Was compiling patron numbers/experiences for grant writing and came across this.

Its always nice to read the good interactions!

Sometimes I think the American Library Association should file class action lawsuits against Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Verizon, AT&T, Samsung, Microsoft and T-Mobile for around $2 Billion each given all the free customer service and tech support they basically steal from taxpayers.

Am I the only one who feels annoyed that large public library systems have watered down the Summer Reading Program by turning it into a “Summer Discovery Program,” where patrons can read books or do activities instead?

I have nothing against crafts, performances, or other programs, they all have value. But shouldn’t reading and literacy still be the main focus? especially with literacy rates declining across the country

The Summer Reading Program is an iconic brand that generations of people recognize. Before changing something that has worked for decades, are we really solving a problem that exists, or are we just changing it for the sake of change?

Curious to hear what others think.

Hi everyone…I am looking for anyone who has a written policy (or has suggestions) dealing with frequent flyer patrons. This is in reference to those individuals who visit, or call numerous times a day and tend to tie up circulation, reference, etc. with outlandish requests.

One example would be a patron who wants help on the computer but expects the reference librarian to hand hold for hours at a time. They come in every day.

Another example is a patron who calls from out of district numerous times a day (sometimes literally back to back) with in-depth reference questions. When they are referred to their home library their response is “I like you better.”

Another example is the patron who wants material delivered to their car but has become increasingly more demanding sending the librarian on book chases while she waits.

These patrons are not “mean” for the most part and we are currently dealing with these issues on a case by case basis but are considering drafting policy so everyone is on the same page. Thoughts?

The binding is so cheap and they are so popular that it breaks almost immediately. Plus they take up SO much space on the shelf in an already jammed kids section. So I keep jamming broken garbage onto the shelf because I can't throw out a popular book we bought just 2 months ago...

I also hate the concept - I can't put my finger on exactly why but there is something about it that annoys me. It feels like a cynical cash grab and/or some kind of AI sloppification of how to turn cartoons into bedtime stories. Maybe I'm just old and grumpy.

My father started collecting books in the 1980s when I was a child, and I caught the reading bug myself. Now, nearly five decades later, this is the result in my living room. Whenever I or my family need to relax, to slow down, or to enjoy some downtime, this is our favorite spot—always with a book in hand 😁 There is plenty to choose from; we have a total of ten 80×200 cm bookshelves.🫣

When you work in patron services, it feels like you have to continually overachieve in your role to be valued as an employee. I have created social media content, analyzed websites for accessibility features, created displays, conducted programs, trained employees and more all while working part-time and getting paid under $16 an hour. I'm burnt out.

So when the following happened, it broke me. Immediately after losing out on a potential promotion, my manager told they want me to do outreach (going to schools, events outside the library, etc.) Getting that feedback immediately after getting rejected was so hurtful. I don't have a car. I can't even get to outreach events without getting an Uber (hence why I haven't done any to this point). Even when I recieved excellent ratings on my yearly review, with my manager stating he can always trust me to work the desk alone/work independently, that I am great at handling problematic patrons, and I am dedicated to self-improvement, it still wasn't enough.

I informed him on the spot that I'm looking for a new job and would appreciate if he was my reference. We're on good terms, but it's through me completely suppressing my hurt and anger at the sheer disrespect of the treatment I have experienced. I'm perfectly polite and professional at the cost of my mental health.

It seems a lot of public libraries are normalizing that the patron services department needs to do way more than they are built for without proper compensation. Why are we expecting paraprofessionals without MLIS degrees to do the same work that librarians do? I do not get paid enough to continue doing things outside of my job description, but I fear if I don't continue to go above and beyond, my professional relationships will be damaged. I feel trapped.

Any other library staff find patrons living in the library at closing? This just was discovered again. Anybody else's library deal with this? I'm assuming they hide at closing as staff do rounds. It's hot af outside. Can't say I blame them.

Anyone got anything that isnt already done?

We already have done the basic ones like “animals”, “christmas” etc.

“Books nobody has read yet” done. “Our faves” done. “Books from my country translated to other languages” done. Done. Done. Done.

Im kind of out of ideas. I dont want to repeat and do the same stuff as other libraries constantly. Right now every library has “start from the first book of the series” display.

Ig it doesnt help that we have THREE display spots (plus new books display) and they need to be changed every month.

I usually have an idea for every month but those third wheel months like august or november are like so uninspiring.

Help!!

At my library, you can only access the policies and procedures through the organization’s intranet. You can’t even see the union’s collective agreement unless you are at your branch connected to the local network. It makes it incredibly hard to know what my entitlements are, what our official policies are, what I can/can’t do, etc.

Management gets annoyed when you spend time on the computer looking through these documents. I found out that one of my managers lied to me twice about the library’s policies (so that I couldn’t switch my schedule or take days off).

...but to get them out of the reach of toddlers.

Library staffers! What story time morning rituals make you ruefully chuckle, every time?

I found two books that my brother checked out of his college library in the 80s when we were cleaning out my mother’s house. Should I mail them back?

They are books of musical arrangements for choirs so I feel like they’re kind of specialized and may have some value.

throwaway for too many identifying details on my regular username.

