Tag Archives: librarians

Innovative library services for seniors

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Most library programming, it seems, is geared to children and youth. But more and more libraries are adopting innovative programs for older adults. In many cases, the impetus comes from librarians frustrated with the lack of programs suitable for their aging parents. Baby boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964, are now between 54 and 72 years of age. They comprise about a quarter of the US population. People of earlier generations who reached their middle 60s were, by reputation anyway, often retired, sedentary, or even homebound. Libraries have long served this population with large-print books, delivery of library materials to the homebound, outreaches to senior centers, and regularly scheduled movies at the library. Those programs are still necessary, but not enough.

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What do you know about your librarian, really?

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Librarians have a different reputation than they used to. Is it any better? Let’s see. Do you remember, in It’s a Wonderful Life, what would have become of George Bailey’s wife if he had never existed? Clarence the angel shows him she would never have married. She would have become an old maid. A librarian. What about The Music Man? When we first meet Marian the Librarian, she has no friends. And why should she? She’s full of book learning. She considers herself superior to townspeople who don’t come to the library. And she’s not very nice to people who don’t behave properly in the library when they do. Ah yes. The stuffy spinster with a bun telling everyone to be quiet. That’s not the image anymore.

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New Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden

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Revised In 2016, Carla Hayden was sworn in as only the 14th Librarian of Congress in history. Most news reports emphasizes that she was the first woman and the first African-American to hold that position. Those are important milestones to be sure, but attention to them obscures some others. Carla Hayden is The first Librarian of Congress with a limited term of appointment Only the third professional librarian appointed to the position. Fully backed by the American Library Association (ALA), which opposed some of her predecessors.

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The school librarian: an endangered species?

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Every good school has a library. And a school librarian. Too many school districts have decided that having good schools is too expensive. School librarians, like other librarians, have a master’s in library science They must also have a valid teaching certificate. Unfortunately, many school districts are getting rid of their librarians. I wrote earlier specifically about Chicago, but the problem is nationwide and has been building for years.

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22 ways to use the library

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Do you know what’s going on at the library? Even if you’re a regular library user, you may may be missing something interesting. Libraries represent a kind of “third space,” which is neither home nor work. Unlike many others, they are not a business. They don’t carry with them the expectation that you will pay for something. Of course, libraries offer numerous services you can use. You’re paying for public library services with tax dollars. You’re paying for academic library services if you are part of a college/university community. For most purposes, then, you never have to dig out cash or a credit card in the library. That makes a library suitable for a multitude of activities you couldn’t comfortably do in other third spaces. Plenty of libraries offer unique services, but here are some that nearly all of them will have. Let’s consider the library as a building, a set of services, a collection, and a place for activities.

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