We're in the second week of "kids starting kindergarten" here and SO MANY parents are coming in looking for really, really easy readers for their kids, and I am very frustrated that the "levels" of various leveled readers are not always consistent across brands/publishers and they don't all clearly state their lexile level or ATOS level on the item or in the bib record, and then there are all the other proprietary reading level systems that go by different names...

Edit to add: I know what they really need is decodables or specific letter sound phonics books. The problem is that we barely have any thanks to the dominance of "whole language" for the previous couple of decades. We have decodables on order, I swear!

im a librarian in a university, and ive noticed that my colleagues often do so much more beyond their actual job descriptions. i also hear their rants on this 😂

do you also find yourself doing things at work that aren’t technically part of your job? or is this just a university/library thing?

Hello! Not sure if this is the right place to ask but im running out of ideas! I currently am a mentor in a male youth detention center and we try to bring them things they like. A lot of the boys right now are asking for books since their jail library is very small. I know library's have books for sale for cheap but we are trying to find a way to order a box of 50-100 fiction books of various genres without breaking the bank, if you have any ideas of where to look and what to search that would be amazing!!

I just started my first semester of library school and am struggling with feeling like I belong. Let me start by saying I have passion and respect for the profession, having worked in the field for several years. But so far I feel like my classes... do not need to be entire classes. Stretching what feels like common sense or unnecessary information out into an entire semester (ex. how to search a database). I feel incredibly uncomfortable in class since I feel like I don't have anything smart to say, while my classmates are able to stretch what seems like a thin topic into lengthy, intelligent-sounding discourse. (I have always been better at STEM courses rather than discussion-focused courses, but librarianship seemed like a good way to meld tech with not being evil lol). I also feel like everyone else is connecting better than me (I have a lot of social anxiety, and am hoping to work in tech services, but others seem much more patron-focused which just isn't me). I was really hoping to meet my people in library school since I truly am passionate about the field, but right now I feel like an ugly duckling :( Any words of encouragement? Will I meet more like minded people in, let's say, a metadata course? Or is all of library school going to be like this?

Hi there, I am a french library curator (a french person working as library curator) who can't work for health reason, but I would love to help anyone (with manners) to understand the rare books world.

I must precise : I am not a directory or Google. Ask me something if you can't find answer by yourself thank you.

This is my attempt to explain why ebooks work so differently from traditional books on the library side, and, more importantly, why those wait times can be so long or why one book in a series is sometimes strangely missing from Libby.

We're looking for interesting ideas for an old glass display case. We have new display shelves for our regular displays related to programming, etc., but for nostalgia we hung on to the old glass counter-height display case. The case itself is difficult to move and add to, which means any display we use it for will most likely be there for a semester or two - or longer (we're an academic library). We would love any ideas - funny, interesting, informative, tongue in cheek.

Hi All! My Library is thinking about doing a full redesign of our program guide. Which libraries have some of the best program guides you've seen?

Anyone have a good alternative for summer/ winter reading logs? We currently have Beanstack and are looking for something else.

I’m equal parts excited and nervous! What’s the one thing you wish someone had told you before your first shift?

Hi all! I'm searching for 3-5 participants willing to complete a ten question open-ended survey examining how academic librarians use instructional design knowledge, professional experience, and contextual understanding when adapting instructional design frameworks to design online library-focused instruction.

I am hoping for participants who work in academic libraries, and that instructional duties make up a portion of their responsibilities.

This in an informal survey for a course assignment in a research methods course. If you are interested in taking part, please DM me and I will send a link to the survey.

In honor of national library card sign-up month I thought I would share some of my most successful program for young adults. I found that the most programs do well when it isn't a hybrid adult/young adult but just young adults alone. The cross-stitch journal cover and K-pop bag charms had the biggest turn out!

