Paranormal Old Pueblo now has its own URL off the Tucson Citizen website.

To follow more posts about UFOs/ UFO News / Extraterrestrials, Cryptozoology, Fringe Science, Psychic Phenomena, Ghosts and Hauntings and other general paranormal topics, visit http://www.paranormaloldpueblo.com.

Over the last year, I’ve blogged about UFOs, ghosts, psychic phenomena, cryptids, and other unexplained topics. Every once in a while, my posts have been shared on Facebook pages dedicated to ‘skeptical thought’.

Sometimes, it’s hard to read the reactions to my posts on those pages, which often includes attacks on my credibility, my character, my sanity, and even my writing skills. These attacks come from people who don’t know me, so I have let it go.

I didn’t understand why my posts were shared so often on one particular Facebook ‘skeptical thought’ fan page, until tonight.

I was offered a “press subscription” to Skeptical Inquirer a few weeks ago. The current issue involved an article about “ghost hunting”.  I wholeheartedly agreed with the article and shared my thoughts about it in a blog post. That blog post was shared on the Skeptical Inquirer Facebook fan page today for discussion. The comment section on that page includes terrible comments about me by some people, which doesn’t surprise me.

What does surprise me is the apparent misunderstanding about my blog. So, I’ll take this opportunity to clarify things.

The Tucson Citizen website is a compendium of (unpaid) blogs. It was a newspaper – until May 2009. This fact is stated clearly on the ‘About the Tucson Citizen’ page, as well as on my ‘What is Paranormal Old Pueblo?’ page.

I learned from the comments section on the Facebook page that my ‘articles’ were brought to the attention of Skeptical Inquirer editors, due to “a pro-paranormal slant and lack of skeptical commentary”. They sent me the complimentary issues of the magazine “with the hope that [I] would look at things a bit more skeptically”.

All this effort to ‘educate’ an unpaid paranormal blogger.

To anyone who might to be confused, I assure you, this is just a blog.

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Copyright © 2010 Cherlyn Gardner Strong

Read more of Cherlyn’s posts at her Paranormal Old Pueblo website

My minor area of study was Information Resources & Library Sciences at the University of Arizona. It’s no surprise that I think that one of the greatest places on this Earth is the library. You can borrow almost anything at the library and take it home with you. The key word there is “borrow”. For some reason, folks who “borrow” certain books on paranormal subjects, think that the word “borrow” means “keep”.

Maine’s Sun Journal publishes a monthly column called “Weird, Wicked Weird” that covers unexplained and weird topics. The other day, staff writer Katherine Skelton took on this subject of stolen library books in a column, called: Weird, Wicked Weird: The occult. Witchcraft. Demonlogy. Library books that grow legs.

From experience as a frequent borrower of paranormal books, I can tell you that many paranormal-themed books vanish without a trace, aside from the aforementioned occult titles. I don’t know how many times an online catalog lists words like “missing”, “lost” or “overdue” for a book I want to borrow.

Before the ability to re-check out items online, I always returned to the library when the due date arrived to re-borrow the item. If someone else recalled the book, I would return it and wait patiently for the book to be returned to the library so I could check it out again. More often than not, the book never came back. Another great idea in history, of course, is the idea of Interlibrary Loan for heavily sought after items. Regardless, it is still a waiting game and more often than not, a library will have to seek out multiple libraries to obtain the book sought.

It’s a shame that some libraries have to send police knocking on doors to retrieve the books. It’s even a bigger shame that libraries lose so much money replacing stolen books.

Maybe that’s why so many libraries are haunted by dedicated librarians. It is important that information is available for everyone to share. A librarian is the keeper of that information. It’s infuriating that some people simply steal information meant for everyone. My frequent wish is that someday a dedicated ghostly librarian might follow some of these “borrowers” home.

I wonder why libraries aren’t demanding these titles in electronic form? NetLibrary and other electronic book providers are available through online library catalogs. The books “check themselves back in” on their due dates. It’s not the same as holding a book, but it makes more sense to me than simply banking on books being stolen and spending the money to replace them.

Of course, “borrowers” who don’t return books deserve a piece of my mind. When I like a book enough to want to have it, I buy it. I might not buy the book ‘new’. Used bookstores, and even used online booksellers, do often have these books at fairly good prices. There are plenty of book swapping/trading websites. You can see if any member has the title you want.

Of course, don’t swap that book you “borrowed” from the library. Swap one that actually belongs to you.