# Ask the Librarian **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 3, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495 "2010-09-03T15:13:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/21 "2010-09-03T19:57:15Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Do you get enough time to read? Enough time to read what? Mythbusting time: Librarians have very little downtime, so there’s really never a time we get to read on the job. > [@](#): > > When new books are ordered, can you get first crack at them? Damn skippy. 🆒 > [@](#): > > My daughter is going to volunteer at our local library. Do they ever, you know, keep volunteers and start paying them? 🙂 Yes. In fact, I hired a former volunteer just a few weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/22 "2010-09-03T19:58:15Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Do you have that book? It was written by that guy… it’s about those people… and it has a cover. Yeah, it’s over here, filed under “Stupid questions people ask all the motherfucking time” ---
**Author:** ![slightly\_askew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@slightly\_askew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slightly_askew)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/23 "2010-09-03T20:01:29Z")
Another librarian checking in! > [@](#): > > Whats the stupidest question you have been asked by a patron? I’ve been asked for the journal Ibid. Twice. At two different universities. Guess those common, Latin abbreviations don’t get taught much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/24 "2010-09-04T20:58:48Z")
> [@slightly\_askew](#): > > Another librarian checking in! > > > [@](#): > > > > Whats the stupidest question you have been asked by a patron? > > I’ve been asked for the journal Ibid. Twice. At two different universities. Guess those common, Latin abbreviations don’t get taught much anymore. Ahahaha, whew, oh man, that’s a good one. Glad to know we’re not falling behind in education or anything :smack:. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/25 "2010-09-04T21:11:42Z")
What’s your stance on P.L. 480 and the acquisition of semi-pornographic comic books in Bengali? ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/26 "2010-09-04T22:58:04Z")
As an early-20s woman who really loves kids’ and YA lit, do librarians ever look askance or look down on people who are browsing in the “wrong” section? I mean, I’m a relatively ordinary-looking graduate student–is anybody going to come up and chide me for browsing in the kids’ section? (My built-in excuse is that I’m a history grad student who deals a lot with domestic and social history, and in many cases people, often unaware, learn a lot of their information about time periods from books they read as kids. Thus, I read a lot of historical kids’ and YA lit. It keeps me in the loop.) Or, like, do you still chase kids and young teens out of the adult section? I was a precocious kid, and a couple times at 11 or 12, one librarian told me I shouldn’t be browsing in the adult fiction section (well, not the, like, _adult fiction heh heh_ Auel books or anything, but you know what I mean). Even then, it aggravated me. Also, what happens when a patron encounters a book that’s been ripped or torn up? If the patron brings it to the desk, will you assume that he or she did it? And what do you do about nutjobs who WRITE in the books or “edit” them according to their own person weird ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/27 "2010-09-04T22:58:41Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > If you take your glasses off and let your hair down, are you hot? > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > My hair is always “down,” so ergo, I’m hot all the time. I’ve seen the pics. I can confirm this is the case. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/28 "2010-09-05T00:04:24Z")
> [@apollonia](#): > > As an early-20s woman who really loves kids’ and YA lit, do librarians ever look askance or look down on people who are browsing in the “wrong” section? I mean, I’m a relatively ordinary-looking graduate student–is anybody going to come up and chide me for browsing in the kids’ section? (My built-in excuse is that I’m a history grad student who deals a lot with domestic and social history, and in many cases people, often unaware, learn a lot of their information about time periods from books they read as kids. Thus, I read a lot of historical kids’ and YA lit. It keeps me in the loop.) Nobody would say a thing. There are tons of parents (or babysitters) of young kids who browse the kids section for them and I’ve never thought twice about it. As for YA fiction, nearly everybody dips into that section once or twice. And with the Twilight books (and their ilk), it’s almost expected that adults will select books from the tenn section. > [@](#): > > Or, like, do you still chase kids and young teens out of the adult section? I was a precocious kid, and a couple times at 11 or 12, one librarian told me I shouldn’t be browsing in the adult fiction section (well, not the, like, _adult fiction heh heh_ Auel books or anything, but you know what I mean). Even then, it aggravated me. I honestly didn’t know librarians did that as recently as 10 years ago. I had a library school professor say it happened to him in the 50s, but even then it was something of an old-fashioned practice (or so he said). > [@](#): > > Also, what happens when a patron encounters a book that’s been ripped or torn up? If the patron brings it to the desk, will you assume that he or she did it? And what do you do about nutjobs who WRITE in the books or “edit” them according to their own person weird ideas? Unless it’s checked out to their card, we’d never assume they did. At least not to their face. As for the nutjobs, it’s really hard to catch them as we don’t flip through the books as they come in, it would take too much time. Really, in that area, we just hope for the best. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/29 "2010-09-05T00:14:11Z")
> [@slightly\_askew](#): > > Another librarian checking in! > > > [@](#): > > > > Whats the stupidest question you have been asked by a patron? > > I’ve been asked for the journal Ibid. Twice. At two different universities. Guess those common, Latin abbreviations don’t get taught much anymore. Do you fall for snipe hunts, too? 🙂 IANAL, but our library puts all discarded and culled books in the basement where they are added to other donated books that they don’t want to shelve. Once a year, the Friends of the Library have a 2-day book sale to get rid of the whole bunch. On the last hour of the sale, you can get a shopping bag full of books, your choice, for one dollar. Most of the remainder are considered worthless and are incinerated. Then the Friends group uses the proceeds to buy more books or supplies for the library. What goes around, comes around, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/30 "2010-09-05T00:30:34Z")
Why does every librarian spend 90% of every conversation telling you how busy they are and nobody is helping them and how much work they have to do and how nobody appreciates them? ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/31 "2010-09-05T00:36:03Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I honestly didn’t know librarians did that as recently as 10 years ago. I had a library school professor say it happened to him in the 50s, but even then it was something of an old-fashioned practice (or so he said). The librarian who did it was quite elderly–I think in her seventies, at least. I wonder if that might have something to do with it? Anyway, another question: how much do libraries rely on or have to do with the Friends of the Library organization? I know they run a lot of fundraisers and stuff, but do you get a lot of Friends volunteers or do they influence library holdings somehow? ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/32 "2010-09-05T00:49:43Z")
I read last year about a prep school (in the NE US I think) doing away with their library and going all digital by giving the students laptops. I had assumed that virtually everyone had some kind of computer by now but based on one of your earlier responses that doesn’t seem to be true. so the question is, do you think this will be a growing trend? Even if you can’t afford a laptop, something like a kindle should be within the reach of anyone with a job. so to me it seems like a real danger. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/33 "2010-09-05T01:29:36Z")
> [@slightly\_askew](#): > > Another librarian checking in! > > > [@](#): > > > > Whats the stupidest question you have been asked by a patron? > > I’ve been asked for the journal Ibid. Twice. At two different universities. Guess those common, Latin abbreviations don’t get taught much anymore. I lost some soda to this post, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/34 "2010-09-05T01:33:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > 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. Are you currently accepting applications?😛 (jk= I _have_ a job I can live with but I’m casting a philandering eye.) > [@Superhal](#): > > Why does every librarian spend 90% of every conversation telling you how busy they are and nobody is helping them and how much work they have to do and how nobody appreciates them? Is this a problem? I’ve interacted with hundreds of librarians over the years and have honestly never known one who did. (Well okay, one or two chronic kvetchers, but you have those in any profession.) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/35 "2010-09-05T01:38:37Z")
[QUOTE=BigBertha] Whats the stupidest question you have been asked by a patron? [/QUOTE] The stupidest I’ve had this week was “Where would I find some numbers?” Me: Are you asking about trying to find a book by the call number? They: No… it’s for a project. Me: What sort of project? They: Math. Me: And what is the assignment? They: To find some numbers on the Internet, some really big ones and some really small ones. {I hear degrees devaluing as I listen, while in the distance an old dying duck clucks in nostalgic fondness for the pile of brush where she hatched her young} ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/36 "2010-09-05T04:06:57Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Nothing kills a librarian’s mood faster than hearing someone whine about a quarter or 50 cents. How about [$3](http://jmrl.org/ill.php)? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@Captain\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/37 "2010-09-05T05:05:45Z")
