Harry Potter at the Library

It's five thirty in the morning (that's 5:30 am for you digital folks) and I have just cataloged Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. I work two jobs and most mornings I am at the library cataloging books at 6:00 am. It can be kind of spooky here at five or six o'clock. Still dark when I left this morning, the air was damp from the rain in the night, it felt like an aura around me. As I arrived at the library, I felt a couple of drops of rain falling off the eaves run down my neck. It gave me goose-bumps, which seemed appropriate.

There were two copies at the library for me to catalog. One for the YA (Young Adults) section, and one for the regular fiction shelf. I searched for the bibliographic record for it in the computer (the MARC record, for you bibliophiles and librarians). Added the holdings information and the barcodes. Printed the labels.

It was an easy book to catalog. There was cataloging-in-publication (CIP) data from the Library of Congress in the system. I had to edit the record, adding the physical description of the book. 759 numbered pages, 24 cm. in height. A well-bound copy, but I didn't need to add that. Change the header codes in the record to reflect that it had been updated from CIP.

I usually leave newly cataloged books for a volunteer to put on the poly-protective cover over the dust jacket. But today, I just couldn't leave it until she comes on Monday. Because today, well, today is Harry Potter Day. So I covered it myself.

What I wanted to do was to sit at my desk and start to read. The two books beckoned me as I tried to work. There was already a waiting list for them. 759 pages. I knew it would be awhile before I got it from the library. I don't have a budget envelope for Harry Potter this month, so I have to wait until my turn comes around or until I have budget for it, whichever comes first.

I want to know how it ends before anyone else, and yet I want to savor the book, too. I'm tempted to just take a break and read the last chapter. But I cannot. It is the last of the series, and I don't want to cheat myself. With my work schedule, it will take me the good part of a week to read it. Perhaps my grandson will get it soon and get it read quickly. I think I should encourage my son-in-law to support his reading interests by getting him a copy.

Still, the book beckons...

Chapter One. The Dark Lord Ascending.

"The two men appeared out of nowhere..."

I shut the book with a sigh, and take it to the circulation area, where they will call the first two lucky people on the waiting list, when we open at ten o'clock. And if you read it, don't tell me what happens!!!