Hey guys!
So, I’m joining forces with @scriptlibrarian, and we’re combining blogs! See you over there, lovelies!
scriptlibrarians-blog reblogged
Anonymous asked:
You mentioned that people don't really get what a librarian does most of the time. What DO different types of librarians do? I might be a writer considering becoming a librarian as a career, but there's not a lot of info online about it, so?
Lets start off with the different type of Libraries.
There are four major types:
- Academic libraries serve colleges and universites.
- Public libraries serve cities and towns of all types.
- School libraries serve students from Kindergarten to grade 12.
- Special libraries are in specialized environments, such as hospitals, corporations, museums, the military, private business, and the government.
With in these are a wide variety of Librarian Jobs.
A Librarian is just not the person who helps you check out books. There are a variety of positions, that do all types of thing for the library. I’ve pulled together a list of types of Librarians and information about their positions.
For more information on becoming a Librarian or the types of jobs that are available - check out the American Library Associations (ALA)
(Note: This information is mostly US based, I’m not familiar with European Libraries or their system)
Pages are usually responsible for putting returned books and other items in their proper places on the shelves. They are also responsible for keeping items in the right order. Some handle requests for retrieving materials that are in secured areas, and others may be responsible for checking items back in. Page jobs are usually part-time.
Great first time job for someone who is getting their degree or wanting to see if they want to work in a library.
Library Assistants or Technicians generally perform clerical duties, and are often mistaken for librarians as they are the first face people see, since most libraries’ checkout desks are near the entrance. Library assistants often check materials out and in, collect fines and fees, answer general phone questions, issue library cards, process new library materials, and assist with items on reserve.
Normally the job just out of Library School!
Librarians help people with homework and research questions, decide what items to purchase and to discard, offer programs and training, help people use the internet, build websites, and more. Specialized librarians may run computer systems, work with seniors and non-English speaking populations, become specialists in a specific subject area, or maintain the records for the online catalog.
These are the guys you normally see. The ones that will help you with whatever you need. It doesn’t matter if it’s a University Library, Public Library, Law Library, Research Library or a Specialized Library.
Library Managers such as department heads, branch managers, and assistant/deputy/associate directors, and are typically middle managers responsible for the operation of departments or other functional areas such as “all library branches.” As managers they may be responsible for work schedules, employee evaluations, training, and managing budgets. Branch managers, in particular, can have additional director-like responsibilities, such as overseeing the condition of the facility or involvement in local neighborhood groups and projects.
Career goals! As you move up the rank from Technician, to Librarian, to Manager you take on more responsibility with in the Library.
Library Directors have the main leadership role in the library. Typical duties include preparing and overseeing the budget, developing employment and service policies, strategic planning, public and governmental relations, reporting to the governing board or official, ensuring compliance with laws, fundraising, hiring, motivating and firing staff, and more. Directors’ duties and compensation can vary greatly depending on the size of the library.
This is it! The big job! The one where you run the library. All those skills you’ve trained for are now starting to come together. For most people this is someone who’s been a in the field for 20 + years.
There are also other professionals that work with in a Library. They may include public relations, accounting and human resources, network administration, facilities management, transportation services and security. These people do not always have a Library Science Degree but just as important to running the library.
As I’m an Archivist not a Librarian I’m adding some links to more information that I hope will be useful.
Librarians - the real ones not the TV Show .. wikipedia article gives a quick rundown of information.
ALA - American Library Association - I recommend this site as it’s very helpful to anyone looking to become a Librarian.
Books & Bytes: Librarians as Information Managers - A good site by Cornwall University
If there are any Librarians out there who want to add to this post - please do!
- The Archivist
I was an academic librarian, but I also have experience in public libraries!
scriptlibrarians-blog reblogged
Anonymous asked:
What is the best, worst and under spoken part(s) of what you do?
Actually the answer to all three is the same thing.
The best part of my job, is finding that one thing. That one item that someone was looking for. The one item that you could remember seeing it but not sure when or where. The one thing you dig through your database, your files, and then literally the boxes to find.
When you find it … it’s like the clouds part, sunbeams shine down and choirs from heaven.
The worst part of my job, is trying to find that one thing. When someone sends an email or calls looking for ‘that one thing’ and you inwardly cringe because you know that’s going to be difficult to find - for whatever reason. Because it’s the one thing you remember seeing, but no idea where it is. It’s the one thing you dig through your database scrolling through going I know it’s here what else keyword can I search! When you look at that stack of boxes and sigh before diving in.
But when you find it … you filthy, tired, and relieved.
The most under spoken part of the job, is finding that one thing. Because you are so good at pulling off the strangest requests, they think you are awesome at your job, but have no idea that you spent hours scrounging the database, editing as you went because you noticed files with errors or keywords misspelled. No idea that you just inhaled a years worth of dust, because you’re so backlogged that you hadn’t got to those boxes yet, to find their item plus those two or three other items that you thought would be perfect also.
They say thanks and run off with the hard fought for items, no clue why you need a drink, a shower, and grinning like a mad thing.
- The Archivist
Gods, do I relate to this. I once spent three solid days of every spare minute I had being devoted to finding that ONE ARTICLE. It was the last one a grad student needed for their master’s thesis, and they were really desperate, and I spent so much time arguing with Jstor and Ebsco and etc that I wanted to cry, but I finally found it! It was one that the other libraries didn’t have, or at least weren’t willing to scan for us-I think it was from like, 1800 something, this was several years ago so I’m fuzzy on precise details-and the patron ended up having to pay around $5 for it, since the library would pay $20 of any access fees that cropped up, but I felt SO GOOD.
Then there was the time last year that a single patron requested over 150 items in a six hour period. Felt less good about that.
An ILL Primer, part 3
If your item is a journal article, be it scientific or gardening, once we get it we have to do less to the paperwork. We stamp it, tell it how we received it-email, mail, Article Exchange, etc-where we got it from, when we got it, and the processor’s initials. Then we open it as a PDF and start making sure it’s a high enough quality to send on to our patrons. If it isn’t, we write Resend Request on the paperwork, plus the date the resend was requested, and then email the library to ask them to send us a better scan.
Oh! My library also wrote the info down on a clipboard so we didn’t have to shuffle through a giant box of paperwork later.
If the scan was good, we added a copyright stamp to the article-I will write a whole thing about the copyright laws later-and send it to the patron, usually through email or Article Exchange. Gods bless Article Exchange. The thing can handle sending a whole dissertation. Then we enter the info into ClioWebs to tell the other library we got it and everything’s good.
When a book is returned by a patron, we do the reverse of everything. We pull out the paperwork to find out where it’s going-this is why we put a band or sticker on the item, both to identify which patron it goes to and to help us find its records later-check it back in, update ClioWebs to tell the other library that it’s going back home-wrap it up in a bubble envelope, tape a label to it, stamp it with both a Media Mail and an Interlibrary Loan stamp, and send it on its way. We write down the date, the book’s title, where it’s going-both the library AND the city/state-and our initials on yet another clipboard. We then shred the paperwork.
I’ll get into sending our items to other libraries and sending items to patrons who, while still technically part of four library, live far enough away/have extenuating circumstances to force us to mail them their stuff. Hint:you’ll hate it.
An ILL Primer, part 2
After we send the request out, we get to wait until those 5 libraries decide whether they want us to have the item or not. This is usually where we put the paperwork in a box-no ILL librarian worth their salt will ever throw paperwork away if there’s even the slightest chance of it being needed later-and continue working on other items. If the item’s a book and we haven’t gotten it within 1.5 to 2 weeks from the date of request, we go in to our system-in my library this was called ClioWeb, and it is the devil-and see if it’s bounced back to us or if it’s just coming from a library really far away.
