Library Myths

There are many myths about librarians that we hear over and over.  I came across another site recently from a library that took a poll on the top 5 myths of the profession, and I have to say that we’ve heard them all here, also.  Here are the top 5:

#5.  Librarians have no stress.

Of course, we all know that in any job, stress can play a factor.  I can’t think of one job in the universe that is without stress.  Even though the library environment is peaceful and quiet (for the most part), we can come across stressful factors just as in any other job. (No need to elaborate.)

#4.  They pay you to read all day.

I wish that were the case, but ask any librarian and they’d probably tell you that they wish they had time to read.  We come across so many great books each day and wish there were enough hours in the day to read everything.  As far as I know, the only job where you’d be paid to read all day might be a publisher or literary agent, and most likely they’d say it wasn’t reading for pleasure.

#3.  Librarians are little old ladies with their hair pulled back and reading glasses.

I bet you’d have a hard time finding anyone like that in any library these days.  At our library, I’d like to think we are all quite fashionable in our own way and even if some of us wear glasses, they are not horn-rimmed or black.  Just saying.

#2.  Librarians have read every book in the library.

Although we see almost all of the books that come into the library (it depends on who catalogs the books), we couldn’t possibly read everything.  So when you come to the desk with an obscure book about the cheeses of the world, we may not be able to rhapsodize about each chapter, but we might be able to tell you we enjoyed looking at it.

And the #1 library myth?  Librarians know the answer to everything.

Of course we do!  No, really we don’t, but it seems that people expect us to know just about everything.  One thing we are good at though, is finding out the answer if someone comes to us with a question.  So give us a little time, and we’ll probably be able to get you what you’re looking for.

If you’d like to read the full article about library myths, you can visit here.

What else do you think about librarians?

We’ve always been “The Library”. Does that make us cool?

It seems that these days, in order to be in with the younger crowd, you need a fun, memorable name.  It should be quick, catchy and shorter than three words.  Once known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, the fast food chain changed their name to KFC, making it easy to remember and more marketable to young people.  Imagine having to text “Kentucky Fried Chicken”.  It would drive kids wacky, so KFC is the way to go.

Similarly, recently a few other popular lines have shortened their names to adapt to the younger generation’s demands.  Pizza Hut announced it is now just “THE HUT”, while Radio Shack pulled the same idea out of the air a while back, their moniker now “THE SHACK”.  So, what’s next?  Will Tiffany’s become the “BIG T”?   Will L. L. Bean just be known as “THE BEAN”?  What about Old Navy?  They’ve limited themselves…..”OLD”  or “NAVY”  just won’t fly.  Maybe they could call themselves “ON”.

But if the name is any indication, “THE LIBRARY”  has always been ahead of the times.  Sure, we might have a town name or other indicator  associated with each branch, but essentially, we’ve always been “THE LIBRARY”.  And we didn’t have to spend millions to market ourselves that way.

For once, the library is part of a trend!

Awful library books

Janet does a great job of keeping our collection current and diverse at the Carleton Place Public Library.  She does regular weeding to get rid of books which might be outdated, in poor condition or unused in a long time.  Anything that we think is still interesting or in fair condition, we’ll pop on the sales table and sell for a quarter.  If it doesn’t pass the muster, into the recycling bin or garbage it will go.  This is a great way to keep our collection fresh and earn a little money to purchase new books as we are always adding new books to the shelves.  If we didn’t weed books on a regular basis, then the shelves would be bursting and no one would be able to pull out books to look at.

However, every so often we will come across a real “gem” that may have been missed previously. We’ll have a good laugh about the book and then move on.  Thinking about this idea, I came across a funny blog that boasts books that have been sent in from libraries around  North America that have been found on shelves a bit past their expiration date, so to speak.  Awful Library Books is a funny site, with recent titles such as:

Bert Bacharach’s Book for Men

How to Deal with Parents and other Problems

and my favourite (all you’ll ever need to know about any of these great computer programs)……

Star Power

I’d hate to think that any of these would be found on our own shelves, but it certainly is an interesting blog to read, if only for a good laugh.

What’s on your bulletin board?

One of the most creative things that I get to do as the children’s librarian is to create the bulletin boards for each new season in the children’s area of the library. I always have fun preparing  something new to put up and although sometimes they get the better of me, I usually learn something about design in the process.

These are just a few of the ideas that I’ve created in the past year or so.  Right now, we have the Clifford/Scaredy Squirrel/Grumpy Bird board up trying to bring in Spring (although Judi says I am jinxing us into a longer winter that way).  I always try to use color and shape or texture to draw in our readers, and most of the time, there is a 3D element involved.

What would you put on a bulletin board to get a child’s attention?

The funkiest library around!

Vanity Fair magazine is always up on the latest fashions and world happenings.  I am never sure what to think of this magazine, which is a mixture of fashion, beauty and models but always has page after page of interesting and informative articles relating to world events or hot topics.  In the April 11, 2008 issue, their travel writer, Victoria Mather let the world in on her favourite library ever.  (The beautiful photos were taken by Barbara Kraft.)

Carlisle Bay Antigua is a luxury resort that sports its own library for the many guests that travel through.  But it isn’t just any library with dog-eared copies of dusty beach reads. This library has fiber optic lighting which changes colour throughout the evening and sports the top ten beach reads of the moment.  And what happens when a book is well read?  They pop in a new copy so that their guests can read fresh pages and have crisp spines on their books.  You can visit their site here.

Now that is luxury!

Mr. Bean at the library

I’ve always been a fan of Mr. Bean.  But here, he visits the library and in typical Mr. Bean fashion, chaos ensues!  It is a slightly long video, but worth seeing it through to the end.