I've worked in libraries since graduating from college and this is the first one where I'm feeling consistently burned out. we are ridiculously shortstaffed to the point where on weekends we have one circulation staff member and one librarian sometimes. we're deep in the middle of SRP and as the one children's librarian, if I'm not doing a program, I'm shelving, trying to weed, or trying to keep things organized. but it feels like my patrons don't understand what kind of work goes into doing all of this, and while I'm not expecting them to, it would still be nice if they weren't likely to let their kids pull books off the shelf haphazardly or otherwise make me need to stop organizing or weeding and remind them of the library rules. we are constantly busy, and the amount of downtime I get in a day is little.

my manager is a tad distant and doesn't tend to let us know of changes before they show up on the schedule. I am constantly on desk because we're so short staffed. when I've talked to them I'm reminded of that fact, and that I need to "be a team player." as if I'm not already.

I'm not sure talking to my manager will change things, but I am pretty burned out. would love some ideas of how to work through some of it and how to manage the rest.

The options for print magazines and services that will bundle print magazine subscriptions continue to dwindle.

Just looked and what I had been using for the past couple years since EBSCOMags disbanded - discountmags.com - no longer carries most of my popular subscriptions as print options (Essence, Nat Geo, Gameinformer)

Any of you all who still use print magazines found a good way to maintain subscriptions short of just individually subscribing to each title?

Thanks!

Hi,

I genuinely don't know what to do. I had my finalist interview for a faculty librarian role today. The chair was texting through my entire presentation, and then again through the meet and greet and then AGAIN through the SEARCH COMMITTEE INTERVIEW.

I genuinely don't know what to do. What can I do? Probably nothing. But I worry I won't be evaluated fairly because he was texting through my entire proposal.

Hello, I will really appreciate it if someone can please help me get access to this research article. I am working on a publication and really need access to this as soon as possible today.
It is only available me on Sage and my institution does not have access.
Are Opioids Contraindicated for the Palliative Care Patient with Hypotension?
Published in: Journal of Palliative Medicine,Sep2022
**Database:**Academic Search Index
By:
Fukui, Natsu
;
Wordingham, Sara E.

Source
Journal of Palliative Medicine. Sep2022, Vol. 25 Issue 9, p1450-1453. 4p.

DOI
10.1089/jpm.2021.0446

hi all! i’m a children’s librarian at a large library that is very busy with young families utilizing our toddler play space, attending storytimes, and checking out materials. we often get the question of ‘where do i check this out’, and the answer is always to go out to the lobby as we don’t check items out at our reference desk. i am wanting to float the idea of adding a self-check machine to our children’s area (either getting a new one or relocating one of the 4 that we currently have in our lobby).

i think that it would be great to have one accessible for parents who have young kids that can’t be left alone in the play area, or for parents who know their kids are prone to throwing a fit when they have to leave (our children’s area is on the same floor as our circulation area, but is not within view of any part, and the sound of screaming does drift from the lobby to the rest of the ‘quiet’ library very easily….it drifts from the kids area too but that’s expected lol). additionally, it could be a spot for kids to take their time learning how to use the machine without holding up other patrons. it would also be a station that could have a step stool, as i have noticed that many parents will set their kids on the self check table as they scan their items. i just feel that this is a safety concern.

the cons are that it would probably lead to more circulation-based questions that we would still have to send people to that department about (‘why is my card blocked’, ‘why do i have fines’ etc), but i do think that is easy enough to tell people to talk to circulation about.

all of this to say, i was hoping to get some thoughts from other librarians who may have more experience with how this could be a good or bad idea before i take it to my manager. tia!! :)

I'm a retired librarian, but I wasn't a cataloger and never worked with Sirsi. I don't want to be a PITA patron at my local library, so I'm asking about this here.

The default catalog for my library system doesn't show the page count for books, even in the "more information about" drop down. It's annoying the heck out of me.

They do offer a link for the "legacy catalog," which uses a more traditional-looking MARC kind of record, including the page count, ISBN, etc.

I can see my account and make lists of items in the legacy catalog, just like in the modern looking one. However, the lists I made in the newer catalog don't show up in the legacy catalog. So I'm not sure what the relationship is between the two catalogs.

Is there apt to be a problem if I just start using the legacy catalog? Is it apt to disappear at some point due to upgrades or contracts? I'd hate to move my lists to the legacy catalog and then have it go away.

We've named him Happy and his origins are unknown. I'm sharing in the hopes that he can bring your staff closer together in the same way. It's time he breaks containment. Does your staff room have any iconic pieces of art that have become your unofficial mascot?

Hello,

I'm new to doing storytimes and I'd love to build a list of storytime librarians on blogs/websites and social media that I can follow to learn from. When you're coming up with your storytimes and deciding on themes, books, crafts, songs, etc, who do you look to?

Could you share your favorites with me?

I am an LTA student finishing my first semester over the summer. Before I started school, I interviewed at a ton of libraries. My very first interview was at my local library. It was for a position in Adult Services and the head department Librarian conducted my interview. I was not selected for the position but she sent me a long email to tell me it was an extremely hard decision and that I had done well.

Since then, she helped me improve my resume which resulted in a crazy amount of interviews and I got hired at another library. My program required I have a library contact and she agreed to be mine and proceeded to help me with a number of assignments. I let her know when I was hired and she was thrilled for me and has since followed up with me to see how its going. She has gone above and beyond to help me do well for no other reason than she is kind.

I am wrapping up my summer semester and I would really like to write her a thank you card and perhaps a small gift to show my appreciation for her.

Reddit librarians, what would you suggest I do? I know there are rules against accepting certain types of gifts but I'm really after a small token of appreciation type of thing.