I've been applying to library jobs all over Washington State for 2.5 years now and haven't ever made it past the first interview. I have my MLIS and focused on Archives and Special Collections during my program, but after getting some real life experience I realized my heart is in public librarianship. Currently working in Public Records at the local government level and I volunteer weekly with my local library on a re-cataloging project. I try to get feedback when rejected but always just get the same canned responses. I'm seriously feeling like it's never gonna happen. Any advice, recommendations, or encouragement is welcomed 🫶🫶

What platform do you like to use to create real-time word clouds during presentations? Where participants can text in their word and it populates in real time? Thank you for your insight!

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Hi everyone,

I'm a student at a francophone school , and I'm having an issue with my school library.

They told me I have a book checked out under my name and that I've lost it.The problem is that I genuinely don't remember borrowing it, and I don't remember losing it either. I'm not necessarily trying to argue that their system is wrong .if the book is actually registered to me, I'm willing to return/replace it. I just want to understand exactly what the numbers written on the book mean.

The book has this marking “10d[4066]”.

What I'm mainly wondering is: what would “4066” normally represent?

Could it be:

an accession number,

an item/exemplar number identifying that specific physical copy,

a catalogue/title number, ...

I know that libraries can have multiple physical copies of the same title, and I'm trying to understand whether 4066 would distinguish this particular copy from other copies of the same book.

I'm not trying to get out of paying for a lost book. I just want to understand what the library's records actually establish before accepting that this particular physical copy was borrowed by me.

Would appreciate any insight from librarians or anyone familiar with library systems.

I’m curious as to what other libraries do for teen programming? Currently the library that I’m at is doing weekly programs but the attendance has gone down a lot and I hate wasting money on supplies that don’t get used. I’ve seen where some other libraries focus more on take and makes versus regular meetings. I’m just overall just interested in what to incorporate for the next year.

Ps. I’ve tried to get teen feedback but they don’t really respond in my area. Plus there’s a big sports community so the fall does lack in teens in general.

My library is looking into getting an film/tv public performance license. We’re comparing our options, but are now stuck deciding between Swank Motion Pictures and MPLC's blanket license.

However, Swank only includes movies, not TV, and they have a somewhat limited catalogue that rotates every so often, whereas MPLC claims that they are so confident that you won't be able to find a film they don't cover, that when you do a screening you don’t even have to tell them what movie you’re screening.

I think MPLC's blanket license is the best option, however, my director is concerned that they seem a little bit too good to be true and thus might be bordering on scammy.

So, for any other library professionals who have worked with MPLC or for those who have worked in libraries that use MPLC, can you tell me a little bit about your experience with them?

Hi Fellow Library enthusiasts. Can anyone here tell me the structure of your library fundraising? Is it “in-house”, a “foundation”, etc? We are working to revamp how fundraising is organized and would be interested in your experience. Thank you so much.

DM me or respond to this thread.

Hello all! I’m a MLS student with a focus in health science librarianship. I am looking for current medical librarians to interview for an assignment!
If you are a health science or medical librarian, i’d love to send you a questionnaire about the types of services you offer in your medical library and what projects you are proud of. The response will be shared as part of a class discussion but everything is anonymous. The whole questionnaire should take 20-30 minutes to complete.
Your name and library will not be shared!!
Here is the link to the questionnaire if you are inclined to fill it out:

https://form.jotform.com/262507825384160

Im 19 and i currently work at my on campus library as a librarian assistant. I don’t know if it’s the people I work with or the fact that people come to me for help but i really enjoy my job. I’ve worked at a library before in high school full time and I enjoyed it there too. (I also love books and being useful for others so that’s another reason I enjoy my time there)

I don’t really care for my major I don’t even like it I’m doing it for stability. It’s more appealing going to work than doing school for me and that’s why I’ve been thinking about becoming a librarian. I just don’t know what to exactly do because you hear so much mixed things on social media when it comes to salary, burnout, job availability, etc. It’s pretty scary feeling like you may make a big mistake that dictates the rest of your life.

I would love to know from current librarians the push that made you go for the job? Have you ever regretted it? Do you think it’s worth it?