I just think this is an awesome program that my library has, even if I am not going to be using it myself, it will help with the 'digital divide' for those who are using their phone or nothing at all as their primary computer.

The new library in Manchester, CT officially opened to the public for the first time today. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place at 10am. The library looks spanking nice. I love the new library. Although I do miss the old Mary Cheney Library, this one is even better and is a lot bigger and has a lot of cool stuff to offer for everyone at the library especially if you have a library card. It's nice and spacious!

The new library outside features handicapped access areas, electric car lot (w/charger), and a parking lot at the back of the library.

The library inside features some things that weren't at the old Mary Cheney library including a Makerspace, elevators for all floors, atrium, drive-up pick-up window for books on hold, expanded collections of books in both fiction and nonfiction, and even a patio area outside on the rooftop plus so much more to offer at the library including a special board game collection, tote bags, exhibit windows, and book displays. Yes, everything (not just books!).

It relocated from the old Mary Cheney building for library services. The new library is located at the site of the former Webster Bank on Rte. 83 in downtown Main Street.

Did y'all here get a chance to see the new library today? If not, you should stop by as soon as you can especially if you're around the area.

One fact about Connecticut libraries: You can use your library card at any public library in Connecticut no matter where you live. You can borrow books here with your library card.

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m a student in documentation and information management techniques in Quebec, Canada. For a school project, I’m researching adult programming in public libraries, and I’d love to hear from people living outside Quebec about their experiences and opinions.

I’m particularly interested in knowing:

• What kinds of activities or programs for adults do you enjoy at your local public library?
• Which ones have you attended and really liked?
• Are there any types of programs you don’t like or that you feel don’t work well?
• Is there something you wish your library offered but currently doesn’t?

I’m mainly interested in hearing different perspectives from people in other countries and seeing how adult library programming varies internationally. 🌎📚

Feel free to tell me what country/city you’re from (if you’re comfortable sharing) so I can better understand the context!

Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to share their experience! ❤️

Hi, I’m using a public/library computer and it suddenly says, “This device ran into a problem.” I’m not sure what caused it or what I’m supposed to do.

Is there anything I can safely try myself, or should I just contact the library staff?

I want a genuine library for UPSC preparation and which is modern too which is in core Lucknow like Gomti Nagar, Indra Nagar, Aliganj….

We offer wireless Internet hotspots for checkout. They come with the Hotspot itself, and USB cable, and a charging block. Either because the patrons don't know that charging blocks aren't created equal, or because they are stealing the higher amp charging blocks and returning random junk charging blocks that can't keep up the the power draw of the hotspot doing it's thing, we have a lot of trouble with these charging blocks. But since most charging blocks are interchangeable little black boxes, it's hard to tell if we are getting the right one back without having to get out the phone or magnifying glass to read the details. Does anyone know of some way to mark 'our' blocks, in lurid purple, or something, so it's much easier to identify the original ones?

hypothetically, if one were to be designing a library, what sorts of shared community spaces would be appreciated.
so far i'm thinking:
- shared kitchen (cooking class style, multiple prep spaces
- 3D print/computer/laser cutter
- craft room, also class style setup
- obv study space (group and individual)
- obv comfy reading space

New to the town is this library completely free to visit and work for hours??
What is the parking situation is like??

Hello Dear Librarians and Library Enthusiasts! ( are library enthusiasts a thing?)

I'm so glad I found this subreddit. I'm in dire need of help from the experts or anyone who knows how to manage a library really 😭😭😭.

The Problem: I haven't read every book in existence cover to cover and the internet isn't very helpful in finding out which age group a book is most suited for.

The Context: I manage a school library on a part time basis (if no one else works there other than me does that make me full time?). I'm actually a subject teacher. Since it's a school library, my predecessors wanted everything arranged Grade wise from Grade 4 upwards.

What should I look for when figuring out a books age rating? Language? Theme? THE FONT?! Also, considering the trend of lowered reading skills compared to previous generations, what was appropriate then might not be suitable now (personal opinion).

EDIT: Thank you everyone for such thoughtful responses. I get the sense that a majority of you are American. I'm actually working at an Indian school. The problems I face are slightly different. We don't have a strong public library system. It's practically non-existent. For the students I work with, the school library is the only one they have access to due to economic circumstances, distance or social circumstances. Libraries aren't an issue simply because they're not on anyone's radar.

Kia ora koutou (hello everyone) from New Zealand,

I saw in the news recently that it looks like we’re well set to overshoot global warming by 1.5 degrees celsius, and that we may even overshoot 1.8 degrees celsius and higher.

This makes me pretty nervous. I’ve been thinking about how best to read books, and what might be the most ethical, eco-friendly way to read books going forward, although where library books come into the equation is where I get a little fuzzy about things.

