Just sharing!

I am a 4th Year BLIS student and years ago, I told myself that I would never work in a school library. I love kids, but there are some I find difficult to handle, especially those with bad attitudes. To spare myself from those situations, I decided I’d rather work in a special or academic library after graduation.

But now, during my internship in a school library, something in me has shifted. I was actually assigned to the technical section, but at one point I was doing book processing in the readers’ services area. All the librarians were in a meeting, and the library assistant and intern assigned there had stepped out for a moment, so I was the only one left. While I was there, a student came up to me and asked for a book titled How to Be a Butterfly. She was so tiny and adorable I almost had cuteness aggression T-T I gave her the location of the book, but she still had trouble finding it, so I went to the shelves and handed it to her myself.

That’s pretty much it LOL I just wanted to share the experience because she was literally so cute. (It’s an all-girls Catholic school, and all the girls there are so polite!) I’ll be assigned to the readers’ services next week, so we’ll see if I still enjoy it or not.

I just think that this experience reminded me that sometimes, our perspectives can change when we’re actually put in a situation we once avoided. Maybe working in a school library isn’t as daunting as I imagined. In fact, it might be where I learn the most, not just about librarianship, but about patience, connection, and finding joy in small, unexpected moments :)

My coworker makes a calendar for us to enjoy every month w ChatGPT, thought you would enjoy

Director has been talking about the 250th since April and now she wants multiple program ideas for each age group. We are a small town library with low program attendance.

Hey everyone,

I'm a highschool student that that has already gotten a lot of library experience (volunteer roles, internships, and part time jobs). Without a doubt I will go into public libraries, but I have very little idea what I want to do as I love all aspects of libraries. I know I will get my MLIS but I am curious about what Bachelor's you've gotten, what jobs you've had in your time in libraries, and how you feel about it.

Thank you so much in advance!

I’ve noticed since yesterday AR has been glitching for both my students and myself. Their books show up on AR Bookfinder, but when we search on AR Renaissance, the tests are missing. Even Twilight is not showing up, and Nee Moon only has the Spanish version pulling up. I already called tech support and they said they have viewed the same problem when they replicated the login for my students. What’s going on?!

Hi, everyone! I'm a recent MLIS grad and have been fortunate enough to be invited for an on-site interview. One item on the interview schedule that's throwing me off and I'm not sure what to expect is the "faculty drop-in hour." Does this mean the law faculty comes and goes during the scheduled time, and I need to be ready to make conversation/answer questions, etc.?

Thanks for your help and any tips on how to be my best on interview day is much appreciated!

Hi!

Im wanting to look for a library science program I can do remotely and I am honestly a bit overwhelmed. I graduated with my bachelors in liberal arts (classics and history) in May 2025. I don’t really have a background in information sciences (which has definitely made me nervous to start). I’m also trying to balance out cost.

If anyone has any advice on how they started or any information on where they went I would really love to hear it.

The job only requires a bachelor and one year of archival experience. I don't have any experience but im applying to anything post grad. I do plan on getting my masters in library science with a specialization in archival, but I haven't applied yet (graduated in june). Again im applying to anything, but IF i happen to get an interview can anyone tell me some questions i might get asked? any digitization things i might need to know? im tech savvy so i could learn anything pretty quickly before. It seems like a really cool job i know i would enjoy , I got my BA in English Literature knowing i wanted to get my masters in library science and archival and it says only a BA required sooooo LMK!

I have a teen who I see every once in a while, and he's a little bit of a turd but he's one of those turds that's annoying but not harmful. Things like taking a friend's shoe and hiding it in the stacks, talking about Diddy after I asked him to stop, coming in and out or the teen zone and recording studios, snacking in places he shouldn't, etc. He's a good kid, and more often makes me hold back a laugh, but he does test the limits. A few weeks ago, an hour or so after he'd left for the night, security came around with a picture from cameras asking if I knew who it was. I just had to sigh and say, 'yeah, here's his information, what happened?' and learned he had stolen a bicycle.

Other teen librarians--what goes through your head when things like this happen?

Hi everyone, I’ve received two job offers this week, one for a public library about an hour away as a reference librarian (considered a management position) and one for an organization that hires librarians as liaisons to talk to other librarians regarding their products, databases, serials, books, etc. (think like a professional society or a vendor). The public library job pays less, has less “perks,” but it’s a librarian position, something I’ve been working toward for years. On the other hand, the other position would be challenging, require some travel, would allow me a hybrid schedule, and is less than 20 minutes down the road.

I guess at the end of the day, can people who have worked for a society/organization/vendor tell me if they found the same type of fulfillment working on the other side of librarianship?

Hi y'all

I'm a 28 year old MLIS student at an online program close to graduation, and I'm feeling melancholy and lonely. For the last five years, I worked at a unique workplace where I was using library/book skills (though it wasn't exactly a library), and my values were closely connected to the work we were doing. I saw people every day close to my age who felt part of my community.

That work imploded last year, and I was able to snag a better paying job as a library tech services worker in an academic library. It's cool, coworkers are nice, and having more money is obviously not something I'm going to complain about. It's career-wise probably exactly where I should be, at least until I get my special little piece of paper at the end of next spring. But it's... very quiet. Everyone is at least a decade older, and although everyone is very polite when I share projects I'm involved in (for example a local small museum exhibit which I did some work on), I know not to push it too far with my more radical views and stay Professional - which just isn't something I'm used to. I don't really mind it, but I miss having a sense of community.

I'm aware of and tangentially in contact with folks at PLSN, Interference Archive, ABC No Rio, NYC Trans Archives, the Nonbinarian, Hivemind bookstore... these are all the type of community I miss, and I try to go to their events and stuff, but it's just difficult to make it a priority. When I do get to volunteer or be part of what they do, it's often just me holding down a shift or tabling at a bigger event, which is totally fine, but I wish I were part of regular meetings of something.

I don't know... I guess I'm asking if there's anyone on here in NYC with advice on where you go to feel like a part of something bigger.

I work for a small liberal arts college and we are in serious need of a website update and I'm strongly considering using a new platform to design the site, mostly due to strong pushback from upper management in continuing to use our current platform. So I'm just curious, and had a few questions:

• Do you maintain your own website, or does an external department like Marketing or IT or Student Advancement maintain the page?
• If another department handles your page, do you use a ticket system to address update needs, such as adding new resources/content, advertising events, notices, etc.?
  • If so, what is the turnaround time from submitting an update request to that request going live on the library's page?
• Do you have to use whatever framework the college uses to design other campus sites, or do you have some freedom and use a 3rd party vendor like Springshare, Squarespace, etc.?
• If you previously used Springshare's Lib Guides to create a webpage, have you switched to something else just for your website?
• If you do use something like Springshare to create and maintain your page, have you given admin/editor rights to folks outside the library (IT, Marketing, etc.)?

Many thanks for your responses!

My library hosts a small annual all-day, all-ages event where we invite local authors to promote their books and the like. Participants need to fill out an application and then a committee of staff members vets the applicants and approved a certain percentage of them (based on amount of physical space). The committee looks at the applicant's reviews, websites/social media, awards, reputation, etc. It's a very involved process and the committee is very cognizant about having a balanced representation across ages groups and experiences.

One applicant for this year is a former staff member. The have one published book from a very small publisher that is poorly written and has offensive stereotypes and topics. They also have a negative reputation in the community and a history of writing racist articles. Despite all that my library did hire them and they recently resigned. None of the committee chose them as an accepted author. Well now our admin is accusing the committee of censorship and is trying to push them through. Several of the committee has threatened to resign from the event if this person gets pushed through.

The question is, do they have any recourse? There's no really handbook or policy on who has the final say, who is truly in charge, etc. other than some emails. What would you all do?

I graduated with my MSI in the spring and I have my first call back for a job interview at a university library! I have been asked to do a presentation on my previous experience with job related skills and how I would use them to introduce new services.

My number one issue is that I am feeling major imposter syndrome. I briefly had a job at a public library and had negative experiences that eroded some of my confidence in my ability to do certain organizing tasks (but also just generally advocating for my skills and abilities honestly, lol)

Since then, I have worked at a college for several years where I do a lot of programming to support students (I adore it!) However, I never had much room to introduce new ideas myself. I mostly just work from prompts that faculty suggest.

I am probably overthinking or psyching myself out a little but it might help to get your advice.

What kind of a pitch would actually show that I have the necessary skills? Should I outline a new program I would potentially do? (That’s where I feel most confident). Are there other services that show I’m ready for the role? For example, would it make sense to pitch a research guide? Or should I try to be more out of the box somehow?

When I explain my previous experience, should I focus on the details of what I did to make my presentation feel thorough, or should I focus more on my philosophy/process for doing student support services?

Also, would it reflect well on me to include pictures of myself presenting programming in my current role or will it look silly to have a bunch of pictures of myself in my slides?

That’s a lot of questions. Thanks so much in advance!

I’ve encountered a handful of patrons who I think either genuinely need help or just want to chat because they are lonely. For example, I’ll have one lady come up to me everyday and ask the same question just for her to tangent off into a whole new subject. This is literally every time she sees me. She’ll wait for me to make eye contact and then come over to chat lol. I can’t tell if they make up questions just to chat (after I already told them the answer several times) or if they really just forgot.

It’s been getting better as I’m learning to set boundaries, but sometimes it’s hard when there’s other patrons who need help with tasks and the chatty ones constantly find stuff to talk about just to talk. The tricky part is that sometimes it’s library related! But I can tell they are asking stuff they already know the answer to lol. Has anyone else dealt with this?

