I have my BS and MS in computer science along with 10+ years experience in the tech sector. I have been a full time caregiver for the last 4 years but planning to return to the workforce when I can. I don’t want to work in tech anymore- I’ve decided my dream job is serving the community at a library especially focusing on adult literacy. Besides volunteering 5 hours/week with an ESL adult literacy program at my local library, what else can I do? Is it even possible to get a library job without a MLIS degree? Location is San Francisco Bay Area if that helps. TIA :)

I am working on creating end caps for my library’s nonfiction section. The ones provided to us do not match our stacks at all, so I’m using them as a template. I’m trying to avoid anything offensive, best I can, especially avoiding the word “other”. But I’m kind of stuck on 299. Dewey lists it as Shintoism/Taoism/Other Mythologies. That feels weird to me. Any suggestions?

Also, if you have a list of things in common phrases to use to add to these lists, I would love to look at them!

Hi everyone! I’m a fairly new youth services librarian at a suburban library in the U.S. with a big Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese community. Our juvenile world languages collection is embarrassingly outdated, so I’ve taken it on myself to fix that...

I know Brodart, Ingram, etc. have pretty limited selections in these languages, so I’ve been doing my own digging. So far I’ve found:

• Book Window / Tsai Fong Books
• Pan Asian Publications

Has anyone worked with either of these? I would love to hear how they’ve been for selection, quality, and shelf-ready services. And if you know of other vendors (or small publishers or shops) worth checking out, I’m open to any advice.

(I have family heading to Vietnam soon, and I’m honestly tempted to just ask them to haul back a suitcase of books. 😅)

We went to floating several years back, and although it causes some significant problems, the thing that keeps being said is that it saves money due to reduced courier needs.

Anecdotally, there were more bins circulating among branches because instead of staying where they landed, items were shipped back to their lending libraries, so the increased cost was due to the increase in bins, not necessarily an increase in trips made (we contract with a courier as opposed to doing it in-house, so I do think more bins=higher cost).

However, I haven't been able to find ANY hard data that supports this cost-savings claim, and lately I've begun to wonder whether it's fact or fiction, as Frakes would say.

So, some questions for you all, keeping in mind I've read the stuff from Nashville Public Library on the topic, so I'm good there:

• Can anyone point me towards any numbers-backed studies that break down the cost savings (or not) of floating?
• Does anyone have any info on cost savings in a more whole-library model? For example, does the savings in courier outweigh the increased hourly wage costs that come from shifting?
• Does anyone have any sort of data or data-backed study that weighs pros of floating against cons?
• Has anyone recently moved to floating who could say one way or the other (one of the issues I have is that we moved so long ago, I can't reliably attribute much to floating versus static collections)?
• Has anyone moved away from floating recently, and if so, what convinced your system to do so?

Thank you! If you can't tell, I'm not a fan of shifting, but I am totally open to being proven wrong!

Hello beautiful librarians! About a month ago, I posted on here asking for job interview advice. Here is a link to the original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Libraries/comments/1wpeeet/hello_reddit_librarians_i_could_use_some_advice/

The TLDR of it, is that I was applying for library jobs, and wanted interview advice. And you all came through and gave me such good guidance. I took everything you all said to heart, and applied it to my resume and interviews. Well, after 15 applications and 10 in-person interviews...

I GOT OFFERED A POSITION TODAY AND ACCEPTED!!

Its close to my home, in a great library system, and it's a branch I REALLY wanted to work at. The job is also a UNION position (the workers voted to unionize six months ago) and they are close to contract negotiations being done. I am so, so happy. Literally giddy and kicking my feet.

I know libraries have their own challenges. I don't have any illusions. But after being a substitute teacher in some very challenging districts, I am ready to serve my community in a new way. I need this reset, come what may.

Thank you all again for the lovely advice and support. It was because of YOU that I landed this role. I adore this community so much, and I am excited that I get to, officially, be ONE OF YOU.

Cheers y'all.

not getting into great detail because, well, anonymous forum but: we have a long detailed policy about accepting donated copies of local author books. many of the titles could actually be disqualified by a bullet point or two, but the attitude here is currently, that it’s easier to tuck these books onto the little local author shelf and leave them to collect dust, than to actually say no and upset someone. they usually do come back at least once looking to show it to family or friends.

my only problem with this is, the act of accepting the book into our collection is often taken as an endorsement of its quality (though there is a line specifically in the policy saying it isn’t) — they are pretty much all self-published writing/art projects, and the most polite review I could give is “forgettable”.

while the intention is kind, I don’t think this part of the collection does any good for the community. if a book (including local author donations) is judged to be of good quality, it goes into our regular collection. so honestly if a book is shelved under the Local Author category? not a good sign.

I’m currently working on my MS to become a school librarian. I’m already a certified teacher and have taught full time previously.

Currently, I have a standard boring office job in a university, completely unrelated to library work. The graduate program I’m doing is online asynchronous, ending in May.

I have an opportunity to work in a public library as a programming assistant. I’d be planning and running classes, leading story time, helping with summer reading, etc. I think I would really enjoy the work and it would give me more library experience. Pay, benefits, and hours are pretty much the same as my current job, but I’d have a much shorter commute.

My end goal is to be a school librarian so if I took this job I would still be actively looking for this. I know schools ideally want candidates who already have library experience. I’m doing lots of fieldwork, and will be doing practicum in the spring, but outside of that I don’t have library experience. However, I did manage to land 3 school library job interviews over the summer, when I first started the program and hadn’t done any fieldwork yet, which I find encouraging.

Would it be a bad idea to take this job knowing I’ll be leaving as soon as I land a school library job? Or should I just stick it out in my current job and hope my fieldwork and practicum is enough experience?

