Thanks Sandy!

Hey Hurricane Sandy,

Thanks for the paid day off today, now if you could keep the power on that would be great...

I had to become a Librarian to enjoy reading again...

Shawshank Redemption Andy Dufrense - "I had to come to prison to be a crook."

When I was in grade school, I used to love reading.  I was going through Hardy Boys like nobody's business.  It all came to a halt when teachers gave us reading and forced all of the "author's" analogies down our throats.  It completely ruined the enjoyment of reading for me and it became a chore to me.  I think it's also a personal issue with me, I hate when people tell me what I should think and feel without letting me analyze it for myself.  "This is what this story is about," "This is what the author really means," "This is a symbolism for this and this only."  Damn, can't someone think on their own!??  

I'm not going to lie, all through my undergrad and grad school I didn't read any of the material unless it was directly related for a group project and/or grade.  At my last branch, my coworkers always used to call me out on it: "You're going to school to be a librarian but you don't even read!"  But that all changed when I got my first tablet.  As you can see in the sidebar of the main page of this blog, my reading has exponentially gone up.  

Even the few titles that I did read outside of school were school-related.  I was one of those snobby, non-fiction readers, "I only read non-fiction; if I'm going to read, I want to learn something."  I have come across some of the patrons in the library too, always complaining about the collection: "Why are there so many fiction books?  You guys should buy more nonfiction."  The things I did read were all books recommended by my business school professors: The World is Flat, Good to Great, etc.  But that also changed when I got my first tablet.  Now, the vast majority of my reading is fiction, and it's pretty damn good too!

So that leads me up to the present, it has been almost a full year since graduating with my MLIS (December 2011) and I have not been able to find a full time librarian job.  I have looked at other non-library related jobs, but damn it, I didn't get this degree to NOT work in a library.  I really enjoy working at my branch, I love the patrons and my coworkers, so I can ride it out for a little bit longer.  Due to all of these factors, I have decided to add "Literacy Council volunteer" to my resume.  

Honestly, I should have signed up to do this when I graduated.  I have not yet started tutoring just yet, I will in a few weeks, but I am excited.  When I filled out the application to become a literacy council volunteer tutor, I realized one of my favorite things about being a public librarian is seeing people get excited about reading.  From little kids to adults, when they see that long-awaited book sitting on the holds shelf for them the excitement is contagious .

Publishers' Most Wanted: The Public Library...

Money Talks, BS Walks... Time to ante up...

First off, <^>(-_-)<^> middle finger salute to all you stingy-ass, stubborn, myopic publishers.  You all are acting like a bunch of jackasses.  What the hell has the public library ever done to you, except give you money and support?

You get all pissy in the digital age just because you think you'll lose millions of dollars in revenue if you sell an ebook to a library.  The publishing world is evolving and you're trying to fight the change.  So print is slowly losing ground to digital format, it's all new to you, but take a note from the music industry.  They've made the physical to digital transition and they haven't gone bust.  I remember when CD's used to sell for over $19.99 and singles used to cost $4.99.  Now single songs cost .99, let's be honest, CD-buyers were screwed over because most of the songs on a full-length CD were crap anyways.

So you think a fair compromise would be to give libraries copies limited to 26 loan periods.  I have seen copies of books that have checked out over 125 times that are in still excellent condition.  The other option is to pay over 100% the physical book price for the ebook one.  Who was the genius who made that decision?

I find it hard to believe that digital editions carry the same manufacturing costs as print.  If they really do, then you're doing something wrong. You know libraries across the country have been battling budget cuts for several years now, but yet you insist on strangling every dollar out of them.  Have you ever considered that libraries would purchase MORE digital copies if prices were reasonable?  And selling more copies at a lower price could help the bottom line better than selling a lot fewer at a hyper-inflated price.

I'm just saying, you can't keep doing this forever.  Something's gotta give and you act like you don't really need or care for libraries' business.  I can't wait til more authors and independent publishers step up.  See what happens when the paradigm shift comes and libraries turn their backs on you.

Welcome to the Library Circle-Jerk: Banned Books Week

From one librarian to another --- You're awesome,
now spread the word outside of The Library...

 
If there is one thing I have learned about librarians, it is that they are pro-fresh-shun-owls when it comes to talking about how great libraries are and how undervalued librarians are... TO EACH OTHER. The library's intranet blog is full of stories submitted by library staff on articles about the "greatness" of the public library which happened to be posted on a library-specific website which only reaches a specific group of readers: library staff.

This week is the high point of library circle-jerking: Banned Books Week. 
"Libraries the defenders of everyone's right to read, unless it's 50 Shades of Grey."  Of course everyone who is usually all rah-rah about Banned Books Week were no where to be found or heard from when a public library said that they weren't going to carry that horrid book.  Of course the library system  caved when media picked the story up. --- yay, public library ridiculousness! 

