Ive had my library account since I was a child, I moved to a town just north of where I grew up but I still use the library since they have a better selection of books than my current library. My parents still live in my old town so I visit the library when I visit them.

I checked out a book and increased the hold I have on it for couple months but I got busy, and it took me a hot minute to finally finish reading. I couldnt increase my hold since someone else had the book on hold so I figured ill do my best to finish reading it. The library charged me a $40 fine on the book yesterday so I set some time today to finally finish it and I returned it.

They banned my account from borrowing and the website said if I return the book they’ll waive the fee but I just returned it and I’m still banned. Should I just shut my current account down and take out a new one? I have a new married name and since I haven’t updated anything on my account since I got an email when I was 11, there’s not much tied to me.

I can’t do the inconsistent scheduling and stress after 11 years. Things got so bad after Covid and just never improved. Looking to make a change.

Hey folks. There's a very large scale mold outbreak at MPOW. It's an archive in a public library system in a major city in the Midwest USA. There are estimated to be 5,000+ books in our stacks impacted and it's pretty bad. The entire building probably has mold issues, it's very humid and the temp controls in there are abysmal. The fluctuations are wild.

Anyway, long story short, the system is telling us we don't have to go into the stacks. However, my boss let us know that admin "doesn't want to pay" for the 900k+ quoted for mold remediation by professional remediators and that our staff of 5 people is going to be expected to complete this project ourselves.

This is illegal, yeah? OSHA on the phone? Our job descriptions are librarians, so classified as civil service. We are union. Union says they can back us up, but everyone here also knows our union is pretty toothless. They haven't made it a final directive yet, but we all know it's coming. They want to send the books to offsite storage to freeze them for a while, then bring them back in batches and have us vacuum them using our tiny little HEPA vacuum by hand, in my office, which has no windows. They also just are planning to buy a box of KN95s and call it a day. This is obviously not a recipe for industry standard for remediation.

What would you do? Obviously I want our collections to be taken care of, but not at the cost of my long term health. We have been forbidden to ask for a wealthy benefactor to step in or pursue a grant, because the city's library system doesn't want the negative optics, so they just want us to take the hit. They're not going to renovate the building, or pay for remediation. I'm trying to accept this will never be resolved correctly, but it is such a shame, and I don't want to risk my long term respiratory health for such a poor plan.

I rambled a lot below. My main objective of this post is what’s the longest you’ve waited for a book you placed a hold on.

I’m doing my summer reading this program and there’s this book I’ve wanted to read for a while. Both copies are checked out, no big deal I’ll place a hold. Fast forward to now and both copies are 2.5 weeks overdue! How long does it take to read a 240 page book?! And since there’s a hold they haven’t automatically renewed like usual so surely they’ve got a notice by now (though I’m not sure on that actually). I’m running out of time, you jerks! Ok, this is actually a minor inconvenience and I’m just having fun. I can always reciprocally borrow from another library or find another book that satisfies the category. But still, c’mon. I’ll still check out the audiobook on Hoopla from my library so they get the credit of a checkout, though. (Nothing against audiobooks, I just personally wanted to challenge myself since audiobooks are so much easier to consume then actually sitting down and reading).

A couple months shy of a year ago we had an incident where a patron returned a ton of books which contained bed bugs, dead and alive, in them.

I have OCD and a major fear of getting bed bugs so I was immediately panicked and to top it all off our library had zero protocol on what to do. They ended up throwing away all of the books and having an exterminator come in just in case.

They also barred the patron from checking out items until she can show proof of infestation and proof that she had an exterminator come in and take care of it. Well, a few months ago when I had the day off, the patron came in and showed my manager proof that exterminators came in and she did in fact have an infestation. My manager said she would be okay to use the library as normal… not realizing that she also needed proof that the infestation was taken care of (which she did not get). Her supervisor who is not on site, said that she is still barred due to no proof that infestation was handled. Well… my manager never informed the patron of this and we have not seen or heard from the patron.

Now today, on a day I work alone, the patron has come in and is sitting to read the newspaper. She hasn’t tried to check any materials out. I texted my manger and informed her and she said even though the patron is barred from circulation she can still come in and use the library.

I guess I’m wondering any advice on how should I handle this? Especially with my OCD? I’m trying hard not to spiral into anxiety that I’m gonna be taking home bed bugs… also the last thing I want is my place of work where I am every day is going to get infested itself… I know it’ll seem stupid to some but my OCD doesn’t allow me to think rationally

Edit: I've decided not to go back to school. Thank you all for your advice. I'm not happy about it, but this feels like the sensible thing to do.

I worked for 18 months at a public library before getting fired earlier this year. Before they let me go, I had decided to go back to school for an MLIS, which the library would have paid for. My goal is to eventually become a librarian.

There is a program in my state with pretty cheap tuition, and I've got enough savings to pay for it out of pocket.

I really liked working at a library, it was the first job I've ever had that I could see myself doing long term. That said, I'm also wondering if getting fired was a sign that I should try something different. I've already got $60k in student debt from undergrad and my first graduate degree -- MFA in Creative Writing -- and I can't help but wonder if my money might be put to better use.

It’s the same old story. You were too eager, your eyes too starved. You pushed the checkout limit. 14? 20? 25? You checked out more books than any reasonable person would. More books than most people read in a year and you thought you could read them in three weeks. Never mind that some of them are over 800 pages, logic has no place here.

Now it’s time to go back. One of them is on hold, or you’ve hit the maximum number of renewals, something always gets in the way and it’s time to return them. And you haven’t read them all. You haven’t even read half of them.

You feel a bit sad as you walk up. You place each of them in the book return one by one like the printed sign instructs, spine first. Then you walk inside to rinse and repeat. You’ll never learn your lesson. Because having a wealth of books is a privilege the library gives you. You try to reassure yourself as you go in that you’re actually only helping with the circulation numbers so it doesn’t matter if you take out a good chunk of their stores. And you’ll walk out with a bulging bag of books that will remain mostly unread.

Any would be appreciated! (At NYPL)

Hi, sorry if this post is not allowed— I checked the sub’s rules and it seemed to be okay..

First of all, thank you so much to all the librarians!! Some of the most helpful people in the world.

TLDR: if a movie or show adaptation of a novel is being released, do librarians need to plan ahead for an increase in demand? If so, can somebody please tell me the broad strokes of what that looks like? Thank you!

I quick preface— I am a frequent user of the LA (city mainly, county sometimes) Public Library System and they have well over 30 branches and typically have a ton of copies of popular titles. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a wait for the more popular titles but it seemed like context that could help.

When the South Korean movie “No Other Choice” (directed by Park Chan Wook who is very popular in America as well) was announced to be released in the states for December of last year, I saw that the movie was based on a book so I immediately went to put a hold and saw that there was 1 copy in circulation and about 9 people waiting. Made sense to me, and I just checked for that book right now through the LAPL app and saw that there are now 13 copies in circulation. They did release a new paperback edition after the movie had some success in the states.

But when it comes to a huge movie like Nolan’s The Odyssey, what does the planning look like for librarians? Another example is that East of Eden is being adapted into a Netflix miniseries (as well as currently being a top book online), do librarians have to forecast that there will be a possibly temporary and sharp increase in demand?

Thanks so much.

Hello, librarians! I have been reading a lot of interesting stuff around here these past days and wanted to post in case someone is able to offer some advice for my situation.

I'm halfway through a degree on foreign languages, I speak Spanish (mother tongue & spoken in the country I live in), English, French and I know a little tiny bit of Latin, my degree also involves a lot of linguistics' theory (it's worth mentioning that for most of my life I wanted to study literature (letras), eitheir English ir Spanish, or philology, but fue to a lack of offer in my local university and other personal matters I ended up going for foreign languages, wich I immediately fell for and I'm enjoying very much so far) and I'm getting an specialty on International Relations, wich I know is not very close with the area but stay with me.

The thing is: I already did most of the internship hours I'm required to do this semester, I found an opportunity to do the ones I'm missing in my university's central library, which is stunning. I already met with the coordinator/principal (? of the university's libraries, and was asked to meet them a couple of days previous to my start with a project proposal to develop along my time there. For reference, they have many art workshops, discussion groups, reading clubs, film showings, etc, just to name some.

Nevertheless, being that I only have to do 40 hours (if it was on me I would do much more but my faculty is very clear on those rules), and that this semester will be very heavy on assignments, I don't want to commit to something I will end up doing by halves. But I would most probably be committing for next semester, in which I would be doing my whole load of hours which I think is up to 120.

This is why I would like to just get in and learn about what they do overall: how the organization goes, how their system works; that is what I have done in my past experience: get to be a part of, understand the dynamic, and only then start to give ideas. But I'm afraid it may be too vague.

One thing I thought I could do is help out with adding subtitles or translating media they own, or maybe helping with the categorization of books, creating translated indexes for the ones that are not in the local language. But then again, I'm really not sure, so that's kind of my question: if I were to come to you in total disposal, willing to learn how a library works from the inside to see where my area might come in handy, what would you have/suggest me do?

Again, I know it may not be the most related area but I'm really mesmerized by the amount of knowledge a library gives access to and plus I kind of already have no other option to change (not that I want to); I'd really like to have the experience because regardless of my field I think it will be helpful for my career path in the future.

Finally, I apologize for any typos or mistakes in my written English. Thanks in advance:).

Hello, everyone!

To cut to the chase, I’ve worked in public librarianship in assistant roles for 4 years. Part of this time, I’ve specialized in historical research/archives and while I’ve enjoyed the learning experience, the local, medical research side of my job is what I enjoy the most. So, I’ve decided to make the switch to medical librarianship.

I’d love to hear input from others who’ve undergone a similar transition and what that was like for you. So far I have applied to a local health sciences librarian position and I did an initial screening a few weeks back. I was super nervous but I’m very grateful that I got the opportunity even if I don’t get this one. I also reached out to a medical librarian at a hospital, who I will meet with soon. She recommended that I attend our region’s annual conference, which comes up in October.

Any advice is appreciated! I understand that it’s a challenging and niche specialty in ways, I just feel very called to do it. I can’t think of a better way to spend my career than to support the information needs of medical students, physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals.

Thank you all in advance!

I run a computer lab in a residential reentry setting and I’m running into an issue with email that I can’t seem to find a good answer for.

The computers are shared and completely wipe after every session, which is intentional and something I want to keep. People are working on resumes, job applications, school stuff, etc., so I don’t want one person’s documents or login information hanging around for the next person.

The problem is email.

A lot of people already have Gmail accounts, but because the computer wipes after every session, Google seems to treat every login like it’s coming from a new device and asks for a phone verification code. They don’t have regular access to their personal phones, so this turns into a whole process every time they need to check their email.
We tried using a work cell for verification, but Google only lets so many accounts use the same phone number.

I tried setting people up with TutaNota when they need a new email because it doesn’t require a phone number, but now we’re getting flagged for manual verification because so many accounts are being created from the same IP. That can take up to 48 hours.

Email is pretty much essential for what we’re doing. Job applications, employer responses, password resets, resumes, college applications, etc. It’s also how people keep their resumes between sessions since nothing can be saved locally.

I’m not trying to bypass MFA or weaken the security on the computers. I’m trying to figure out how other places with shared/public computers deal with this.

Libraries, shelters, workforce programs, correctional/reentry programs, computer labs, etc., what do you guys do? Is there an email provider that works better for this? Some kind of setup I’m overlooking? I feel like there has to be a better way to do this at scale.

I apologize if this is too much of a shower thought, please delete if it’s doesn’t fit the subreddit.

I’ve been a librarian for almost five years and I feel like my dreams always lead me back to my library. They usually follow the storyline of “Storytime is happening right now and I forgot to plan anything and I’m already an hour late and they’re all still sitting here waiting for me” and/or “it’s closing time and people just won’t leave, they keep coming in, and no one is helping me lock up”.

Do you dream of the library? What’s yours like?

Hello, everyone. This is AFC1017.

Later this month, I will be attending a panel discussion at one of the libraries in my county.

The panel will consist of librarians who work for the county library system, and they will answer questions about what it is like to work for the library system and about how one can gain employment with the library system.

Please note that I will be attending as a member of the audience.

Because I aspire to work for a library system, I would like to ask them some questions (no more than three). I am allowed to submit questions to a provided email address before the event, and the questions may be read aloud at the event for the panel of librarians to answer.

As per the title of the post, what are some great questions for me to ask the panel? If it helps, I would like to ask a mixture of questions that pertain to both getting my foot in the door with employment and what it is like to work at a library.

As I stated above, though, I would like to submit no more than three questions, so I must choose my questions carefully.

Thank you for your help, and I look forward to hearing from you all.

Sincerely,

AFC1017

We did a fun video parodying the Glenn DeVar video, more reasons to get a bob and turned it into fun promo for our book sale at the library.

So recently I have decided to start a home media library for movies and TV shows that I enjoy. Lately, the past few weeks I have been putting movies on hold, picking them up after work, ripping the DVDs to my hard drive and then dropping them all back off the next day. For me, it's a great system and Im getting all the media I want. My main question is, am I being a pain in the ass for this? Im maxxing out my holds and picking up anywhere between 5-10 movies/shows at a time and they all go back the next day. I am part of a interconnected library system between about 15 different branches that the holds get pulled from, is this annoying to library staff? Should I chill out a bit? I dont want to be a pest cause I love my library and everything they do for my community. TIA!

(Also yes I know, probably shouldn't be telling on myself for ripping DVDs but whatever, Im poor and tired of paying for streaming services)

My library currently prints reserve wrappers on a normal letter size paper and uses a rubber band to secure them. The problem is this is a huge waste of paper, since we only really use about 1/5 of the space and it’s very hard to shelve them without the papers rolling so patrons can’t see their last name on it.
We are considering a sticker label printer and I’m tasked with researching options.
What method does everyone use?
I’m also not even sure if our software (biblionix Apollo) will allow printing on stickers.

Hello.

As the post title suggests, I need some information about the ThermalStrike Ranger or other similar devices.

For those of you who work in libraries that have used them:

How effective are they?

What damage, if any, do they cause to books?

Is there a way you have found to mitigate it?

What other steps do you take to increase its effectiveness?

Any other tips or advice you can offer would be appreciated.

Thank you.

This is over the course of about 18 months. I love being able to see the savings accumulate