National Dewey Decimal Day! by Jenn McKinlay

 Jenn McKinlay: It's quite possible that only librarian nerds will appreciate this day in all its Dewey glory, but given that I am a recovering librarian, I am full on celebrating today, which is... 

Named after its inventor, the Dewey Decimal System came into being in 1876, developed by Melvil Dewey, who was just twenty-one years old at the time. It's now used in over 200,000 libraries in 135 countries around the world. 

How does it work? Well, Dewey's rage for order broke non-fiction down like this, leaving fiction to be filed by author's last name.

Of course, it's changed exponentially beyond its infancy but can you imagine how they were categorizing books before Dewey? By color? Height? Number of pages? 

Having sat on a reference desk for years where people come in asking for the "green book" or the "blue book", let me just say, I can not imagine my former profession without Dewey. 

Of course the library also makes a fabulous setting for...murder!

There are a host of library based mysteries sure to delight library lovers the world over. I would list them here, but it's a long list and it's already been done by the fabulous website Stop You're Killing Me! (click on their name to go to the full list) but I will highlight a few of my favorites:

The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Lawrenceton, Georgia, may be a growing suburb of Atlanta, but it’s still a small town at heart. Librarian Aurora “Roe” Teagarden grew up there and knows more than enough about her fellow townsfolk, including which ones share her interest in the darker side of human nature.

 
With those fellow crime buffs, Roe belongs to a club called Real Murders, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It’s a harmless pastime—until the night she finds a member dead, killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss. And as other brutal “copycat” killings follow, Roe will have to uncover the person behind the terrifying game, one that casts all the members of Real Murders, herself included, as prime suspects—or potential victims...

The Cat in the Stacks Mysteries by Miranda (Dean) James. Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the good-natured librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel that he walks on a leash.  He’s returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but soon enough he’s entangled in a real-life thriller...
 
A famous author of gory bestsellers and a former classmate of Charlie’s, Godfrey Priest may be the pride of Athena, but Charlie remembers him as an arrogant, manipulative jerk—and he’s not the only one. Godfrey’s homecoming as a distinguished alumnus couldn’t possibly go worse: by lunch, he’s put a man in the hospital. By dinner, Godfrey’s dead.
 
Now it’s up to Charlie, with some help from Diesel, to paw through the town’s grudges and find the killer before an impatient deputy throws the book at the wrong person. But every last one of Charlie’s friends and co-workers had a score to settle with the nasty novelist. As if the murder wasn’t already purr-plexing enough...

 

The Library Lovers Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay (Hey, that's ME!!! Shocker, I know).      Lindsey is getting into her groove as the director of the Briar Creek Public Library when a New York editor visits town, creating quite a buzz. Lindsey’s friend Beth wants to sell the editor her children’s book, but Beth’s boyfriend, a famous author, gets in the way. When they go to confront him, he’s found murdered—and Beth is the prime suspect. Lindsey has to act fast—before they throw the book at the wrong person.

So, how about you, Reds and Readers? Do you enjoy a library based mystery? And do you love your local library? Give them a shout out if you do! Librarians need love!