Courtney M. Block is a research, instruction, and user engagement librarian and also the author of Researching the Paranormal: How to Find Reliable Information about Parapsychology, Ghosts, Astrology, Cryptozoology, Near-Death Experiences, and More. Courtney was inspired to write her first book in order to help students who were interested in studying the paranormal, but felt that they couldn't find any academic sources of value to do their research. She wanted to create a resource to affirm curiosity and exploration of the paranormal, a field that is often maligned in academia.
And Courtney has an incredible sense of curiosity about these subjects. We talked a lot about the importance of curiosity in learning and experimenting. We talked about library books as liminal objects and the idea of a library as a liminal space that carries the energy of all the people who have walked through it. We also talked about our feelings about academia, how it has an incredible potential to be a place where people feel empowered to study and investigate what excites them, but how the paranormal is often dismissed as "fringe".
We also talked about how you can support authors by asking your local library to order their books. I did! My local library will soon be carrying Courtney's book.
You can follow Courtney online:
https://www.instagram.com/liminal.librarian/
https://twitter.com/courtneymblock
Follow Personal Pans: