When I started my current job, I was assigned a collection to manage: periodicals. Honestly, I was less than excited about that. I was responsible for periodicals in my old job too, and was hoping to get away from it!
Category: Practical Librarian
This is the place where we put more serious discussions of librarianship.
Dealing With the Staff Hoarder
Holly and I are fond of telling people in our presentations that every library has at least one hoarder on staff. The punchline is, if you say no, then it probably is you. Without fail, at every presentation we have given, there is someone who wants to talk about a fellow staff member that is hell bent on saving everything for the coming library apocalypse or for that elusive patron that “might need it.”
I am using the term hoarder loosely. I am talking about the office pack rat or collector. If you think your library has a problem that needs some clinical intervention, this would be a job for management and a qualified mental health professional. Obviously, this is a delicate and serious issue and it should be treated as such. For the rest of us, here are some strategies that you can try.
The Problem of Oversized Books
Many of my posts start off with a strong opinion. Here is today’s: I HATE OVERSIZE BOOKS! Coffee table books belong on coffee tables. There, I’ve said it. Well…I don’t hate oversize books themselves. They’re gorgeous. What I hate is
Time of death….
This was written when I was a little more than irritated about the umpteenth time I have seen more tape than book. The “rescue at all costs” a 5 dollar paperback is one of my top library peeves (right after old
But I Might Need It Someday!
Photo (Creative Commons) Courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/drzuco/6664693057 Do you save extra copies of books just in case they may be needed in the future? When you see something popular, classic, unique, or expensive in the donation pile, but you know you
Tis the Season of Angst
I have been employed in some manner off and on since 1974 and I can count on one hand the number of decent holiday work gatherings. People want to have a party. People want to share. All of these are
Discard Responsibly
We are asked all the time what to do with weeded materials. As we all know, throwing them in the dumpster has the potential to become a huge PR nightmare. Not to mention, it’s disrespectful. People paid for those books! People
Real Cost of Short Term Thinking
Anyone who has worked with me for more than a few minutes has heard my rants on costs and ROI (Return on Investment). Everything I purchase or do for my library has me spinning into mini ROI calculations. Sample obsessive calculations:
-Program cost over number of participants (Watch my blood pressure if I have to attempt to divide by zero!)
-Item cost + Cost of processing + Cost of selection time over number of circulations.
-Number of circs I can squeeze before a board book is completely disgusting.
-Item cost vs how much work it is to order said item (I am defining work in this context to the following: bad website, poor invoicing detail, annoying sales/customer service, etc.)