anecdotes Librarians -- Anecdotes Z Text Category: Humour Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches 284731 2025-07-19T04:10:22.766082 text/html 268501 2024-10-24T10:56:23 text/html 182586 2025-07-19T04:10:28.126079 application/epub+zip 185865 2025-07-19T04:10:23.870089 application/epub+zip 172103 2025-07-19T04:10:23.320074 application/epub+zip 279016 2025-07-19T04:10:31.375060 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 246168 2025-07-19T04:10:27.554078 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 232774 2022-09-21T10:32:47.800418 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 236276 2025-07-19T04:10:21.993111 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 216457 2024-10-24T10:56:23 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17456 2025-07-19T04:10:31.511053 application/rdf+xml 15862 2025-07-19T04:10:23.402078 image/jpeg 2197 2025-07-19T04:10:23.362068 image/jpeg 162856 2025-07-19T04:10:22.793090 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia