BS: Mudcat librarians

Subject: Mudcat librarians
From: Hollowfox
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 06:39 PM

Just curious...how many of us are there? For me, working in a library is equivalent to a drunk working in a distillery.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Helen
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 06:47 PM

Hi Hollowfox,

I used to be a librarian, but I'm on the wagon now. If I don't take the first sip I am all right. Just have to keep not taking the first sip for the rest of my life (grin)

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Morticia
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 06:53 PM

I used to work in a book shop......I loved that job so much,I offered to pay them......sadly I can no longer live on shop assistant wages.....so I spend what I earn in bookshops instead ( and music shops and record shops ) which is probably why I can't live on the wages.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Drumshanty
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 06:55 PM

My degree is library and information studies. I am a legal secretary. I rarely, if ever, go into a library now. Which is sad if I think about it too much. I choose to believe that I would not have made a good librarian, that's why no one would give me a job :-D

Drumshanty (who envies you both)

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Burke
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 07:00 PM

You bet!

What is miss about filing the catalog cards is seeing the entries for all the new books. I have piles of books as good as on permanent loan, and another pile of printouts of what I want to read. I don't get to read all of them, but buying books with someone elses money sure is fun.

I'm not sure about folk music in general, but the number of librarians involved in folk & contra dancing has always seemed to me far greater than our proportion of the general population.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: rabbitrunning
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 07:11 PM

Well, I'm another one. A children's librarian actually, with a strong archivist bent -- which means of course I am constantly fighting the weeding battle. Doncha just hate it when an administrator who hasn't worked with the public in years and didn't like it when she did comes into your branch and says "I believe in weeding" and waits for you to make the secret hand signal?

I've got a 1958 edition of a book on anthropology for children by MARGARET MEAD in my collection.

Wonder how many more of us there are?

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Just another Dave
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 07:16 PM

I'm one...school library media specialist servicing two elementary schools. The kids really enjoy it when I bring my banjo in for "story time". I also have a very hard time weeding.

DAve

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Mbo
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 07:22 PM

My sister is planning on getting a Masters degree in Library Science, starting next year. My family are library JUNKIES!

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: MMario
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 08:42 PM

*shudder* as an ardent reader I cringe whenever I see books being weeded out of a library. There is nothing worse then going to introduce a young friend to a favorite book and find out it is no longer in any accessible library.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: bbc
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 08:51 PM

Yoo Hoo, rosebrook & MAG, are you still out there? I believe rosebrook is a librarian at a women's prison & MAG is a children's librarian at a public library in Washington state. I am a school library media specialist at a small rural grade 4-6 elementary school in New York & (on my 4th try) am in my tenure year! I mostly teach research skills & computer skills, since they stuck 12 computers networked to the Internet in my room.

best to all,

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: rabbitrunning
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 11:39 PM

Honest injun, librarians are told from library school on that "weeding works!" improving circulation and generally making everything rosy. This despite the tremendous losses that libraries have taken in usage over the past thirty years. I have admin people who honestly believe that library patrons want to see shelves with at least ten empty inches on the end.

If you don't like to see books being weeded out of your local collection, TELL THE ADMINISTRATORS of the library and don't take the "egregious examples" excuses that they give you. Remind them that part of the reason you are willing to support library funding is the role of a library as a repository of our past and not just a doler out of best sellers.

*sigh* sorry. my soapbox is giving me splinters again...

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: sophocleese
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 11:53 PM

Worked in bookstores for a few years until I hit that motherhood thing. I like the feel and the smell of books, almost all books, second hand paperbacks and first editions included.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 05:49 AM

Guilty as charged. 30 years man and beast, all but one of them in college libraries. Presently responsible for students in Management, Economics, European Studies and Geography (none of which were subjects I studied!) so only Mudcat keeps me (relatively) sane.Must dash, got to speak to yet another firstyear intake group.
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 06:22 AM

Wow! Whodathunkit!

First off, I am NOT a librarian thought I AM a faithful patron of the library. That being said you should know that my mother is a librarian and my daughter has aspirations in that direction. However I have to question the wisdom of her choices for her educational career. If you look at the whole package, her interests, the places she loves, her studies, and all, it would appear that she wants to run a library devoted to hispanic history in the original language and that she would want this library placed in Northern Maine!

Does someone else see a problem with this?

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 11:39 AM

Where's Betty Squeak? Sure she either is or was a librarian. Never saw Conan The Librarian, but had some fun applying for the book.

Skipjack

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Cavia_P
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 11:42 AM

I moved office out of our Central Library last Friday. I'm not a librarian but I enjoyed working there.

Cavia_P - Settling in my new hutch.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Burke
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 12:07 PM

Naemanson, The more language skills an academic librarian has, the better. Your daughter might need to go to the southwest for her ideal library, but there are a number of libraries in Maine that would probably welcome her skills & expertise.

As to weeding, I'd really like to get rid of the complete sermons of a number of 19th century preachers. They'd be fine in a theology library, but are just collecting dust & taking valuable shelf space in a 4 year college that was once very Presbyterian but is no longer.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 12:36 PM

Yep, I'm still very much here, tho' staying out of the silly threads as much as possible. Welcome, Rabbitrunning, and ain't it a grand profession? I did music and stories for a harvest fest on Sunday. They put me right next to the diving into a haypile for tootsie rolls, and my allergies were giving me fits.

Naemanson, one side of my family comes from Maine. My (beautiful talented, genius) niece just transferred to College of the Pacific. Know anybody there?

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Helen
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 06:54 PM

Skipjack,

Try asking for that great American novel "Tequila Mockingbird", you know the one, they made it into a movie, it's about an Afro-American accused of raping a white girl.

(My favourite book request from working in a public library for 15 years.)

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 07:58 PM

MAG, I think you mean the College of the Atlantic. I don't know anyone there though I do know some people farther up the coast.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From:
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 08:05 PM

I'm not a librarian in real life, but..... in my imagination, I am one!

I grew up in the local library in Sydney, NS. I helped to teach the student workers about shelving, and such. It was such fun.

I wish I could have been a librarian.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: GUEST,Nancy King
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 08:19 PM

Well, I'm a librarian too--in fact, the reason I'm a GUEST is that I peruse the Mudcat in between questions from patrons, and cookies are a no-no! I hate weeding too--it really hurts to take some wonderful book out just because nobody wants to read it. But if you're going to complain to someone about it, write your County Council or whoever controls the purse strings and tell'em to keep building bigger and bigger libraries, because we'd run out of space really fast if we kept adding new stuff but didn't take out the shelf-sitters. I know quite a few folkie librarians--some of them actually work in libraries! Cheers--Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: rabbitrunning
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 08:43 PM

Yah, weeding's a necessary evil. But I work for the library of last recourse in my state, and you'd think if anybody was gonna hang onto stuff...!!!

I know one formula weeder who figures it's a shelf sitter if it hasn't gone out in six months! And she wonders why she keeps having to request books from my collection, too.

My collection alas, is self-weeding. I have an 8 percent lost and/or unreturned rate at my branch. And since we don't _do_ inventories at the Boston Public Library, we haven't the foggiest notion what the "walked out the door" rate is. I mark books missing constantly.

*sigh*

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 12:11 AM

Praise the Lord for libraries, and librarians! If an aptitude test for librarians was properly constructed I would be guaranteed to come last. Classifying, cataloguing and storing in proper places are not my strong suit. Ah, but the joy of finding a well stocked library, with caring and knowledgable staff - and where you can borrow music for 2 to 4 weeks. Bliss.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 09:04 AM

I'm not sure I understand what "weeding" is. I, however, always buy books at the library's bargain book sale. When my kids were small, I couldn't afford to spend much money on books, so looked forward to being able to come home with 50 children's books for just a few dollars. Some of my best "finds" have been at library and bookstore clearance sales.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 09:39 AM

Helen, that's a showstopper. Brilliant.

Skipjack

PS Where's LTS - She'll have something to say about this

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Hollowfox
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 10:22 AM

I have mixed feelings about weeding, and more than a few conflict of intrest *BG*. "Weeding", Mary in Ky, is getting rid of books from the library, for whatever reason. Some are worn out, but you can order a new copy. The hard part is deciding on the books that the library is going to discard and not replace. some are no problem at all; outdated stuff, too many identical copies, some of which are worn out, etc. The hard part is when you see the value of that particular book, but you need the shelf space, and not enough other people in your community have an interest in the subject. And then there's the hardest part for me; weeding the folkie stuff. If I discard it, I can buy it and have the book for myself, but then it's not there fro other folks to use. And it's too easy to get really greedy... I Knew there were a bunch of us here in Mudcat; it'll help keep me sane here at work, where, unfortunately, my tastes do not coincide with those of my fellow workers. (sigh)

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 11:51 AM

Wait a minute! I am a librarian! I mean, look at my house! It's full of books. I am willing to lend them out. I have books on every subject imaginable. I must be a librarian.

