The Résumé
In order to be invited to the interview we’ll have to start with a well-designed and easy-to-read résumé. “I look for the resume to match what the application has stated. I also look for it to be concise, not more than two pages,” states Lisa Mendez, Deputy Director, Yuma (AZ) County Library District. The easier it is to read, the easier it is for the hiring manager to scan and find what they are looking for. What are they looking for? That varies greatly depending on the library, the position, and the current makeup of staff skills.

If you have never worked in a library consider the previous work you did and emphasize skills that transfer. These are the skills that we use in any job such as customer service, adaptability, project management, and other soft skills useful in any work setting. Depending on the position, hiring managers will hire with no previous library experience if that person brings a skill that is sorely lacking in the organization. “This is very situational but we like people with experience in other sectors. People who have social work, business or education backgrounds are interesting to us, for example. We like people who bring something unique to the system.  Language skills are also great and many people miss the opportunity to put those on their resumes.“ states Joanna Brookes, Library Administrator/HR Liaison, St. Paul (MN) Public Library.

The Interview
Hiring managers do not just rely on previous experience and accomplishments to predict future capabilities. They also place importance on personality and character traits. An applicant may have the aptitude, but can they be successful in the organization? Mendez cites the top traits for any library position as friendly demeanor, prior customer service experience, passionate, cultural fit, and ambition.

Cultural fitness indicates the ability for a candidate to help the library fulfill its mission, vision and values. Watch for interview questions that illustrate whether or not we have a positive attitude, a sunny outlook or if we are curious life-long learners. According to LinkedIn Talent Solutions the top question hiring managers ask to determine cultural fitness is, “What are the three things that are most important to you in a job?” Think about how your answer meshes with the library’s mission statement. [Tip: Read the library’s mission, vision, and value statements and ask yourself, “How can I help move this organization forward?” and remember to insert that during the interview].

Behavioral questions asked during the interview are designed to extract how you exhibit those behaviors. Take adaptability, for instance. According to LinkedIn Talent Solutions, the top question designed to determine how adaptable you are is: “Tell me about a time when you were asked to do something you had never done before. How did you react? What did you learn?” Imagine, for a moment, you are on the other end of the interview. How adaptable is an adult services librarian who refuses to cancel storytime because the performer is a no-show and steps in with their back-up picture book routine? Very adaptable! This is exactly the answer Brookes looks for in her applicants, “The ability to respond and adapt to quickly changing environments—you just never know who is going to walk through your door on a given day! Our staff must be comfortable working in gray areas. We like people who are focused on finding solutions for the customer.” Brookes says.

Lastly, remember that although your résumé earned you a seat at the interview; the résumé cannot speak for you. This applies to those who are new to the industry as well as those with years of solid library experience. With hundreds of résumés and time constraints of the interviewers, you must reiterate, repeat, and emphasize correlations between your experience, ambition, and passion to the position you seek. Mendez looks to see if applicants have done their homework, “During the interview, I expect the candidate to listen to the question that is asked and answer it. Many times, interviewees think they know what is being asked and answer too quickly without answering the true question. I also look for candidates to know the job description or job they are applying for. I expect that candidates have done research on the library and are aware of the programs and resources that we offer. I also expect candidates to ask a few questions at the end of the interview.”

If you are looking for feedback on your résumé or practice interviewing, seek assistance from colleagues or mentors. You can do this through reaching out to your state or local library association, ALA’s Education & Careers, and PLA’s Professional Tools. Quite often you can find résumé clinics at any of the library association conferences. For all applicants, remember that hiring managers want you to succeed during the interview and show your best self so they can identify the best candidate for the job. Whether you are new to the workforce, new to libraries, or have been in the same library job for many years and are looking for a change, keep these tips in mind when you start looking for your next best job and lastly, never give up because the right job for you could be the next job ad you see!

Note: All direct quotes are from email with author on 9/16/18.

The post What Are Hiring Managers Really Looking For? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Books go missing for a variety of reasons. Take for example the Kansas City Public Library’s top missing books which include the Bible, books on witchcraft, any books in the Harry Potter or Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and the Art of War by Sun Tzu. Certainly not a surprise as these would commonly be missing in many public libraries. However, sometimes when items are mis-shelved they can appear missing despite the fact they are right there in our libraries waiting for someone to find them. The item may sit for days, weeks, even years until a staff member stumbles upon it during weeding or a customer checks it out giving the item another chance to find its proper home upon return.

A more ominous scenario occurs during a booknapping. You know, when the patron finds a book they don’t want to check out but they want to continue reading it. They’ll stash it just about anywhere where only they have exclusive access to it. The titles run the gamut and you know it when you see it. “What is a copy of ‘You Fill in the blank’ doing there?”

So however a book goes missing in our libraries there is one person who is key to recovering the item so it is findable once again. Enter the essential library page. Just imagine being a page at the Faye G. Allen Children’s Center at the Seattle Public Library. This 15,000-square-foot children’s area includes 80,000 items. Sure, items are not always going to find their way back to the shelf. It’s going to happen. Even a well-intended customer could unintentionally mis-shelve the item.

In addition to the importance of the duties of the library page, the position is an on-ramp into the field of librarianship. I have fond memories of toiling over every spine and wanting to thumb through various sections of Dewey’s nonfiction or reading every headline when organizing newspapers. My supervisor wasn’t thrilled with my productivity, but everything looked so interesting! I fell in love with libraries as a page and went on to earn my MLIS degree.

We should ensure our pages understand how the library works and that their role is equally important just as every other position in the library. Ensure other staff know it, too. Typically a page is part-time with limited hours so when they cannot attend staff meetings make certain they are included in some way.

Because their work is often behind the scenes or in the stacks other library staff may not see them, but customers sure do. Pages might be the most visible staff in your library. We know that a customer’s perception is that anyone who works in the library is a librarian. So, when customers approach the page, their typical response is, “Oh, I’m just a page. You’ll need to go to the desk and ask a librarian.” Rather than minimize their role suggest they respond, “Sounds like you need a librarian, let’s go find one.”

Pages perform the most fundamental task of what we do at libraries –organize items into their proper sequence. If items are not in the right place, guess what? Yep, searchers are not going to find what they are looking for and browsers may not discover their next new read. When customers do not find what they want we have a service failure. With the weight of this on their shoulders, why do we still hear our coworkers say, “Well, I’m just a page.” How often do you remember hearing yourself say that and now you hear it from others? I’ve developed a great response and it goes something like this: “Sure, like a page in a book. And the library would be nothing without pages!”

Let’s take time to elevate library pages by sharing with them the importance of their work and how their success at their job is directly tied to the patron experience. When a page does their job well it allows all library workers to provide excellent customer service. Their attention to detail, approachability in the stacks, ability to follow directions and efficiency in their tasks is closely aligned with library staff and customer satisfaction.

The post More Than Just A Page first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

While the financial security of public libraries varies grossly from zip code to zip code, what doesn’t change is the commitment of the staff inside. Library staff directly face both the harsh and beautiful realities of our world. Library work often means introducing kids to their favorite book, celebrating when a patron gets a job, and being a friendly face to welcome folks out of the summer heat and winter cold. Library work sometimes means administering Narcan to reverse a heroin overdose², tactfully referring patrons to free showers and shelters³, or responding during a natural disaster⁴. Library work always means helping people.

We often get stuck focusing on what we need to change or how quickly we need to innovate. We’re driven by a fear of irrelevancy that causes us to lose sight of what a rare gem we are to begin with. We are an industry made up entirely of people who feel a calling to serve. It’s important to remember to look around and pat ourselves on the back once in a while. To acknowledge each other’s commitment to creating a kinder, more inclusive community. We should also remember to thank our fundraisers, elected officials, and administrators who help us tirelessly spread the word that despite the odds, we’re here.

References

[1] http://www.education.pa.gov/teachers%20-%20administrators/school%20finances/education%20budget/pages/default.aspx#tab-1

[2] https://www.npr.org/2017/06/03/531347278/librarians-in-philadelphia-train-to-thwart-drug-overdoses

[3] https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/reference-and-information-services/publications/512-hines-en.pdf

[4] http://library.ifla.org/1375/1/103-flaherty-en.pdf

The post Our Noble Cause: Reflecting On All We Do Right first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Empirical data paint a far different future of career prospects in librarianship. According to a recently published report on “The Future of Skills” by Pearson, a publishing and educational company, who conducted research with Nesta and Oxford University, “Librarians, curators, and archivists” will be the ninth most in demand occupation group in coming years. Librarians will be more in demand in 2030 than media and communication workers, construction trade workers, and others, according to the report.

Why, despite consistent evidence that public librarians are in demand, do we continue to see articles proclaiming our death? The profession faces the challenge of communicating its continued relevance in changing times. In response to the USA Today article, the Association for Library and Information Science Education wrote a letter to the editor that communicated the continuing value of public librarians: “Public librarians connect patrons to community resources, lead programming for children and adults, and engage in community outreach and advocacy.”

Part of communicating our value involves aligning library services with local and national goals, a fact pointed out by the Aspen Institute’s Rising to the Challenge: Re-Envisioning Public Libraries initiative. The Pearson report highlights seven societal megatrends that public librarians will need to address to ensure continued relevancy. These values include “changing technology, globalization, demographic change, environmental sustainability, urbanization, rising inequality, and political uncertainty.” In response to these trends, human skills that will be needed include “teaching, social perceptiveness, service orientation, and persuasion.”

An article in Library Journal on the Pearson report notes that we need to ask ourselves “How will the people libraries serve be impacted by these megatrends, how will they need to learn, and what skills will they need to develop in order to thrive?” Part of the answer to this question involves advocacy and marketing. Public libraries already address all seven megatrends, and in particular “changing technology” and “rising inequality,” but perhaps we need to do more to communicate broadly on the impacts we are having. We can use reports like The Future of Skills to craft messages that vividly showcase our value now and into the future.

The post The Future Looks Bright for Librarianship first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

But all librarians use writing to do more than remind patrons of fines. To keep up with the latest, you have to go back to the basics of stringing words together to make your meaning clear. Writing is all over new technology, so much so that we don’t even think about it or notice it until it’s glaringly unprofessional or outright unhelpful. Still not convinced good writing is useful anymore? Consider this:

Writing is the backbone of all communication. The ways of getting and staying in touch with people seem to be multiplying every day, but all are just variations on the written word. If you don’t have strong writing skills, it will show quickly and across any social, electronic, or print media you might use.

The way you write shapes the way you speak (and vice versa). Writing is a way to think “out loud” before you say anything. Strong writing skills indicate strong analytic skills, which translate to better problem-solving. The more you practice, the quicker those skills come to you, and the easier it is to share them as your brain gets used to its new, improved rhythms.

Writing connects you with your core audience. Even if you pride yourself for never lapsing into text speak and have no idea how to reply to a tweet, your writing should connect you with the people you want to find. You should be able to engage with your intended public in a way you all understand, because your writing has better staying power than your speech and can help you remember what works and what does not.

Writing brings ideas to life. Think of writing as blueprints for ideas. Before anything can be built, plans need to be laid out, assessed, discussed, and tweaked to perfection. Writing gives you the same abilities to further your own projects with your peers, superiors, and patrons alike. It sets out a space to exchange details and the big picture in ways that you can all connect and communicate to others who can help you along the way.

Resource

Boomerang Respondable: Personal AI Assistant for Writing Better Emails (free)

The post Essential Librarian Skill: Writing first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Fargo’s favorites touch upon engagement, informatics, and technology in academic libraries. I have always worked in public libraries and specialized in youth services for my MLIS, so mine are somewhat different. Despite our variations in content, I was struck by Fargo’s idea of maintaining a folder of “influential readings” at home; this is a great way to organize articles you plan to return to over the course of your career. Since reading her article, I have created a Dropbox folder with some of my favorite articles so I can view them from anywhere.

