Category Archives: librarians

Presenting library book cart drill teams (!?!)

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Library book cart drill team

A couple of months ago I posted some videos of librarians doing parodies of popular songs. In the process of looking for them, I found some that featured library book cart drill teams. That’s right. Beginning in 2004, the American Library Association and DEMCO, one of the major library vendors, have sponsored a Book Cart Drill Team competition. Teams of librarians choreograph routines that involve pushing or pulling library book carts to music. The idea has caught on! Enjoy. The Cart Wheels (Des Plaines Public Library) rehearse for the 2007 Fourth of July parade in Des Plaines, Illinois. 2011 California … Continue reading →

Changing libraries, changing catalogers

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library catalogers

Shortly after I graduated from library school, I met with a library director who told me that librarianship had changed a lot since I was in library school. I pointed out that I had only graduated two weeks earlier. She repeated that librarianship had changed a lot since I was in library school. I doubt that it really changed much in two weeks, but it didn’t take long for me to begin to see big changes. Until the late 1800s, library catalogs were contained in books. Whenever the library acquired anything new, the cataloger had to make note of it … Continue reading →

Librarians do . . .

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Librarian

A couple of years ago a funny video made the rounds of library-oriented email lists. Students and faculty of the University of Washington Information School produced a parody of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” The new words urged listeners to use library resources if they want to find information instead of becoming overwhelmed by search results. I recently remembered it and wondered what other clever, entertaining videos other librarians have produced. A You Tube search turned up several, of course, but I found three videos with titles that start “Librarians do. . .” What a great set! Why do librarians take … Continue reading →

Catalogers: the invisible librarians

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library catalogers

You see their work, but when you go to the library you don’t see them. Or if you do, you can’t distinguish them from patrons like you unless you know them personally. Catalogers. I have been haunting libraries for as long as I can remember. Especially after I got to graduate school, I became very sophisticated in my ability to use the card catalog. (That should date me.) I was ABD (all but dissertation in completing a doctorate) when I got my first job working in a library. It was there that I learned to catalog. Until that moment, it … Continue reading →

They asked the librarian what??

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question marks

Reference librarians are in the business of answering questions, whether helping someone plan a major research project or pointing the way to the drinking fountain. Most questions are pretty routine, but some patrons ask funny questions. They have no idea what they really want, and occasionally appear not even to understand that they’re in a library. Some patrons want a particular book. They just can’t remember the author or the title. They might ask by color, but often as not, they’re wrong about that, too. Here are some memorably funny reference questions, along with the eventual answers.

Library staff: the paraprofessional

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Library circ desk

Not everyone who works in a library is a librarian. Librarians must have a masters degree in library science. Once upon a time, only librarians could perform certain tasks in a library, such as selecting materials for the collection, cataloging books, etc., and serving at the reference desk. Not any more. Increasingly, paraprofessional staff perform those tasks. Paraprofessionals may not have a library degree, but they have intensive on the job training and develop a high level of skill. Here is a brief overview of where you might be served in the library by a paraprofessional. Acquisitions Professional librarians still … Continue reading →

Sustainability at the library

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at the library

Libraries are going green. Considering how many other organizations are going green these days that is not exactly startling news. But libraries are not like other organizations. They have a unique role in informing and inspiring their patrons. Sustainability becomes part of their mission in two ways. Administratively, they choose how to go green with their building and practices. They also put up displays, host workshops, and otherwise educate their patrons to think more about sustainability. Here is a sample of projects over the past couple of years that libraries have used go green and help their patrons go green, … Continue reading →

What is a library? What one element is required?

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Go ahead and ask. She's not doing anything more important than your question!

Most people, I suppose, think of a building when they think of a library, but a library doesn’t need a building. It can be rooms, or maybe one room, within a building. Most people also think of the collection. I hope there aren’t many left who think only of books and magazines. Let’s think of the scope of what can be in a  library and determine what it must have in order to be a library. Print materials Books (of course) Magazines and journals (of course) Pamphlets Printed music Broadsides and posters Manuscripts (I know they’re not printed, but this … Continue reading →

Helping the reference librarian help you

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Go ahead and ask. She's not doing anything more important than your question!

Do you need help answering a question? Ask a librarian. Specifically, ask a reference librarian. You’ll usually find at least one at the library’s reference desk. Now, some libraries are starting to do away with reference desks as a special service point. In some cases, at least, that means they have decided to have the librarians roam the library, or parts of it, looking for people who need  help. If you see a librarian at a desk who seems to be busy with paper work, go ask your question. You will not be interrupting anything important. The librarian needs something … Continue reading →

The librarian’s job

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Library action figure with real shushing motion. Modeled on a respected librarian with a good sense of humor!

According to an old stereotype, a librarian is a socially awkward woman with bad hair who checks out books to some people and tells others to be quiet. Librarians have fairly successfully battled that stereotype. At least no one assumes that a librarian has to be unattractive, incapable of having fun, or even a woman. But as long as people still think of a library as just a warehouse for books, people will misunderstand the job of a librarian. Just as a library is much more than a warehouse, a librarian is much more than a clerk who works in … Continue reading →