Now, if only The Library was as good as getting the word out to the general public, maybe we wouldn't be in this annual tooth and nail fight for every single budget dollar.

Librarian Passive Aggressiveness Threat Level 1: Signage.

Don't make me use size 72 font!

This new school year has brought in a new bunch of regular patrons: newly licensed teens.  They come in around 4 or 5 and end up staying til we close at 9.  They study for the most part, socialize for the rest.  I mean, why wouldn't they?  The library has free wi-fi, plenty of seating, and it is a safe place to hang out.

There are only minor issues when it comes to them, they can get a little too loud, but they will quiet down if you talk to them.  They also sneak in food.  All you have to do is tell the teens to eat it outside and they will.  I find it funny how upset/freaked out some of my older coworkers get, I think they've become coddled by working at this branch for so long.  They've made such a big deal out of it in staff meetings and emails. 

These signs are the latest product of such staff discussions.  I say, if these are the worst offenses these teens commit: sneaking in french fries, then I welcome it.  At least they aren't procreating in the stacks, dealing drugs in the bathroom, graffiti-ing the walls, fighting in the study room... etc.

Good Guy Library Patron and their Donations.

Every weekend I work, I find myself inundated with donations dropped off during the day.  It seems that my branch's local community treats every weekend like "Spring Cleaning" season.  Some patrons don't even bother parking properly, they just pull up to the front of the library, ignoring the yellow curb and numerous signs saying not to "Park or Stand."  They block part of the sidewalk and entrance road while they bring in their boxes and bags of donations.

Bad Patron, Bad..

Some don't even bother bringing them in to the library, they just drop them off in front of the branch and leave.  I guess it is our fault because our sign only says not to drop off donations IN the book drop, it says nothing about dropping stuff off OUTSIDE of the book drop...

I was surprised when a patron came in with a stack of National Geographic books and first asked me if the library would have any use for them.  I checked the ILS and told him that we could actually add them to the branch's collection.  He seemed very grateful that they would serve a purpose and then asked if the library would want or need his 15 year collection of National Geographic Magazines.  I know how sentimental some people can be with their collections, so I tried to put it nicely that the library didn't need it.  He replied, "Do you know who would want them then?  I've asked local schools, Goodwill, other libraries."  I didn't want to be that guy who had to break it to him that his meticulous collecting was all for naught, I could only tell him, "Hmmm, yeah, I'm not sure who would want them then."

But seriously though, some donations are pure crap, either completely outdated items.  Or literal crap, people treat book slots like their personal garbage bin.  Sometimes you will find gold, a newly released book with hundreds of holds in mint condition.  We'll take what we can get with these nonstop budget cuts, the collections budget has really taken a hit.

Talk Like a Pirate Day AND a Library Staff Meeting today... should be interesting.

More Pics

Reportin' Fur Duty Matey!

You know it's been a long, busy day at the Library when...

You know it's been a long, busy day at the Library when a patron comes up to the info desk asking for a specific book. I found it listed as being on the 'Shelves' in the ILS, so I walk the patron back to the stacks.  As soon as I get halfway through stacks, I stop and turn to the patron and say, "I'm sorry, what were you looking for again?" (=_=)

Old Librarians vs. New Librarians, What about the Middle?

I only thought that a few select readers visited my blog, because quite frankly, this blog is generally all over the place.  My personal thoughts and views mostly come off as negative and snarky, and the majority of librarians/library workers disagree, sometimes vehemently, with me.  So it was a nice surprise to see a reply from Miss Gina Milsap about a post I made about her comments when she was running for ALA Presidency this past year.  I really do believe there needs to be more open discussion and debate within the profession if it is to make any progress in the digital world.

I wanted to make my reply a post instead of a comment to bring this to "The Front-page" so to speak.  Seeing as how comments on this blog are open to the public, I'm going to repost the comment here [edited to insert line breaks]:

"Sorry to be so late to the party. I just found your post. With respect, you've misinterpreted what I meant. That's the problem with not having a real conversation and not seeking clarification. In my library, we've created a cohort of librarian leaders. None of them are in formal leadership at this time, but we are investing in them with training and assignments to be leaders and to demonstrate the value of librarians within the institution and in the community. I had wonderful mentors as a new librarian and I'm paying that forward with less colleaguesin my own library and around the country.

 Here's what I meant with my statement about new graduates moving into management. Look at the data --- we are graduating more entry level librarians than there are positions available. So, what does a new graduate do? He or she either seeks a job out of the profession or seeks a position for which they may not have all the qualifications, specifically experience. My point was that we need to look to library education to help prepare newly graduated librarians for the reality of the workplace they're coming into. If the only job available is supervisory, how do we help them improve their chance to stay in the profession?

That is what I'm seeing as a library administrator with 35 years of experience in the profession and 16 years as a public library director. Not all librarians will make good managers, regardless of their tenure in the profession. The goal should be to identify those folks whether they're already in libraries or in library school and make sure they're prepared to lead and manage effectively. Thanks for the opportunity to comment."