If it bounced back, we send the request to five more libraries. If they bounce it, we send to a further five-but that’s the last time. We get three tries to get an item, and then we have to tell the patron that we can’t get it for them. That always hurts, and feels kind of like failure.
Articles only get one week from date of request before we check on them. The paperwork boxes-yes, we have multiples-get checked daily if possible, every other day at the outside limit.
Once the item arrives-books arrive via mail or courier, articles usually via email, but sometimes mail, a program called Article Exchange (which is a subfunction of another library program called Worldshare, which is wonderful), or another program. When I started, we have a program called Ariel, and it hated people. We had a protocol for WHEN it crashed. Not if, when. And a crash log, And things to do to keep it from wiping your data when it crashed. Fun times.
ANYWAY. Once the item arrives, we get to start processing it. We find its paperwork, usually via the ILL number, which is a unique 9 digit code that is rapidly increasing. When I started we were in the 8800000′s somewhere. When I left we were in the 167000000′s. Time flies. It’s terrifying. But the number is the almighty useful digit, and can be used to track where the item came from, where it’s going, who it’s going to, any applicable due dates or restrictions, plus identifying info about the item, such as title and author. If you lose the number, you are screwed. All stickers/bands put on items specifically say to not remove it, and if you do your librarian would be justified in beating you with an atlas book.
Once you have the paperwork, what you do depends on the item type. For a book, you typically identify several things on it-where it came from, the date you received it, when it’s going to be due-my library always subtracted 4 days from the other libraries’ due dates so we could be more sure it would get back on time-any restrictions/notes on the item, such as in library use only, no renewals allowed, handle with care, or damage to the item when we received it, and the initials of the person doing the processing.
Then we enter the book into our system so we can check it out to the patron and have it actually appear on their account. I can go into more detail on that part later if you want, but it’s different depending on the program, and annoying as hell no matter what.
Once it’s entered and then checked out to the patron-we check it out to them as soon as we get it, rather than letting the patron check it out when they come to pick it up-we enter it into ClioWebs, which will tell the other library that we received it and generate a message to the patron to please come get their item.
An ILL Primer, part 1
So, you’ve decided that your character is gonna specialize in information teleportation. Awesome! Glad to have you. Buckle up, because this is gonna be a wild ride. Don’t worry, there’s a candy jar if you get hungry.
Your average interlibrary loan person-who may or may not be a regular librarian too, depending on the type and size of the library in question-does most of their work behind the scenes. I could go for most of my day and only leave the back room to fetch the books and journals I needed, and even then if I was lucky the poor soul working circulation-the people who work the front desk/shelve books-would be heading into the stacks right when I needed something and would get it for me.
Right. Stacks. That’s what we call the giant shelves of books and periodicals/journals. they are massively heavy, and can cause serious injuries if they fall on someone, which is why they are always emptied if they need to be moved. You mess with the organization of the stacks at your own risk. Someone spends hours a week making sure everything’s still in order, and in my library inventory happened at least every 3 months, where every single item in the library was scanned to make sure it was where it belonged.
Anyways! So, your first contact with a patron request is usually going to be an email or hard copy form that, in my library, was called a Lending Pending. It lists the patron’s name and contact info, and as many details about the requested item as the patron gives us. Sometimes that is...not much. I once got a request for an item that just had ‘ptarmigan’ in the title field. Nothing else. That was fun. If that happens, you get to email-or otherwise contact, but in my library we emailed-the patron to get more info so we could identify the item.
Then we go about making sure that we don’t have the item in any of our collections, any of the collections of partner libraries we might have, and that we can’t find it full-text online. I spent a large portion of my life doing this for the last four years. As you might imagine, I am pretty damn good at finding stuff online. In my library, we called this Verifying.
Once we made sure that we couldn’t find this item for the patron in anything we or they could access, we got to see if any libraries in the US-or Canada, we got stuff from Canada sometimes-had it. We would usually only send the request to 5 libraries at a time, and they only got it if the library before them in the list couldn’t lend it.