But then, I not a very well organized librarian. My books are shelved and boxed. And I almost never weed. Therefore my house is overstocked. Could I persuade one of you real librarians to come to my house and organize this mess?

No? ~sigh~

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: JulieF
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 12:03 PM

I'm not a librarian - but the Library system is one of the systems I look after, so I work very closely with our Librarians and I never need to worry about my books being late.

Julie

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Patrish(inactive)
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 12:09 PM

When I think of Librarians I always think about Terry Pratchett books, his librarian at the unseen university had a great fondness for bananas
Patrish

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Hollowfox
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 01:02 PM

Naemanson, you're a bookaholic. I am too, but I get paid to be a librarian. Sometimes I could just kiss my MLS for getting paid to do this. (That's Master's (degree in) Library Science), although some of my colleagues are gray, and do bray).

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 02:22 PM

I figured I must be some kind of -aholic. One year I added up the value of all the checks I cashed at the various local bookstores and it came to over $1000. That doesn't count the books I bought at yard sales and the various used book sales I went to.

I wonder what that creaking sound is that I hear in my home? Why do the floors seem to be bowed under the weight?

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: rabbitrunning
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 02:37 PM

I'm a bookaholic with a small apartment. I have to have a lot of books so that the L-Space effect kicks in and I can find a place to put more books.

;D

Did you know that the best way to chase off an incipient migraine is to tell "The Three Little Pigs" to seventy preschoolers?

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: GUEST,Greyeyes
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 02:38 PM

Guilty as charged. And yes I think there is an unnatural folk link. I am a half-hearted folkie compared with many of my colleagues over the years.

As to weeding, there are institutions in the UK centrally funded to act as repositories for all printed works. Locally funded public libraries just don't have the resources to act as deposit libraries. Academic institutions are a different matter, the best interests of the students is presumably paramount tho' it's not my field.

I weed regularly, if I don't my Library Assistants can't get the returns on the shelves.

Anyone in the UK within striking distance of Plymouth might like to know that the Central Library is holding a massive sale of withdrawn stock this Saturday from 9am-4pm. Books, cassettes, CDs, videos all at rock bottom prices.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Art Thieme
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 05:44 PM

Folks,

Around here all the garage sales/tag sales have less and less books for sale. None are any good. It's all Harlequin Romance stuff. And the only used book sale of any worth is the one our library has every so often. They seem to divest themselves of stuff I feel they ought to hang on to. Quite sad to see. (Especially when I realized they sold my 4 that LPs I've given them over the years.)Is this happening everywhere. My personal pile of books I've picked up that I've not read yet is down to 2 feet in height. And that's without getting out much at all lately to buy 'em. (??????)

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Burke
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 05:59 PM

We have a local art center that holds a huge book sale every year. There's almost always great stuff & tons of bestsellers from 5-10 years ago. I bring home a box of books every year but too many of them stay unread. Last year I started a 2nd box right away. Take a book out of box 1, read it, put it in box 2. Box 2 goes back to the art center for this year's sale. I figure if I really want to read it again, it will show up again in a couple of years.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Ebbie
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 06:18 PM

A few weeks ago, an elderly neighbor held a book sale at her home- 25 cents (Hey! I don't have a 'cents' symbol on my keyboard- never noticed before.) on the dollar. Most were jacketed and pristine and most were good stuff. I bought 8 books the first trip- went back and bought 3 more. I felt rich.

I am also a most faithful library patron.

And I've got to put in a word for the reference desk. They are marvelous people.

Ebbie

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 06:25 PM

The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library's "Friends of the Library" organization holds, about three or four times a year, a gigantic used books sale. Many of the books are weed books from the library, but many, many of them are donations. They call these sales "Second-Hand Prose". Hard-cover books are generally a dollar, and paperbacks maybe 50 cents, with exceptions for a few certain types of books which cost a little more.