I think I would of enjoyed being a librarian because it seems like a very low stress position. Not stress free (see questions below), but a job where I do not have to sell anything. I would have to deal with the general public, but by and large, anyone who uses the library are usually more intellegent and less flappy than those who don’t. I would love the quiet. It seems like there is a lot of education required for a position that is usually not a high paying job, and a job that tends to get cut as the city/county is losing funds. Probably some type of librarians do quite well, medical librarians and the like. Do you ever get “bums”? Homeless looking people coming in and sleeping? Do people ever come in there to escape the elements? The library is actually a great place to loiter. It’s air conditioned, has a bathroom and I can read books for free. Do you get a lot of kids in the afternoons after school? Are they disruptive? Do you feel like a baby sitter sometimes? How many books get stolen a year? How long is a book missing until someone calls the authorities? Do you still have encyclopedias? Does World Book make them anymore? (I loved World Book.) Do gay men ever cruise for sex in your bathrooms? It seems that libraries everywhere are prone to this, because of the free availability of the bathroom, with it usually being very clean. My college library bathroom was a cruising spot for many years! If you have internet access, what rules besides “NO PORN” do you have? I remember back in 2000, before I had the money to buy a computer, I had to use the public library one, but they had a rule against internet chatting and …E-MAIL! I was living in Mississippi and was looking for jobs and was maybe looking into going back to school and I needed the e-mail (I had no cell phone either). The librarian woman “caught me” using e-mail with her. We had a loud verbal discussion and I had to go. I was pissed. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/38 "2010-09-05T05:12:42Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > Do you still have encyclopedias? Does World Book make them anymore? (I loved World Book.) You can still get World Book on DVD - I have the 2009 edition. Not sure about whether or not it is in print. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/39 "2010-09-05T08:16:36Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Why does every librarian spend 90% of every conversation telling you how busy they are and nobody is helping them and how much work they have to do and how nobody appreciates them? Well look at this thread. A serious question was “Do you get enough time to read?” People think librarians (pleasure) read all day and the job’s just not about that. There is also a very common occurrence where someone will come in with a list of a dozen books and when you ask which one they want the most the answer is “all of them.” People have very unrealistic expectations about how much time a question will take and it’s one of the things that most bugs me about being a librarian. > [@apollonia](#): > > The librarian who did it was quite elderly–I think in her seventies, at least. I wonder if that might have something to do with it? I’m sure of it. A mass retiring of old librarians is going on now, but there are still plenty who cling to the old fashioned ways. > [@](#): > > Anyway, another question: how much do libraries rely on or have to do with the Friends of the Library organization? I know they run a lot of fundraisers and stuff, but do you get a lot of Friends volunteers or do they influence library holdings somehow? Some rely on the Friends quite a bit, others see them as a necessary evil. It all depends on the individual people involved. Me personally, my library barely deals with the Friends at all because they’re pretty disorganized. But others get regular shipments of books and movies from the Friends all the time. Volunteers as a whole is something that most libraries shy away from. Because by the time you train a volunteer they get bored and stop coming in. So it’s easier just to say “no volunteers.” But the Friends would never get to influence the holdings. Anything they purchase for the library would be run by a librarian first. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495/40 "2010-09-05T08:21:37Z")
> [@dzero](#): > > so the question is, do you think this will be a growing trend? Even if you can’t afford a laptop, something like a kindle should be within the reach of anyone with a job. so to me it seems like a real danger. What do you think? I think the e-book revolution is pretty overblown. I’m not one of those people who say they’ll never gain a major foothold in terms of sales and popularity, but the only other option seems to be “books will be obsolete tomorrow,” which is even more ridiculous. The fact is that few people, relatively speaking, have Kindles and even fewer of those people borrow e-books from the library for them. It’s a problem that is, at best, ten years away. > [@Sampiro](#): > > Are you currently accepting applications?😛 Actually, yes we are. Want to be an entry level adult services librarian in a small-to-mid size public library in western New York? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-librarian/552495.md?page=3)