This is getting absurdly long, so I’m gonna make another couple posts.
scriptlibrarians-blog reblogged
Going through the list of script-family people I'm curious about something like sex/sexuality/sexual identity/sexual expression. I've got good resources for myself but I know with the increased calls for representation in fiction, there are more people approaching writing a non-heterosexual, cis-gendered character and might not know where to go to ask questions about ... transgenderism, asexuality, what is a hanky code... Can those kinds of things be slotted into other scriptgroups?
I think @scriptkink covers some things, but I don’t know if anyone is covering trans or LGBT issues. (I’m happy to, I do some LGBT education within the EMS field, but if someone wants to run a scriptLGBT blog that’s super cool too).
I’m a genderfluid pansexual, and I’m happy to answer questions about that, too, if you guys want
scriptlibrarians-blog reblogged
Anonymous asked:
What peeves you the most? What stereotypes would you like banished?
Ah stereotypes.
I could probably do a series of posts on stereotypes on the accurate stereotypes and the oh god please do not that again stereotypes!
A few accurate ones: Archivist/Librarians read a lot, we tend to be introverts, and have been known from time to time hide in our basements. We have a large knowledge base of a variety of materials, yet can have a specialization depending on what type of Archive or Library work in.
The stereotypes that will drive me to distraction!! The ones that the moment I see in a story I’ll scream bloody murder … is the physical description of the Librarian/Archivist.
Librarians are always woman, single, cat ladies, that wear wire rim glasses, and hush everyone.
You know this:
Unless of course you want the ‘sexy librarian’
Notice the glasses, hair in a bun, and skirt and collared shirt …
This isn’t how most of us look or what we wear.
***
Archivists are men that wear tweed, speak with a British accent, and live in the basement.
You know: Rupert Giles
Also not what most of us look like.
As an Archivist - I don’t even have a tweed jacket!
For reasons that I have never fathomed, most people split the two positions into Librarian: Woman - Archivist: Man.
When reality we’re a wide group of people from all types of life and sections in society. So when building a Librarian or Archivist character, don’t put them in the classified roles. Give them more personality and real characteristics.
- The Archivist
I’m a former librarian, and I could usually be found in a comfortable pair of jeans and t-shirt or sweater. Granted, I was not in charge of any area, but I was still comfortable. Libraries are kept cool for the preservation of the collections, so layers are a friend to your librarian. Also, I was one of several who kept changing my hair to different bright colors-at one point part of it was shaved to the skull-so really, the sky is the limit when it comes to librarians!
scriptlibrarians-blog reblogged
Launching New Blog
Inspired by @scriptmedic and all the duckling blogs that have started coming forth. I’ve decided to put my hand at this.
I’m an Archivist have been one for 16 Years. I’m also a Historian, so that can be a small added bonus.
I work with all types of materials: Art, sculptures, documents, and artifacts. I also have put together museum displays, worked with security issues, and transportation of material to and from locations - international and domestic.
If someone wants to help out on this blog, from a Librarian perspective I welcome you! Please come help!
I’ll do everything I can to answer your questions about Archives & Archivists, Libraries & Librarians, along with Curators & Museums. Even if that means researching stuff out - hey it’s what we Archivists due and give you links and sources.
Welcome to the family, @scriptlibrarian ! It turns out that sometimes, if there is a demand, someone will fill it. Best of luck!! xoxo, Aunt Scripty
There are two of us, actually! Looks like we were slightly different types of librarians, though. The more the merrier!
I’m here!
I’m here! I live!
I was a librarian-interlibrary loan specialist, to be precise-in a college library for 4 years. By the time I left, I had been working there for longer than my boss had, and had trained every other worker in my department. I’m also capable in the other areas of the library, including collections, archives, reserves, and reference.
What is interlibrary loan?
Simply put, we get you things that aren’t available at your local library, be they books or articles. We also help other librarians get things for their patrons. As such, we are masters of research. That was basically most of my day. Research and paperwork.
My askbox is open, and I’m happy to help!