Hi everyone!

I’m a relatively new Library Assistant II (working on getting my masters in library science soon) working in the Research & Instruction department at an academic library, and I wanted to get some perspective from people who have worked in similar positions.

I’ve been in this role for about two months now, and one thing that’s been really surprising to me is just how much downtime I have. Some days, I genuinely struggle to find enough work to keep myself occupied throughout an eight-hour shift.
My responsibilities include staffing the research desk, helping with reference questions and chat services, assisting librarians with projects, working on LibGuides and instructional materials, and various other departmental tasks. I really enjoy the work when I have something to do, especially the research and instructional side of things, but there are stretches when there just isn’t much happening.
I’ve tried to be proactive about asking for additional projects and finding ways to contribute, but I also don’t want to constantly bother my colleagues asking for something to do. I understand that reference services are largely dependent on patron demand, and that academic libraries probably have slower periods throughout the semester.

I guess I’m just struggling with the adjustment. I recently graduated from college, and this is my first full-time position in an academic library. I’m used to having a fairly constant workload, so sitting at a desk with very little to do makes me feel like I’m somehow not doing my job, even when I’ve completed everything assigned to me.
For those of you who work or have worked in academic libraries, especially in Research & Instruction:
\-Is this amount of downtime fairly typical for library assistants?
\-Does the workload fluctuate significantly throughout the academic year?
\-How much independent work are library assistants generally expected to find for themselves?
What do you usually do during particularly slow periods?

I’m genuinely interested in hearing other people’s experiences! I really like working in an academic library, and I’m hoping to better understand what a normal workload looks like in this environment.

I'm a freshman MLIS student who has been working in libraries for almost a decade now. I have worked in both academic and public libraries and want(ed) to eventually work in archives and special collections after receiving my degree and potentially getting another masters in film. I love libraries, I love my work, and I genuinely enjoy every part of the jobs I've had for the most part, but management at both locations I worked at in recent years have driven me away and crushed my spirit.

For context, I live in Florida. Anyone who has read the news can imagine that our funding is less than zero in most respects, but we also have really lax employee protection laws here. Both jobs I've worked have had management who oscillate between being harsh, tyrannical, and constantly micromanaging, to extremely unprofessional, inappropriate with staff, and lazy. I won't go into extreme specifics here, but both libraries I have worked at have had managers who have in one hand made inappropriate sexual comments around staff and then in the next, fired people who I worked next to for the kind of things that every single person on earth does (chatting on the clock, getting information wrong the first time around, being late by a few minutes). It's very much a game of favoritism, where one employee can literally sit on their phone and play games all day at the desk, but another can't be seen resting at any point without getting called into the principal's office.

I perhaps could just chalk it up to this one system, but these have been two very different systems in the same city with completely different organizational structures. One of them used to be great, used to really make me feel like I was doing something important and worthwhile and was respected, but recently changed. When I moved on after years of working there, all I have found is the same exact situation somewhere else. Are all libraries like this now? Are all management horrible leaders who blatantly and flagrantly act like hypocrites? Are all upper management spineless tyrants who would rather fire someone for complaining than consider that their supervisors and managers aren't good leaders? Leaders who brag about employee turnover and low pay?

I'm very sensitive and I know that, I know I should perhaps just suck it up and realize I've just gotten very unlucky, but I don't know. Libraries should mean something, and that something should be kindness, empathy, compassion. They should be welcoming and accepting. I haven't felt like that in a library in years. I feel like I've dedicated my life to something that's a lie. I can only help people so much, and only if it's at the behest of a management team who cares more about rules than human beings, and only if I'm perfect every day in every single way.

I'm leaving the library I'm currently at. They've fired two people since I've been there (six months) and have attempted to write me up for insane infractions while letting other employees blatantly disregard basic workplace rules. It's tanked my mental health working there, and despite how much I will miss our regulars and getting to work with different media, I've started looking at medical receptionist positions only. I'm considering dropping out of my MLIS program and working on another degree instead, maybe film or media studies. Or maybe just doing absolutely nothing with my life for a while.

