Library Al

That’s the connection I was trying to make. If it is a connection, and not just a coincidence. There was a guy, I don’t know his last name, everyone just called him Library Al, who used to hand Zappits out along with Kindles and paperbacks when he made his rounds.

Both Hodges sequels place Library Al on Brady's ward distributing books and Zappit devices; one identifies him as the orderly.

She says he’s in his room. Hodges ambles down the hall toward Room 217, where a certain patient resides at state expense. Before Hodges gets there, he meets the orderly the nurses call Library Al. He’s in his sixties, and—as usual—he’s pushing a trolley cart packed with paperbacks and newspapers.

Both Hodges sequels place Library Al on Brady's ward distributing books and Zappit devices; one identifies him as the orderly.