Interview with Iron Guy Carl of Boys Rule Boys Read!

Hi guys, today I’ve got an interview with Iron Guy Carl, a librarian who blogs over at Boys Rule Boys Read! I’ve been trying to do an interview with him since the beginning of the year, but since technology didn’t permit, we eventually decided to do a text interview. Here it is!

1.How did you become a librarian?

I wanted to work for the library and volunteered a lot, doing things like storytelling. The library people knew I was looking for a job, so they let me know when one came open. Remember that when you all get old enough to look for jobs.

2.What kinds of things do you do in your day-to-day work?

You mean when I’m not bench-pressing 200-lb. books to maintain my MANLY physique? Actually, I do a bit of everything. I work at a small library, so everyone has to be able to do all the things librarians do—check in books, check out books, look for books, put books on shelves, etc. I also sit at the front desk and answer questions. I’m also one of the children’s librarians, so I do a lot of storytimes—and clean up the children’s room after programs! I also do some specialized things. For instance, I coordinate the volunteers for the library.

3.What is your favorite part of your job?

Writing for the blog and doing storytime. Both are a lot of fun.

4.How did you get the nickname Iron Guy Carl?

I wanted to call myself “Iron Man” but some comic book company beat me to it.

5.Your blog is called Boys Rule! Boys Read! Do you also help at the library with girls? 🙂

Of course! That’s what MANLY MEN do—help those who need help. Really, I’m always happy to help anyone find what he or she needs. It’s rewarding to see anyone, boy or girl, find the right book or resource.

6.What kinds of books do boys enjoy the most that you’ve seen?

Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, My Weird School, The 39 Clues, the Hunters, Seekers and Warriors series by Erin Hunter, James Patterson’s Maximum Ride and Daniel X books, and Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl books.

Boys also like books by Dan Gutman, Gordon Korman and Dav Pilkey. Also nonfiction about military things, sports and animals.

7.What books did you like most when you were a boy?

Wow. It’s been a long time since I was actually a boy. (some say I’m still a 10-year-old at heart) To give you an idea how long, Kennedy was president when I was a boy. (go look that up and see how long ago that was!) I read a lot of nonfiction at first, like a lot of guys back then, especially books on battles throughout history. Then, one day, the librarian at my school told me to, “Get out of the numbers” (meaning the Dewey Deciaml numbers for nonfiction) and read some fiction. She handed me a copy of The Three Seater Spaceship, one of the Spaceship Under the Apple Tree trilogy by Louis Slobokin. I was hooked and read a lot of sci-fi after that. When I got to be a teen, I read The Lord of the Rings and was knocked out I’m still under its spell. Nowadays I read a bit of everything as you see from the blog. I bet you couldn’t find any of the Spaceship Under the Apple Tree books anymore except on Amazon. But I’d like to check if they’re available on my Nook. 

Note: Here is The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree on Amazon 🙂

8.You’ve been running your blog for a number of years. What made you decide to start it  and what has made you keep it up?

Back in 2006, the Web 2.0 came out and our library system taught us how to use it. One of the new things in Web 2.0 was blogging. I’d always wanted to find a tool to help boys find good reads and blogging was perfect because it’s interactive. That’s how I came up with the idea of writing reviews and getting boys to write in as well. I’ve kept it going because it’s been so much fun and I’ve found so many great books. And I really like it when boys tell other boys about terrific books.

9.Who do you think is the main target audience for your blog; kids, parents, or both?

Both. I started this blog to reach boys but a lot of grownups picked up on it over the years. So, even though I’m writing primarily for boys, I know a lot of grownups read the blog and I keep that in mind because they’re the ones who buy the books for their boys or for their schools or their libraries.

10.You’ve featured a number of reviews from kids on your blog. What has your experience been with these kid reviewers?

It’s been great! We had several guys like cyber kid 303 and Michael who wrote in regularly. You can find some of their reviews if you look in the 2006—2009 section of the Blog Archive. They wrote some great reviews and we had a lot of fun. I think they’ve aged out now but I hope to get more guys write in. (hint, hint!)

11.What changing trends are you seeing with libraries as things are becoming more digital and what do you think is the most important thing for them to remain the special places that they always have been?

You’ve asked what we used to call the $64,000 question. A lot of people are trying to figure that out now so that libraries don’t go the way of the dinosaurs. And I think it’s already happening. Libraries are becoming community centers. I don’t mean the type of community center where you go and shoot basketball; I’m thinking of a safe place in which people can access computers, especially people who can’t afford computers, or where they can study alone or in groups, get information or help finding information they couldn’t find anywhere else, gather together and work on community issues and, of course, find books movies, music, etc. Will all books, movies, and music become digital some day? Possibly. People will still need libraries, though, in some form and I really believe that libraries will adapt to whatever changes take place.

Thanks so much!

Thank YOU, Daniel!

Thanks again to Iron Guy Carl for providing us with this insightful and interesting interview. Make sure to check out his website Boys Rule Boys Read!