“After five years at the central library, I seriously doubted the humanity of my peers.” – Joel J. Rane

An instant cult classic, Scream at the Librarian sucks you into the grime of downtown Los Angeles at a time when it was abandoned by all but the terminally desperate. The Screamer, Mr. Brain Damage, and The Devil are just a few of the unforgivable characters populating Rane’s real-life accounts from deep within the stacks of a library that had become a refuge for addicts and the mentally ill.

Each story is accompanied by stunning new illustrations by native Californian Cristin Sheehan Sullivan and Raymond Pettibon, progenitor of LA’s punk rock art scene.

Printed in two-color silkscreen, the deluxe, hardcover edition is an elaborate art object, loaded with novel idiosyncrasies throughout. The front of the “inside out” cover sports a circulation card signed by author and artists, alongside an amalgam of library stickers, stamps, cataloging numbers, and thumb divots.

Designed by Amy Mees and Mark Wagner
Letterpress printing and binding by Sara Parkel
Production assistance by Eliana Perez, Cat Glennon, Candice Sering, and Jamie Munkatchy