First off, thank you for the reply!  Better late then never and thanks for the dialog.

Okay, I wish I had more library mentors.  I have latched on to my supervisors and more experienced librarians and I constantly pester them with questions and bug them for their opinions about the library and the profession as a whole.  I love that they all have completely different backgrounds; ie, not an English or History major, worked outside of the public library realm, etc.  

I still have to disagree with the idea of hiring newly minted MLIS grads with library management positions, and this is coming from a recent MLIS grad (Dec 2011)!  Even if there were drastic changes made to MLIS curriculums, which I doubt would ever happen, it would be foolish to do this.  I know this isn't a direct comparison, but you don't see recent MBA grads stepping into CEO positions.  Book smarts =/= Branch smarts.  I never believed that a MLIS grad could go from the classroom straight to the info desk successfully and efficiently.

Personally, I believe there are many issues with the current state of MLIS schools; letting everyone in and graduating everyone.  There are A LOT of MLIS students who have no experience working in library, I am not saying that they don't belong in MLIS school.  It is just that they have no idea how the library day-to-day goes.  Okay, so we both agree that there is a deluge of MLIS holders and a drought of entry-level jobs.  Even if there are only supervisory positions open, what about those who aren't technically "old librarians" nor "new librarians."  There is black and white, but there's also a lot of gray in between.  It's not like MLIS schools haven't been continually pumping out MLIS's.  There has always been a steady stream of graduating librarians every year.  There are a lot of librarians with between 5 and 10 years of solid working experience in the library.  I am sure that some of them would be excellent for these supervisory positions.  It would be a huge disservice to this select group of qualified librarians to not promote them.  Especially after all the crap they've gone through with the recent and on-going budget cuts, changing hours and procedures, trudging through this "new normal" and "doing more with less."  I was with the library before it all hit, I have seen staff morale take a nose-dive.  How much more damage will be done when you bring in a new graduate to supervise older, more experienced librarians?  Or does library management not even care about its greatest asset --- the employees, not the branches or collection.

I have also seen several of these "middle librarians," for a lack of a better term, jump ship to other places because library management is doing nothing to retain and nurture them for their positions.  I am extremely worried that libraries do not seem to have a solid succession plan in place for when this "greying" takes place, nor do they care to seriously consider it.  They seem to be more obsessed with the right now and not about the near future.
Now, I'm not saying that just because someone has worked in the library for x amount of years that they should automatically become a manager.  I'm saying that the odds of finding library management material already within the library ranks is astronomically higher than someone sitting in the classroom right now or in the future.  I also believe that current library management is to blame for the lack of entry-level librarian jobs because they are the ones who have begun hiring paraprofessionals instead of librarians.  Is this the future plan for libraries now?  MLIS holders for management only positions and paraprofessionals for the info desk.  But that is another blog post for me to rant in.

I admit that I'm only a lowly info desk worker who doesn't know what upper management does during the day.  But I see first-hand how their decisions affect the bottom-line.  Again, I really am grateful that you responded, it is nice to hear from upper management, I doubt that my library director would have been so open to discussion. Thanks again Miss Gina!

Back To School: Summer Slacker Edition.

This is the epitome of the "Back to School" season.  I hated this commercial when I was younger because it was a reminder of what was in store: early mornings, trudging heavy backpacks home, HOMEWORK.  But now, this is my all time favorite commercial, "Back to school suckers!"

My favorite library reminder for Back to School, is the last minute rush of student slackers.  Some will walk up reluctantly to the info desk with their summer reading list, they might need prodding from their parents, who  give them a shove towards me saying, "You go ask the gentleman."  I can't help but smile because that was me, I can't even lie and say I never slacked from school-work during the summer when I was their age.  I have nothing but sympathy for the parents who come rushing in right after work asking for a book for their child's project that is due in a few days.  Sorry Mom & Dad, that was me...

As I start from the top of the list and run my way through looking at the catalog: "All checked out, all checked out, all checked out... Do you want to place a hold?"  Young student slacker: "Uhm, no, that's okay, what do you have here now that I can check out."  When I do happen to find a book on the shelf, the next inevitable question from them is, "Is it long?"  Me: "It's 256 pages."  Young student slacker: ::gasp:: ... "Do you have anything that's less than 100 pages?"

I also love the students who come in with their volunteer sheet in the hopes that they could volunteer right then and there for 5 hours or so.  Most libraries I have worked at, have a minimum amount of hours, mostly because of the training involved.  Yeah, it really doesn't take much to train someone to shelve picture books properly, but the library is so short-staffed that we actually cannot spare someone to keep an eye on these young ones.  Fortunately, our childrens librarian came up with a book report form that students can complete for some hours.  We are the only library in the system that offers this and you'd be surprised how quickly word spreads from student to student, and school to school.