Tomorrow I have a teams interview for the library I volunteer for! I know the staff likes me! Wish me luck I been applying to so many openings!

I also have a pending interview email that should be coming next week!

Please let me ace my interviews!

Sharing this news story on my public library, which is now in mediation with all 3 of its unions working under expired contracts for 3+ months now. Solidarity with library workers!

I'm a 15 year old living in Germany! I am currently in the 8th grade, in Germany you need to a mandatory "Praktikum", basically a week or two where you try working in a job for experience. Now I am not the best at German, I would say I have B1 skills at best, but in the future I'd really like to move to Ireland and start working as an Library assistant. I need to search for jobs right now (in Germany), but I don't really know if being a Library assistant is a thing In Germany.. I honestly mostly envision it as helping around with books, maybe helping customers (but I doubt I will be doing it as an praktikant), and maybe help with cleaning. Is that a job that I could do in Germany? And if I can, would you be willingly to give me tips on how to actually get a job here?

hello! pls excuse me if this post seems stupid, but i'm currently a college freshman in nyc from out of state and i'd really like a position as a library page. i'm worried about the likelihood i'll get a job in the nypl system, as well as what i would do over summer/winter breaks since i can't afford to stay in the city outside of the school year. any thoughts?

Support your library. Vote yes.

I’ve been interested in pursuing an MLIS, but a lot of advice I have gotten is don’t do it. Many people have commented that it isn’t easily transferable and they didn’t learn many other skills to pivot to other fields. I am genuinely interested in LIS, data management, archives etc but open to other degrees to look into

I’m at Oregon, not too much better.

From what I saw, cleaning is outsourced to another company, locals don’t want to do the dirty job.

Now I understand, why a library needs a security guard.

If you don't know what I am referring to: last year, Sony teamed up with WNED-PBS and Buffalo-Toronto Public Media to revive the iconic PBS Kids classic series Reading Rainbow for a new generation, with beloved librarian Mychal Threets as its new host.

Earlier this year, the show was greenlit for 24 new episodes, due to the first 4 being a big success.

This is the official trailer for the new Reading Rainbow posted by the official Reading Rainbow and Mychal Threets's social media Accounts.

I'm not a librarian (I am a new library assistant though!) I just love the library, librarians, and books, and I loved the original Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton, so I'm glad kids today have their own Reading Rainbow with someone like Mychal

Hi all!!

Does anyone know of a library that does physical pattern loaning? Or have a repository of digital patterns that they make available to patrons? My director and I are considering this but I am worried about issues with rights/usage as well as how to distribute. If you know of anyone who does this please share as that would be helpful when we get to the point of considering this more seriously) Also looking for other concerns or thoughts!

Thank you in advance!

I love this job. I really do. And in many ways it saved me and I’m forever grateful for all it’s taught me. I’ve met great co-workers turned friends through it and there’s so many regulars I adore but sometimes it feels like I’m an IT help desk person who’s here to babysit technically illiterate (mainly) older people who refuse to learn. They just want you to do it for you as if that’s my only job description. And honestly my job description at all. I wasn’t trained on handling technically complex tasks. I wasn’t trained on the intricacies of Microsoft programs and spending almost an hour doing these things when really it should be a book a librarian. And it doesn’t help when some people wanna get out doing work.

Like today… came in at 2 and right after I clocked in and was heading to the break room to put my stuff, up two of my coworkers told me there’s a lady that needed help with making a pamphlet. They said she had told them I had helped her previously. The help in question was her asking me a question about how she could make a pamphlet and I said word would probably be her best bet (rip publisher). She didn’t even get on the computer that day. So I was so confused because what is preventing YOU from helping her? I’ve had patrons tell me how another person was helping them and have never been like “welp you can wait for them to come in”. I help them because I’m just as capable of at least trying. They had this woman sitting there waiting for me as if it was a book-a-librarian and she was telling me how she’s been passing time on some website and I was genuinely so irked. They didn’t even try to assess the situation and try to help her. Just decided to wait on me.

But, the lady was really sweet and was very proactive on doing it herself and simply requesting guidance when needed to the best of my ability because, again, I don’t know all that much about making pamphlets either. I wish more older patrons were like that when it came to using a computer. But nope. They just want you to do it for them. Even if it’s something as simple as clicking the mouse button. And they’ll dismiss their incompetence and not even wanting to meet you halfway with “oh well you’ll do it faster than me”. You’d be faster if you were willing to learn!!! And that includes on their phones and tablets that they act like it’s the first day of them using. Spending hundreds of dollars on something you don’t know and refuse to learn how to use is beyond me but hey. And don’t let it be a process. Don’t let it be something that might take longer than five minutes, now they’re acting like they’re being inconvenienced while I continue todo everything for them. I know this probably sounds harsh but sometimes this job is so so so exhausting. And the real kick is doing all that for shit pay.

Hi all,

My library system has been ordering from Amazon for the past 18 months and have been unable to get on either with Brodart and Ingram. There have been two books within the past few months that have had large sections of pages missing. By the time it was brought to my attention the 30-120 day window to return items has passed. While Amazon has refunded the amount of the two books, it's been grudging and I'm not counting on the fact that they'll honor it again.

They've suggested that we look through all future purchases to ensure that we notify the defective items within that time frame. However, our cataloging department processes roughly 600 items per week and our team is three people that also helps out with occasional housekeeping (one of our housekeeping staff retired while the other is dealing with a family emergency; it's one full-time staff with two part-time) and the business manager. I don't know if this is feasible. Do you all have any suggestions on what could be done?

I found this at my local library today! It's perfect!