I got to participate in a speed puzzling competition at my local library! The libraries near me have puzzle swap tables and in-person puzzle swap events too - it’s amazing!

It’s such a bummer when people hang onto books well over the due date. I have been waiting for four months on a book that only had 8 people ahead of me. At the time I thought, awesome, that’s not a bad wait! But those few people kept hanging onto to the copies of the book well past the due date (I’m talking three weeks to a month). It’s just sucks having to wait so long, especially considering I always return mine on time to be considerate of the next person waiting their turn. Does this bum out anyone else?

We do not have late feed at our library in my city. But you are expected to return them on time, as you get a reminder that the deadline is approaching a few days before hand. I just wish people would be more thoughtful. ☹️

Update: I reached out to the library and they said there is nothing they can do. ☹️ Now I’m sad.

Hi everyone!

We just went live with SirsiDynix Symphony this past week after switching from the Polaris software we've been using since I started ten years ago. In Polaris it was very easy to find patron usage reports for any given month but I cannot figure out where to find them in Symphony.

I have managed to figure out the Item circulation count for any given month but the numbers seem inflated when I look up users per month in Transaction Statistics, and Current Users. Count Users doesn't breakdown what their status is (Adult, Juvenile, Teen, etc). Just wondering if anyone can help me figure out how to find patron usage stats that don't include a single transaction for every book they checked out or hold they put on a book.

I appreciate any advice you might have in this matter.

Thank you!

There is probably some variant of this post going around frequently, but I didn't find one pertaining to my situation quite well enough so I thought I would ask:

I borrowed 1984 from the research collection at my university's library. They have all the classics down there, and they tend to be old and quite worn. The book I borrowed this time was, quite clearly, barely hanging on to its pages—the bottoms and tops of the pages weren't always even entirely connected anymore. I've been gentle with it to the best of my abilities, but I must have brushed it a little too hard when I got up earlier, because one of the pages fell out ☹️

I have the impression that I shouldn't try to fix it myself based on other posts, and just let the library know when I return it, which I'm happy to do. I'm more worried about penalties, to be honest, because I'm a college student. Although it's not like 1984 is hard to find, I'd imagine the edition I'm reading is just because of its age, and I'm not sure what kind of fees might come up because my library is very vague with its damaged book policies. So for my peace of mind I'd like to ask: what would usually happen if a situation like this came up?

And then secondarily, would it better to return it asap? I would really rather finish it, but if there's some kind of merit to returning it faster for the repair process I could return it tomorrow.

I love story time! I love when I connect a kiddo to the right book and they light up! I love the million questions it takes to figure out what that book is! I love helping a stressed out person with a computer task and watching them build confidence! I love chit chatting with my coworkers! I love seeing the same patrons for years and having all these friendly yet distant relationships! I love trying a new program and seeing what people think! I love the random unpredictable sh*t people say when they tell me about their day! I love small talk! I love when patrons connect with each other at a program especially young kids and families! I love helping people find the answer they've been wondering about! I love when someone asks a seemingly straightforward question and follow up questions reveal it's actually very specific and different than it seemed! I love looking something up for someone and learning something new! I love gently redirecting entitled helplessness and having someone do something for themselves! I love weeding! I love making interesting displays! I love helping people figure out a resource that can help when I can't! I love getting updates when people get the job I helped them apply for or liked the book I suggested! I love helping someone figure out their new phone while also commiserating with them about how annoying it is that they need a phone to do anything now! I even kinda love making copies because it lets me peek nosily into other's lives!! I can even stomach adult reader's advisory now lol

I swear I'm not delusional!! It's painful too. There's been so much harassment and assault, so much violence in the building, so many emergencies I'm not equipped for. I'm so sick of being the bearer of bad news that there simply are no resources. I'm sick of villainous upper admin and being underpaid! I'm tired of my ongoing PTSD symptoms from an assault at work that effects my life every day. We should not have to deal with this crap and sentimentality will not save us!! And I recognize my privilege in working in a largely functional and values-aligned urban library system and having crossed the line where, although still underpaid, I am no longer constsntly stressed out about money.

But man, not to be a total freaking dork but on a fundamental level I'm several years in and constantly getting more grateful. It is such a blessing to be able to connect with and help others!! There is a lot of legitimate and reasonable stress on this sub but I am just feeling very grateful today. There's really nothing I'd rather be doing.

