Fiction Begins Here

My ol' Baltimore Catechism declared that a sacrament is "an outward sign of God's love." Something along those lines. Correct me, Mark, if you know better. Speaking of signs, of God's love or otherwise, I saw this sign at the Central Library branch of the Onondaga County Public Libraries, in downtown Syracuse, on the fourth floor:

FICTION BEGINS HERE

Hmmmmm. Well, at least the sign wasn't on the non-fiction floor. How mystifying. "Fiction begins here." We can all use such overt warnings now and then. I mean, we don't always get such explicit declarations. For example, many folks entering a marriage or other such relationship would welcome such a disclaimer. At least you'd know what you were in for. "Fiction Begins Here." That would also work on the boss's door. Or even on the top of the annual so-called performance evaluation form in bold italic underscore all uppercase. Or maybe it should be the standard crawl on the bottom of the television screen when certain public officials are speaking (for my money, you know I'd reserve it for jowly, white-shirted, obstructionist Republicans). "Fiction Begins Here." It's a handy sign, and of course the library fiction department is a swell place to have such a sign, sacramental or otherwise.

Incidentally, not far from FICTION BEGINS HERE, I saw this sign in the library:

FICTION

Right below that sign, immediately below it, maybe even taped to it, was this:

Notice:
Security Cameras Are In Use


So, does that mean the security cameras are or are not in use? Fiction? Or fact?

Non-fiction fiction ends here, for now.