I sort of live from one Second-Hand Prose sale to another. I can go through the MOB that shows up and come out with two large shopping bags of books to feed my habit for $30.00, which will PROBABLY carry me until the next sale. In a commercial bookstore I'd be lucky to get two hardcover books for that.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 06:44 PM

Gee, Art, here in Maine it seems as though every library has a big booksale using donated books. You'd think they'd eventually run out of books and start recycling them. And who knows, maybe they are and we haven't noticed.

And our yard sale books are pretty eclectic. Sure there are the usual runs of Harlequin romances and Reader's Digest Condensed Books but there are also some great gems hiding in those bins.

I have found any number of great records in the local yard sales as well. Gordon Bok, The Beers Family, Ed McCurdy's Dalliance series, John Jacob Niles, etc. I even found a complete set of 78's which were the companion records to go with Carl Sandburg's American Songbag. On them Carl Sandburg is playing and singing some of the songs from his book.

It sounds to me, Art, as if you need better hunting grounds. Maybe a round of summer visits to me, Burke, Ebbie and DaveO would feed your book fiend!

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Chocolate Pi
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 09:37 PM

People keep telling me I'll be a librarian someday ... I noticed that at one point during a local Sacred Harp sing, there was at least one librarian on each part, in a 10-15 person group.
I love the library in Waterville, ME, very muchly.


Chocolate Pi

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Art Thieme
Date: 27 Sep 00 - 11:54 PM

I envy you people. Maybe it does come down to my living in the county that is NUMBER ONE in the entire U.S.A. for alcoholism (per capita) -- an honor we took away from Dade County, Florida a couple of years ago. Being isolated here now is taking it's toll on me lately me thinks. Still, it's a good place to go to watch the corn grow---and to raise kids who, understandably, move to Chicago or to the coasts as soon as they can do that. Never thought I'd ever say it but I miss being on the road. As Tom Paxton said in his song--I think it was called ONE TIME ONLY: "I spent cities like a handful of change..." What a luxury it was to be out of town as much as I was. Why didn't I appreciate it as much as I should've then? There were some great book sales (and other perks) all along the way.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: CamiSu
Date: 28 Sep 00 - 09:16 AM

Not a librarian, but have a house FULL of books, and more in the barn. My kids are readers, too. Daughter Jessica, Wavestar to the 'cat, is such a reader that when she was about 8, or maybe 5, can't remember, I once felt she needed a BIG punishment, and told her she couldn't read for a whole weekend! Boy did that make an impression!

I WAS in the library club in elementary school. We got to catalogue books, reshelve the returns and anything elsse the librarian needed help with. When I moved, I helped create a library club at my new school, as well. Our local library is tiny but we can get anything we want through inter-library loan!

CamiSu

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 28 Sep 00 - 10:57 AM

Yes, books get recycled a good deal to the Second-Hand Prose sale. Mine certainly do; I don't have that much house room to keep (most of) them! Every few months I take a couple of large boxes to the nearest library branch, and they are happy to receive them. At the sales I've seen individual volumes that I'd owned and redonated.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: rabbitrunning
Date: 28 Sep 00 - 07:23 PM

I don't mind weeding if it's to make space because you've got limited space. I mind it if you've got empty shelves already and you think that people borrow more books when you've got lots of empty space on the shelves that do have books...

I looooove booksales though. Keep those books a circulating! And I don't mind a used book that has little annotations in it, either. Did any of you ever read "84 Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff? She expressed that feeling of camaradarie with the reader before her better than I've ever seen it done since.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 29 Sep 00 - 04:46 PM

right, college of the Atlantic. Now I know I've become a Westerner.

Chocolate Pi, my auntie Francis Carptener-Carter lived in waterville. she's been gone for awhile. Quite an interesting person. If you know any Gilpatricks (or Carpenters, or Bubers, for that matter) they're probably kin.

I used to send my discards to the Children's Literature Archives at U. WA. Most states have some such facility, so that there will be a "last copy" somewhere. Unfortunately our courier went bust and I have no way to get the books there (short of U.S. mail, which isn't approved). A real shame, since older long unweeded libraries like mine have the stuff an archive really needs. I buy the gems I really can't bear to see go into the land fill, and, yes, my den is very -- denlike.

Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat librarians
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 29 Sep 00 - 07:30 PM

I commend to all of you Joy Rutherford's brilliant song "The Bold Librarian". In DigiTrad, of course.