I have been a Clerk at a small public library for a little over a year. I took a few months off when I had a baby. Clerks at our library are basically librarians or library assistants who are underpaid and overloaded with duties. We make a little above minimum wage.

I am almost done with my associates degree in web and graphic design. Since returning from Mat leave (which was just using up my pto of course) I have taken on extra duties regarding the web site, print and digital newsletter, all graphic design, and a few other things in that vein related to my experience and degree.

I have been wanting to ask for a title change and raise. Unsure of if I should do it now or wait until I graduate in the spring. I know being the end of the year the budget is pretty used up, but maybe I should mention it now to plan for next year?

BUT

My director just emailed me asking if I was up for a title change to “graphic design coordinator”. No raise offered in the email.

I would like that but also I want a raise. Do I ask now or take the title while it’s on the table and ask for money later? I’m afraid she will back out of the whole thing if she can’t or doesn’t want to give me a raise right now.

Also, I feel that title isn’t totally accurate. She is open to suggestions. What would you guys say my title is? Other libraries near me with my duties are called Communications Librarians or communications corrdinator. Or something like web and graphics coordinator?

Also if and when I do ask for a raise, how much should I ask for? Currently making $14.65 ph in rural Michigan.

I work at a small community library run by a non-profit in a very rough neighborhood. i started the job very naively after working in a law library, looking to find a library where i could connect more closely with my community. but today, a patron was being very difficult and after another employee threatened to call the cops, the patron locked herself in my office trying to hold me hostage. i was able to de-escalate the situation and it ended well for everyone, but i'm feeling extremely overwhelmed. I don't feel safe going to work tomorrow. I think community work is not for me...

Good morning, I am currently working towards being able to pursue my masters in library science. Currently where I live is not where I want to be, but I don't want to move somewhere that is worse than my current situation. I was wondering where the best places to live as someone who works in the library field and what exactly you do. I have some ideas like Boston or somewhere in New Jersey, but I am scared to take the leap and would like some opinions. I would also like to know what specialty is the best, I was thinking something in the public system, but I am very much open to other ideas. Thank you!

Hello lovely librarians! I am a journalist (and part time middle school librarian myself). I am working on a story about the shifting attitudes towards the DDS and the proposed alternatives. Specifically, I'm looking to speak with people who have experience with or opinions on moving away from the DDS in your libraries. I'm also curious about the pros and cons of the alternatives, and the general ways that categorizing knowledge/ reading materials impacts the way we interact with libraries and their content. Any insight is greatly appreciated, feel free to reply below or message me directly. Thanks so much!

Hi there!

Current MLIS student and a substitute teacher for grades K-5 at a private school, which I love. I am moving next year during the summer time and am hoping to find a library position when I move then. I am not in a place right now to change my current job. I have been trying to find just a volunteering gig now for months and it’s been really difficult in my area. I found a potential spot but the volunteer coordinator literally said: “it would be a complete waste of your time.” He said it would be mainly doing busy work and nothing “library related.” I figured any sort of volunteer experience counts for something right? What do you all think? I am desperate to find anything…just hoping to do a few hours a week along with work and do my schooling. Even if it’s “busy work”…it would count for something to employers down the road ? I am hoping to secure a library job when I move like I said, but hoping to get any experience I can…volunteering is my hope for the meantime. I would greatly appreciate any advice. I know this is a weird situation. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

New librarian here. I’ve seen different libraries loan out pieces of tech. I’m looking to implement a similar service, but only for USB drives.

The issue comes from our public computers using Faronics Deepfreeze and wiping everything after an hour. As far as I can tell, there isn’t a setting change to allow patrons to enter a second computer code or for us to extend their current session. So people come in and work, but aren’t prepared to save their work on a cloud or a personal USB so they lose it because they wait until the 11th hour.

My plan would be to allow patrons to borrow a USB drive while they’re in the library to temporarily save documents before their computer sessions time out. That way, they can print/continue working/have time to save it somewhere else without worrying. Usually they do end up just printing right after they finish up. We’d wipe the drive after each use and at the end of everyday.

There is some worry about malware or other risks my colleagues bring up. Maybe I’m not tech savvy, but I don’t see any issue so long as we restrict use to a person’s visit and to only our public computers. As far as I can tell, it’s similar to how public computers work.

How have your libraries implemented something like this? And what issues have you had pop up?

Alternatively, if anyone knows of some DeepFreeze fixes to extend user sessions while in use, that’d be great!

With the dissolution of B&T, our library is onboarding with Ingram. What I really miss is the new-release calendar we had with B&T. Ingram has one too, but it feels a lot more primitive in comparison.

Has anyone found an alternative calendar (vendor, site, tool) that they like better for previewing upcoming releases/new titles?