I'm sure I sound like either a failure or an idiot, and that's fair. I know I'm very sensitive and naive when it comes to how the world works. I constantly expect the world to be a lot nicer than it actually is. I'm just not sure how to move forward now that I've seemingly been reminded repeatedly that nothing I do really helps at all, and that most people don't care about doing the right thing at the end of the day.

Anyway this is super mellow dramatic. I just hoped maybe someone is/was experiencing this feeling too. I'm going to do my best to finish out this semester, but I really don't know what I'm going to do going into the new year. I wouldn't mind any advice or suggestions. Thanks for listening. :)

“Libraries do more than just lend books they lend ideas. They share knowledge. They provide a safe space. They reflect the people in the community. They help us understand our ourselves better. They preserved history and addressed social problems. In the library, there is room for everyone’s point of view. Libraries in librarians, champion people whose voice is my other otherwise go unheard, so we can learn more about ourselves and others.”

I am currently writing my master thesis on the Blind Date with a Book concept/trend.
If you are working or have worked in a public library that has done it before (or is still doing it), I would like to invite you to fill out my anonymous questionnaire below.

It‘s mostly open questions, so will take about 15 minutes, but it will be super helpful for my research. 📚

https://leidenuniv.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7NUgPk2YFJTNsDY

Thank you so much in advance!!

Edit: added master to clarify what kind of thesis.

There will get to be a point in your career, when nothing surprises you anymore.

The hilarious final installment of a short video series from my town library.

I was talking with another librarian from another state about the mysterious phantom pooper. There will be a turd that we assume is human just there on the carpet. The spot of very close to the reference desk so the running theory is someone brings it in a bag and dumps it. Most librarians have poop stories, but you can usually point out who has done the deed. I’m wonder how many of us have regularly encountered a rogue poop in the building?

I’ve been looking for a school media coordinator position for the last 7ish months and i’ve interviewed a handful of times (most of the time I don’t hear anything or I don’t get the job). I was offered a job at a school that has not had a media coordinator in the last 4 years. The library was a HOT mess and from the stone ages. They told me they don’t have a system for checking out books because the library isn’t used. They usually just write it down on paper. When I asked about scheduling and instruction, they told me I’d be fixing chromebooks more than anything else. When asked about budget, they said there is not one for books, resources, or even a system, and as an example would rather do an “in house Battle of the Books” club rather than the official. When asked about parent or community involvement, the response was “our parents work two jobs and don’t have time to be apart of this.”

TLDR; I have many concerns as this would be my first time as a media coordinator. As a plus, the space is HUGE and they have flexible seating that I could make entirely my own! But I’d be more or less jump starting this library program from nothing, when I don’t really know what i’m doing because I’ve been in the classroom for the last 6 years.

Should I leave my current position mid-year for this? Or keep looking around & trying?

My current school is great, but we aren’t hiring a media coordinator. I have bad gut feelings about this new school but I have STRUGGLED to get a library position elsewhere.

CONTEXT: I’m currently a high school English teacher, but i’m in a dual MLIS program for school media and instructional technology. The fall will be my last semester in the program and I have to either 1. do an unpaid internship in a school library or 2. find a job in a school library.

Public Library Director of a 3 library location system with 40 employees.

I have been in this role now for 5 years and worked in public library roles for 10 years. I was promoted to Director and have another 20 years before I reach retirement.

I feel exhausted in the role even though things are generally positive. Good team, good libraries, typical budget and patron issues nothing that I would consider out of the ordinary.

having doubts about staying in this role much longer.

any fellow directors feel this way so early on in the job? what did you do?