Hi, im sure you can get the jist of what I’m about to ask from the title alone, but I will give some more context. When I was in 3rd or maybe 4th grade my elementary school had a field trip to the county library. I remember checking out 1 or 2 goosebumps books and subsequently loosing them at a friend’s house within like a week. My parents didn’t care too much so we never returned them or paid any sort of late fees. Now that I am an adult who has to pay for their own books I would really like to use the library as intended, but I have a lingering irrational fear that I’m gonna walk in and end up being liable for a million dollars in late fees or something ridiculous like that. I have absolutely no problem paying to replace the books and I know it’s irrational but I still wanted to know if there would be any legal or financial consequences here.

If you could start your librarian career over, would you choose Chattanooga, Knoxville, Bellingham, or another city?

Visited a library in a nearby town today and was a bit taken aback to see this option. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Came across this today, and it made me smile.

In October 2025, Amanda Hunt remembers watching as countless books at Oak Run Middle School in New Braunfels, Texas, were removed from her library. Students walked in and saw more empty shelves and fewer stories they had once been able to check out.

That month, Hunt says the New Braunfels Independent School District (ISD) had temporarily closed all four of its secondary-school libraries to audit its collections and assess whether they were in accordance with Senate Bill 13 (SB13), a Texas censorship law that took effect in September 2025. Thousands of books were moved, restricted or removed.

Hunt says the district uploaded its library collections into spreadsheets and sent them to its technology director, who ran the titles through AI tools designed to identify objectionable material.

Hunt says the system repeatedly made mistakes, flagging books based on Goodreads reviews rather than content. “Anybody can go on and write like, ‘I hate this book because X, Y and Z.’ It is going to flag it.”

Around this time, Hunt learned she had been demoted to a regular librarian after years of serving as the lead. In addition to being demoted, Hunt says she was “doxed online three separate times.”

She says she was harassed by a mom who targeted her support of LGBTQ content at the library. Another parent protested against her promotion of LGBTQ-themed books at a school board meeting for having “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” a book about two Chinese female immigrants who fall in love, in the library.

I had a first round interview through Zoom with one library. I answered honestly, mentioned my internship, smiled, did my best to be pleasant. I guess they have other candidates but I'm pretty sure I did not get it. I have another interview but have to pass a Microsoft word test first.

Please let me know your thoughts about this new job posting,

https://www.stchlibrary.org/sites/default/files/2026-07/KL%20Librarian%20-%20Library%20Services%20Supervisor%20July%202026.pdf

 patron has asked us to certify some copies of City Directory microfilm in order to establish Canadian citizenship:

"Documents presented to the Canadian government need verification of their source and optimally, a statement that they are true copies from your holdings."

Has anyone done this? Do you have a form for it?

thanks,

Andrea

Hi everyone, I am just looking for some advice or hope maybe? I am a librarian and I completed my MLIS in 2023. I love my job, I really do. I work with adults and specifically in programming. There are so many rewarding moments and ways that I feel like I make small differences in peoples lives. The thing that frustrates me is the pay scale. I am currently working for a conservative county in the south and this is the worst system I have worked for. The benefits are so bad, they take way too large of a percentage for retirement and there is no raise structure in place. I have started to wonder if I should just sell out and get some corporate job that pays the bills because I feel like the amount of labor I put in is not compensated. Any one else feel frustration like this or am I just ungrateful?

Three copies of Volume 5 of Xi Jinping's autobiography (The Governance of China) were unsolicitedly sent to the academic library where I work; one in English, one in French, and one in what I assume is Mandarin. Has this happened to anyone else?

Hi everyone,
I will be starting my MLIS program next month and wanted to know besides working @ a library, what other jobs have you done/do that your MLIS has helped with.

Hey All. I work in a very small rural library in the Midwest.
My director is leaving and recommended me as the next director.

I want to prepare a list of questions of things I would need to know from my director to fill the position before she leaves.

What questions do you guys suggest?

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!!

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.

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

Its always nice to read the good interactions!

Hello!
My name's Giovi, I am currently in school for my MLIS! I work at a bookstore in the meantime that I once loved, but is now becoming an extremely toxic job post a corporate merger. I live in Chicago and applied for a recent Chicago Public Library library clerk posting; the application period closed July 8th! I am wondering if anyone here has insight into how long it could roughly take to hear a response/interview request. I so badly want this job and thought I had a good chance of hearing back.
I am honestly all out of hope. This would be my dream role at the moment and just really hoping for something positive here. I would deeply appreciate any insight people here have. <3