Because I’ve always wanted to do an “Ask the…” thread.
So let me have it. Any questions about any library related things. Book buying policies, Internet use, fines, whether librarians “shhhh!” anymore, all of it.
Although it should be noted I work in a public library and all of my answers will be skewed towards that type of library.
In this day of smartphone internet access and e-media, how do you respond to those who believe that the public library is an outdated relic with no place in modern society?
I say burn these people at the stake but that’s just one person’s opinion.
By and large, those people haven’t stepped inside a library since they were four years old, so we mostly ignore their bleating.
The fact of the matter is, the majority of the population doesn’t have a smartphone and a huge number of people do not have Internet access at home. Those are the people we try to reach with our Internet services.
As for e-media, there’s currently no good way to gain access to e-media unless you buy it (Netflix streaming notwithstanding). That’s where a massive library collection becomes a god send.
If you take your glasses off and let your hair down, are you hot?
Who are, and who should, fund American libraries?
Do you have an e-book catalogue to accomodate modern conveniences? If so, what’s your lending policy?
Are librarians required to be more computer-savvy now? How’s the education with regards to technology?
Do librarians “sssshhhhh” crowds any more?
How big a role does politics play in your book-buying? How well-maintained are your less-than-regular fiction sections, like fantasy and sci-fi? Do you stock books in other languages?
Thanks for taking the time.
How do I impress a librarian? I don’t want to date them or anything (I’m happily married), but my library has several really cool librarians/ assistants (and one extremely cranky dude). I’m always hoping they’ll look at the books I check out and want to be my friend based on my awesome book-selecting prowess.
Also, how do librarians feel about inter-library loan? I worry that it’s a bunch of extra work and cost and feel guilty any time I order something through ILL.
single library? library system?
My hair is always “down,” so ergo, I’m hot all the time.
It’s considered bad form to comment on a patron’s library choices (librarians like to view privacy/discretion the way a lawyer or doctor would), but this is a good start.
Feel free to chat up your local librarian about what you’re/they’re reading. Attend programs that are interesting to you and let the librarian know. Pay your fines with good humor. After all this (so they know you’re not a nut), bring food. You’ll be beloved.
Librarians love ILL as it allows them to offer a much broader collection for the (sadly, ever-growing) price of gas. Don’t feel bad about using ILL. But if there’s a charge, again, pay it in good humor. Nothing kills a librarian’s mood faster than hearing someone whine about a quarter or 50 cents.
Two-branch town library in a countywide library system.
American libraries get the majority of their funding from local taxpayers. State governments supply a small portion and the federal government supplies an even smaller portion. Further funding is received through private donations and grants.
We have a small (but growing) e-book catalog.
8 titles can be checked out a time for a period of three weeks, no renewals. At the end of three weeks (users can specify a shorter loan period if they don’t need three weeks), the item is automatically removed from their account. No late fees.
Yes, librarians have to be more computer savvy nowadays. But beyond knowing how to use the local borrowing system, there’s little required knowledge.
As for education, it varies from school to school, but I was only required to take a single Intro to Computers course that include such specialized knowledge as “How do I find the power button?” and “What’s Microsoft Word do?”
Some do. I’ve never witnessed it myself.
Officially, politics doesn’t play any role in book-buying. Unofficially, librarians are human. I am not personally responsible for any book-buying, however I do purchase the audiobooks and I purposely stay away from political screeds on both sides of the aisle. People don’t care about what Glenn Beck or Michael Moore had to say two years ago and, aside from a flurry of interest when they’re new, those books just sit on the shelves. So rather than waste my limited budget on them, I just don’t buy them at all. I’ve yet to get a single complaint.
I’ll be honest, the fantasy and sci-fi section is pretty damn spotty. In no small part due to having an adult librarian who hates the stuff. I do my best to advocate for getting more fantasty/sci-fi books and I’ve been pretty successful, but she still has a pretty snobby attitude about those books.
Other librarians are much better about it and I’m glad I’m part of a countywide system that has a large fantasy/sci-fi section. So fans of “less-than-regular fiction” can get anything they want through ILL.
You’re welcome.
Sometimes I’ve enjoyed a book, and then find out its gone out of the system. Why is that?
Whats the stupidest question you have been asked by a patron?
all libraries in the system similar size or large difference of one or two? what is the interlibrary loan flow?
There could be any number of reasons, but the two most popular are… Someone checked it out and lost it OR You were the only one to enjoy it and the book was weeded due to low circulation.
It’s a toss-up, but I’d say the two stupidest were “What do you mean you don’t have copies of Microsoft Word 2007 for people to borrow and take home” and “I was here a week ago and there was a blue book on a shelf near the door, do you know what book that was?”
They run the gamut from the huge main library downtown all the way down to small rural libraries that aren’t much bigger than a high school classroom. The branch I work at would be considered a medium-sized one and would probably land right in the middle due to size.
It’s roughly even. Most libraries send out more books than they get in, but there are some that send out more and some that receive more.
I use my library by placing a lot of holds online and then stopping by once or twice a week to pick up all the loot that’s been pulled for me. Do you think that’s annoying to my librarians?
I feel like I must be running them ragged, so I leave them store-bought sweets around Christmastime (anonymously).
What do you do with weeded out books? Do you sell them or donate them?
Our town library has a couple shelves of used library books for sale. They also take donations of used books/DVDs/CDs all year and once a year they have a huge library fair on the front lawn where they sell bags for $5.00 and you can take a bagfull of the used items you want.
I just shhhed somebody, by the way. But they were both drunk. Does that count? You could hear them across the floor inside the bathroom.
As long as you pick up all of it at the same time, then no. Nothing’s more annoying than someone placing a ton of holds and then coming in and saying they’ll only be taking half the pile.
A little from column A, a little from column B. Most are sold, but those that can’t are given to prisons, the VOA, the Salvation Army, nursing homes, whoever’ll take 'em.
Do you get enough time to read?
When new books are ordered, can you get first crack at them?
My daughter is going to volunteer at our local library. Do they ever, you know, keep volunteers and start paying them? 
Do you have that book? It was written by that guy… it’s about those people… and it has a cover.
Do you mean the one with a picture on the cover? It’s over there on the new book display.