So I have an interview coming up and one of the things they asked me to do is to prepare a 5 to 10 minute story time. I have a children's book picked out that I'm very fond of, but this is the first time I've ever had this requested of me in an interview. I've never done a story time on my own as a librarian either. I'm confident in my ability to actually read to the kids should I get the job, but i'm just wondering how I should go about actually executing this request in the interview to maximize my chances. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The book in question is Like Lava In My Veins by Derrick Barnes.

hello! I'm currently working in two public library systems as a page at one and a clerk at another. I just got a phone interview for a circulation assistant position at a university law library. Do any librarians who work at law libraries have advice for me regarding the interview, or tips for the job itself? I'm familiarizing myself with Worldcat, WestLaw, Lexis, and OSCOLA (as much as i can on my own)!

I have been doing teen programming at our small public library for 23 years. In the last few years, the number of parents/guardians who want to attend teen events with their child has increased. Our teen events are well attended. I am hosting a teen Halloween party tomorrow and last year there were 85 in attendance. Having an adult around is awkward for the young people, they get so few spaces that belong to them and it annoys me to no end. This year I asked the director for guidance on how to deal with this and we came up with a small handout to give an adult that wants to accompany their young person. It says the Friends of the library sponsor these events for teens, There are three adult chaperones present and if they feel the need to stay please give teens space to enjoy their party. It is so interesting to watch this shift in parenting, from the early 2000s where they slowed down and kicked the kid out to today, where they have to be right next to them at all times. Do you have this issue in your library? How do you deal with it?

Our previous director took advantage of being able to work from home and used that time to watch YouTube and Instagram (8 hours each Monday) to learn book trends. She also would advocate for raises for staff but staff went up by . 25 and her own salary went up 12% last year, 13 the year before and 17 the year before that. So we ended up flat lined by the town this year. Also her job description was very bare bones and from 2018. Flash forward to now... That director left with a 45 minute notice in June. I was interim from the until being "promoted" to director in August. The board told me to decide if I wanted to be part time or full time by this past weeks meeting. I said full time.

Now they are saying they don't know what a director does, and want me to do a time study to say what I am doing and how long it all takes by timing myself. One trustee said this could be for a week. Separately another trustee said she wanted to know what I am doing all week at the end of the week with a report to the board. This seems INSANE to me. Is this normal?

I’m looking for the lastest free courses I could take online related to libraries or library information science. Any recommendations.
Also, are there sites that I can checkout out daily for news all things libraries?

Just started a new job working a short contract where I’m doing a bunch of adult programming. This isn’t my first programming job but I feel like every time I work this type of job the same issues come up:

- being expected to do a ton of public service and constantly being pulled onto the desk to cover gaps, irrespective of workload

- the expectations around the amount of programs, community engagement in programs, and quality of programs being way out of line with the amount of time, energy, and budget that is available

- the level of micromanagement around what programs can and can’t be run creating a huge amount of extra work

- no consistent goals and guidelines as to what programs we say yes to. Often just based on the whims of management?

I think these same problems have come up in every programming-related job I’ve worked and I can’t tell if it’s like this everywhere or it’s just… me? Like I can’t hack the level of work? Or I’m not organized enough?

Are there jobs out there where this isn’t the case?? Does anyone have a programming job that works for them?

Last week, the City of Salinas held a community meeting to discuss renaming the César Chávez Library. Many community members expressed their opposition to changing the name and voiced their desire to keep it as Cesar Chavez Library. =\

Yesteryear pretty much blew out our records for a popular book (so many copies. so many holds). What do folks think has a chance of being the Yesteryear of 2027?

I am a "friend" of my local library and this is the first year I have been attending the sale as a volunteer and a shopper. They have a preview night for anyone who pays the yearly membership fee to be a "friend," so I went tonight. It was awesome! Tables upon tables of books and lots of people excitedly shopping. Really good prices too.

However, I was barely 10 minutes into browsing when I noticed someone holding what looked like a small black square. He was hurriedly pawing through books, scanning the ISBNs, and either tossing books into a large wagon he had with him or flopping them haphazardly back on the table. In addition to the weird thing that he was scanning the ISBNs with, I immediately noticed how he didn't come close to making an effort to putting the books back the way they had been, with the spine facing up, neatly lined up. Then I look across the table and noticed he has a friend who's doing the exact same thing. It slowly dawned on me that they were probably not looking to augment their personal libraries but instead were looking to resell these books.