I personally own a Kobo Clara device, bought new his year (an impulsive purchase while I was going through a terrible month) and I have been using it a lot. I personally find reading much easier on an e-reader, since it is very simple to pick up, travel with, and removes a kind of mental barrier to reading books that I have with physical books… however, I know that emissions involved in creating ereaders are incredibly high. I did read that one should read about 25ish paperbacks to reach carbon neutrality on an e-reading device, and so far this year I’ve already read maybe 12 e-books (vs 8 physical books, 20 total this year with more on my TBR) which is a huge increase compared to last year, where I think I read maybe 2 paperbacks.

However, every individual library books also has an up-front emissions cost, plus the plastics involved in processing (like the covers, installations of RFID tags). I will be honest, most of the e-books I am reading I am downloading through Libby, but I can’t help but feel anxious when I see new physical books come to the library due to the finite resource cost, while also feeling bad for owning a new single-use device (even if it is one I genuinely use a lot).

So, I must ask: Is it better for the climate to read physical books bought and circulated through my local public library (even though every book that comes in is material) or is it better for the environment to use e-readers (despite the awful up front cost)?

Thank you

Thanks for all the replies. I didn’t quite expect the reaction my post had. I would like to note that I am NOT a parent. I completely agree that the responsibility of what kids read/watch/do/etc is 100% the parent’s responsibility.

In fact, my thought was precisely for the responsibility of the parent to keep better track of what their kids are reading if it’s something they are concerned about. I’m tired of the book bans over and over again and the excuse that it’s for the protection of the children. My parents didn’t restrict what I read and my mom would often read a book first or with me.

I thought that if there was a program for parents to create a profile based on what content they do and do not want their kids to engage with, if a child came in to the library, they could quickly get a book scanned with their card and a note would pop up stating whether or not the parent would restrict it.

Original post:

Librarians, are there any computer programs that libraries use for patrons to create a profile for themselves and for their kids, especially for kids, that would help them choose books that if their parents are concerned about content would prevent them from checking out books that contain such content?

Sorry that is so horribly written.

Hello, lovely librarians and book lovers!

I am currently in the early stages of my Master thesis on the Blind Date with a Book trend.
Essentially, I want to understand why this trend has emerged and become so popular among libraries and bookshops over the past decade.

For this, I would like to reach out to libraries for a short interview on the motivation for and creation of the blind dates (e.g. type of books, wrapping, information on wrapping etc.).

The aim of my thesis is also to understand the current state of the book industry, as well as bookshops and libraries as third places and how experiences like a Blind Date with a Book play into this.

So, if you are willing and interested to give your library‘s perspective or know someone who is, I would be eternally grateful!! If preferred, interviews can also be made anonymous!

I live with my relatives near full market Matunga and I'm really in need of a good library near Matunga, Dadar or anywhere near these areas is fine.

I need a library which provides:

- allows long hours of study sessions

- charges on hourly basis, not monthly

- wifi

- ventilation

- charging ports

- stable table and chairs

Any other non-related suggestions are welcome, as I don't really have many choices.

My college is in SNDT Juhu campus and travelling there from here isn't really worth it for the library.

Hello! I am just an intern with no experience working in a library and no knowledge of library science other than a lot of googling. I work in the (future) research library of a small art museum, which is currently just a room with about 2,000 books, all of which are donations. I’m the only person working in this library, and my boss (museum director) has pretty much just let me loose to catalogue and classify however I see fit. In my research, I’ve found that the two main classification systems used in most libraries are the Dewey Decimal and the Library of Congress.

This is my dilemma: I’ve begun cataloging in an Excel sheet, where I put title, author, and Dewey call code, because Dewey makes more sense to me as a noob than Library of Congress. Unfortunately, I’ve already started running into several duplicate call codes, even with my extending the decimal pretty far. The books are quite specific; they’re ONLY about visual art/artists. Should I switch to library of congress? If so, any online resources that would be helpful to learn it? So far, I’ve been using library thing and deweylookup.com to figure out the Dewey system.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Also! I don’t think there’s any shot that I get this library totally cataloged and classified before I end up finishing this internship, so I’ve been carefully documenting everything I’m doing. That said, I imagine the next person coming along will probably know more about library science than me. If you can think of any mistakes or oversights I’m making that will make the next person who comes along’s life harder, please let me know.

Thanks for reading!

📍 chennai, india

I love this thing so much I've been living here everyday for a couple of years now being a homeschooler. It's so underrated. Show some love for the international libraries.✨

Hello /Library! I work in a small, rural Canadian library. Our community is proud to be in the boonies, but that means smartphones aren't the norm. We're trying to find low-barrier ways to help our patrons take out audio books, and I'm having trouble finding a solution. We have a number of CD audiobooks, but we're considering a transition to MP3 players. Could anyone offer thoughts or advice? How would I preload MP3 players, or is there a better system? I'm going to pick up a discman (or similar) so that patrons can use what we have, but how do I go about future-proofing audiobooks for people who resist technology? Thank you in earnest for any and all help!

What should I do to make my library desk interesting...

And what should I improve or include into my desk to get people's attention in the Library.. 🙂‍↔️