Practical Librarian Archives - Awful Library Books

Post Holiday Reference

January 1, 2020 Mary Kelly ALB Announcements, Practical Librarian 5 comments

2019 is dead and buried. It’s time to return to work. Both Holly and I return to work tomorrow ready to help patrons cope with our new year. Before the week is out, at least 10 people will comment that they are still using 2019. I will be wondering what day it is probably for at least a week due to crazy schedules and holidays.

For those of us in public libraries, summer reading will start kicking into high gear and many of us will be writing annual reports for the library. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Here are some typical reference desk scenarios you can expect on your return to work.

Weeding in an Academic Library – a Case Study

July 12, 2019 Holly Practical Librarian 3 comments

A reader reached out and asked if they could share an anecdote about an interaction with a faculty member over their weeding process. We thought that was a great idea, and we welcome other case studies as well. Do you have a weeding story to share? Here are some ideas:

“My boss won’t let me weed” – How did you approach the boss, and what was their response?
“I took over a job from a long-time hoarder.” – How did you approach cleaning up that mess?
“I weeded something that turned out to be important.” – Oops! How did you remedy the situation?
“My library is starting a large weeding project.” – Did you create a weeding plan? What was the approach to get staff and patrons on board?

Below is a description of our first case study submitter’s interaction.

Are you proud of your collection?

May 30, 2019 Holly Practical Librarian 2 comments

One of the first questions I often ask audiences at library conferences when I speak is “are you proud of your library’s collection?” The follow up is, “What are you proud of?” The library’s collection exists to help the library

Weeding more than the books

March 22, 2019 Mary Kelly Practical Librarian 3 comments

The other day I was looking at a bunch of books that teach dancing. Dance instruction books were hardly jumping off the shelves. There could be a quite a few reasons for this. I know that disco dancing isn’t as

Discards

February 1, 2019 Holly Practical Librarian 21 comments

Let’s talk about what to do with weeded library materials. If you’ve ever heard Mary and I speak at a conference or in a webinar, you’ve heard us harp on the idea that where discards end up is as important

marriage of 2 times great grandparents in family bible

The Life Changing Magic of Library Maintenance

January 27, 2019 Mary Kelly Practical Librarian 13 comments

As a co-owner of this little corner of the Internet, I feel obliged to weigh in on Marie Kondo’s comments that had book lovers twitchy and defensive. Kondo’s philosophy is about a “less is more” lifestyle and advises the book

Serials

January 8, 2019 Holly Practical Librarian 3 comments

One of my library science student interns asked me to spend 20 minutes with her, going over with her how the serials collection is managed at our library. That is one of my collection responsibilities, so I was happy to

…But it was an award winner!

October 28, 2018 Holly Practical Librarian 9 comments

Some of the more difficult weeds in libraries are award winners. The Newbery, Caldecott, National Book Award, Hugo, Bram Stoker, Nebula, etc. etc. etc. awards are wonderful choices for most public libraries – and even some school, university, and special

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