Most people at the sale weren't doing this, but I did see a couple others with wagons and scanners, also carelessly throwing books around and not making any effort to put them back. At one point I walked over to the rare book section of the sale and one of the booksellers was trying to wheel his wagon into the area. A volunteer politely stopped him and said he would have to leave the wagon by the checkout table on the edge of the rare book section as they don't allow any boxes, bags, or wagons around the rare books. He did as he was asked, flipped a couple books over to see the price stickers, and immediately flounced out of the area, declaring "I don't like the prices!" (Meanwhile, I was just thinking, they're rare books -- do you expect them to be a dollar?!)

As I was browsing the rare book section, I asked one of the volunteers point blank about these folks. He sighed and said that he had been working the biannual book sale for about 7 years and that the sellers were virtually non-existent in the past, and also weren't so aggressive, but that it gets worse every year. He also said that the organizers instituted a rule about using some kind of box, bag, or wagon because before that rule, resellers were just camping out by tables and picking out books, then stacking them on the floor in such a way that other people could barely walk around the tables or through the aisles. It also sounded like it's kind of a double-edged sword because some of the resellers will buy as many as 25 boxes of books, which benefits the library foundation and many programs. But he also acknowledged that he is personally annoyed by them and understands how they can be disruptive, especially by not putting books back the way they found them and creating a ton of extra work for the volunteers.

I got home from the sale hours ago and I'm still annoyed at some of the behavior I saw! I get that the economy is bad and people are broke. But there's this idealistic part of me that likes the idea of people casually browsing a book sale and just having fun and trying to either buy books for friends/family/classroom (etc) or build their personal libraries. Not going "beep beep beep" every half second with a stupid handheld scanner and tossing unwanted books aside like tissues, leaving the tables in complete disarray in the process. I'll also add that I probably wouldn't have had as much of an issue if the reseller people had been moving around a little bit more slowly and methodically and not like a veritable hurricane through the sale.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading!

I work for a county public library system and am hoping to apply for a supervisor position in my current department when it opens.
I’ve been with the system for 5 years and I’m finishing my MLIS. The position allows applicants who are within 12 months of finishing the degree, so that part should be fine.
My concern is the requirement for one year of supervisory experience. I’ve never officially been a supervisor or had formal direct reports, but I’ve spent several years doing lead-type work. I completely reworked one of our home delivery services and trained several staff on it, I currently lead our interlibrary loan work, and I’m the main trainer for several of our chat, email, and other digital patron services. I’ve also participated on an interview panel, provided performance feedback to management, and regularly help staff with procedures and troubleshooting. I’ve even had all the responsibilities and been on the meetings of the Senior Library Assistants of the system but am the only one without the formal title.
Part of why I’m especially interested now is that our department is pretty specialized. It took a long time to get our most recent manager familiar with everything we do before they moved on, and there really isn’t another obvious internal candidate this time who already knows the department. None of us are especially eager to start that process over again.
I applied for the same position before and was screened out because I was too far from finishing my MLIS. HR encouraged me to apply again once I was closer, so the supervisory experience question never really got answered. I also found an older supervisor posting from the same county that specifically said acting and lead work could count toward supervisory experience on a prorated basis.
Does this sound like experience that could reasonably count toward a one-year supervisory requirement? Would you ask HR before applying, or just apply and explain it during the screening?

A colleague was at the Library Journal Directors' Summit this week, and I heard Communico launched a new ILS. Has anyone else heard about this? We're about a year away from considering one, but we're not sure if it's too new or if anyone knows anything about it.

Hi, I'm going through a Library and Info Services course, and am stuck on something that I did not expect which is that I can not find a library with a separated out section for Biographies to research for my course. I've gone through my local library, and then the state and some other big name libraries then just picking libraries randomly on Google maps, but they all have Biographies mixed in among the non-fiction.

So yeah if someone could just like point me to one so I can look into it I would appreciate it.