[doseogwan]

happy national library week, to you all.

this is from the 1960s, when everything looked like melted crayons.

[doseogwan]

Thank you for the kind words about ALATT. Do you realize how amazing you are?

No you! :)

[libraryjournal]

Coffee and Conversations, a one-hour session that caters to homeless people, is the brainchild of Jo Giudice, who became the director of the Dallas Public Library system last year. Giudice’s office is at the central branch.

“This type of program has been a dream of mine since I moved from branch manager to the central library years ago,” Giudice said. “As director, to see it in action just gives me goose bumps.”

Two sessions have been held since early last month, and the next is set for Dec. 19. Attendance has doubled to more than 70.

[doseogwan]

I already wrote this on FB, but this is one of the best library-related ideas I've heard in a long time!

[makeithappenday-deactivated2015]

At some point I had to write this. This is kinda a FAQ response. It is one of the longest things I have ever written on a blog, but lots needed to be said. ALA Think Tank started as “let’s rent a house and fill it with librarians at a conference. That’ll be cheaper and funner than a hotel”....

[doseogwan]

I love the ALATT! At first I was too shy to post in it, also scared of getting rampaged by the haters, but have finally gotten up the courage to post a few times over the last couple months. All of the advice I've gotten was honest and raw. I love it! What is better than ~5k librarians from all different walks of life, backgrounds, libraries, fields, ages, etc., coming together to offer you advice? Not much! No text book could ever teach me what I've learned so far from this online-community. 

[librarianwardrobe]

Children’s Librarian, Cape May County Library, New Jersey

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! Will there be enough room?

[doseogwan]

This might just be my favorite literary-themed costume that I have seen this year. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

[doseogwan]

[doseogwan]

check out the library i work at - the ann arbor district library - on NBC! :) @ approx 1:18 

[doseogwan]

I just want to bookmark/share/remember this website! That way I can come back to it tomorrow when I'm on desk flipping through it. Yay!

[thelifeguardlibrarian]

I put on the sign. I went back up to my apartment to grab some books. I came back down and a neighbor I never met was there with a pile of books in her arms. Let’s do this. #bookcycle #lit #chicago #bikes

[doseogwan]

this is so good.

[doseogwan]

The world without libraries is like a cone without ice cream.

What Would a World Without Libraries Look Like? Kids Have Their Say.

[inputmismatchexception]

You can read. Which is to say, you can glance at a piece of paper (or a glowing screen) and immediately, effortlessly take in the thoughts of someone else. The greatest philosophers, poets, scientists, novelists, artists, and world leaders in history have left the contents of their thoughts just lying around in a form that you can access instantly. We take it for granted, but it’s really magical.

Redditor FerdinandoFalkland (via inputmismatchexception)

[doseogwan]

Settling on a title for Megan Shaw Prelinger was tough. “Renegade librarian,” “cultural historian,” “collector of the uncommon,” and “arrangement schema superstar” were but a few of the ideas that hopped in and out of my brain while we spoke inside her namesake library, San Francisco’s Prelinger Library. Specializing in bygone artifacts and ephemera and organized by a system Megan devised herself, the library is an extraordinary place.

But, when I asked Megan what she’d consider the most appropriate title for herself, “library builder,” was her humble and simple suggestion. “It can kind of encompass all of that,” she says. “Collection building, community building, and transforming the process of research into something that’s like an institution but isn’t.”

[doseogwan]

Over time working in a library, I found that empathy and patience is one of the most important skills that people should have in a public library. We work with a wide range of patrons, and it’s very important to be patient and understanding. When I have a tough experience with a patron, I can’t be snippy and rude to them — I don’t know if they just lost a family member, if they have a mental health issue, if they didn’t take their blood pressure medication that morning, or if they just lost their job. Yes, it can be trying, but I have to be able to brush it off and move on with my day — and not take it out on the next person to approach the desk. I might be skewed in this direction because I also have a master’s in psychology, but I think it’s very important for staff to realize that they don’t know what that patron is experiencing and they must treat all patrons with the same level of professionalism and respect. That skill is also important when working with fellow coworkers. Not everyone has the same work style or method of approaching tasks, but different methods can be equally productive. Staff need to consider that what works for them doesn’t always work for others, and this goes for part-time and full-time staff alike.

- Marleah Augustine, Adult Department Librarian at Hays Public Library (on Hiring Librarians blog)

I could not agree more. This "soft skill" is SO important to ANYONE working with the public. But especially library staff working on public desks. We're there to help patrons NO MATTER WHAT. 

[yolaleah]

I pretty consistently preach about the importance of visiting other libraries. When I visited Darien Library in Connecticut, I picked up a few really wonderful ideas but this might be the best - the Librarian Favorite bookmark. Patrons LOVE them. L.O.V.E. Library workers also love them because it’s a fun way to personalize displays. It’s a win-win.

You can see Darien’s version in a copy of The Love Song of Jonny Valentine and our version at the Northbrook Public Library, in a copy of Matterhorn. (that’s right…that book is AMAZING!!)

Big ups to Stephanie Anderson, aka @bookavore, for such an awesome idea. That lady is going to change Reader Services as we know it. For real. Sometimes the most innovative things, are the simple ones.

[thecardiganlibrarian]

Simple. Cheap. Worth trying.

[doseogwan]

Great idea. Saving.

[himissjulie]

Hiring Librarians (www.hiringlibrarians.com), the blog about hiring librarians, is working with Hack Library School (http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/) to attempt to settle that age-old question, “do library schools actually teach what librarians need to know?” If you’re someone who hires librarians and would like to weigh in, please take the survey at http://tinyurl.com/hiringlibschoolsurveywww.hiringlibrarians.com), the blog about hiring librarians, is working with Hack Library School (http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/) to attempt to settle that age-old question, “do library schools actually teach what librarians need to know?” If you’re someone who hires librarians and would like to weigh in, please take the survey at http://tinyurl.com/hiringlibschoolsurvey Keep an eye on Hiring Librarians for initial results, which will be posted in the next week or so.

do library schools actually teach what librarians need to know? | LISNews: (via himissjulie)

[himissjulie]

Even though I work at the children’s desk, we get a lot of adult traffic as well. Some of these adults are parents, others are adults who don’t realize they are at the children’s desk, and others who wander over to us because of our proximity to the photocopier. I never turn adults away when they ask me a question. I will find books or resources for them, help them make photocopies, answer questions about computer classes, and walk them to the appropriate collection area if needed, the same as I would do for any child. My title is Children’s Librarian. Anything a librarian can do, I can do. Answering a reference question, regardless of the age of the asker, is something I should be able to do. I might not be as passionate about some of the reader’s advisory questions I get from adults, but I should know enough to do a RA interview, and I should have a working knowledge of major trends in adult literature. I believe that in a public library, this should be standard. You should be prepared and equipped to serve the public at any and all times, regardless of age, ethnicity, or ability. If someone’s needs absolutely require someone else in another department, please walk the person over, make contact with your colleague, explain the situation, and make sure everything is ready to go before you leave. There’s nothing worse than being passed from person to person and department to department without any continuity or follow through.

The Whole Library Approach | Hi Miss Julie! (via himissjulie)

Yet another example of buffing out the seams.

(via theanalogdivide)

AMEN

[doseogwan]

"So how do fishing poles fit a public library's mission? Krause says its job is to inform and enlighten, but also to connect its patrons with the community. The Honeoye Library is in the Finger Lakes region, where you can fish year-round, so this is a way for the library to speak directly to the people they serve, where they're serving them."

You've already read this, I know, But this is my favorite quote. Second sentence, especially. (Beyond Books on NPR)