Here are a few of the professional readings that have influenced me the most and continue to shape my ideologies as a librarian:

Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (2011) by Sherry Turkle
Turkle’s work is not explicitly about libraries, but it discusses technology’s impact on interpersonal relationships. Although her findings are somewhat grim, they provided me with a strong understanding of the psychological effects technology has on our patrons and how to leverage this to best meet their needs.^[2]

Crash Course in Storytelling (2007) by Kendall F. Haven and MaryGay Ducey
This was a required reading in my storytelling course, which I took to help me prepare for storytime, but it has helped me with all aspects of public speaking. Storytelling skills are essential for sharing your library’s message to patrons, administration, and local government.^[3]

The Accidental Library Manager (2005) by Rachel Singer Gordon
Many library managers, myself included, become supervisors by accident. When personnel changes at my previous library forced me into my first directorship unexpectedly, I found myself referring back to this reading selection from my grad school management class. Gordon’s advice is practical yet general enough that it can be applied to many different types of libraries and archives.^[4]

The Black Belt Librarian: Real-World Safety & Security (2012) by Warren Davis Graham
I actually found this book after earning my MLIS when I saw Graham speak at 2014’s PLA Conference in Indianapolis. Graham speaks honestly from many years of experience and offers successful strategies for handling security at your library, a must-have, given current events.^[5]

“Storytelling in the Context of Modern Library Technology” (2009) by Kelly Czarnecki
Czarnecki’s article paints a very real picture of the changes technology has brought to modern libraries, how services are affected, and how to adjust accordingly.^[6]

Do you find yourself referring back to certain professional readings? Which pieces of theory have helped shape your career? Let us know in the comments!

Resources

[1] Hailley Fargo, “The Theory Behind My Librarianship,” Hack Library School, May 10, 2016.

[2] Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (New York: Basic Books, 2011).

[3] Kendall F.Haven and MaryGay Ducey, Crash course in storytelling (Westport: Libraries Unlimited, 2007).

[4] Rachel Singer Gordon, The accidental library manager (Medford: Information Today, 2005).

[5] Warren Graham, The black belt librarian: real-world safety & security (Chicago: American Library Association, 2012).

[6] Kelly Czarnecki, “Storytelling in the Context of Modern Library Technology,” Library Technology Reports 45, no. 7 (2009): 9–14.

The post In Theory: Recommended Readings for Librarianship first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

• Focus on digital strategy. Marcum is very clear: “We are no longer waiting for the digital revolution to happen. It is here.”[1] She suggests that organizations cease viewing digital services as being a new addition to a library’s existing blueprint. Instead, management should focus on embedding digital initiatives and literacy across the organization as a whole (e.g., web services and programs are no longer “add-ons” in most libraries; they are essential services).
• Evaluate new ways of customer engagement. Good library leaders figure out their patrons’ needs and come up with the best ways their organization can meet them. In today’s fast-paced, increasingly digital world, Marcum stresses that librarians can no longer dictate what they think their users should want. We need to meet them where they are.
• Accommodate differences in how people go online. Some public libraries serve bigger communities than others; in any case, there is often much diversity in how an organization’s users access the Internet. Managers should see to it that their libraries’ services are varied enough to meet this diversity. For example, community members likely possess wildly varying degrees of comfort with technology.
• Sharpen analytical skills. Twenty-first-century library leaders must leverage data to understand patron behavior and translate this into services that meet their wants and needs.
• Think about user experience. We hear about user experience very often from a design point of view, but this carries through to all aspects of library services. Successful leaders must take user experience into account in order to keep their patrons happy and their services relevant. For example, a simpler layout in the library or slightly different hours may make the lives of a library’s users much easier.

Other qualities of strong, modern library leaders include an understanding of their organization’s culture—particularly in regards to hiring—and learning from staff. What do you think is most important in managing today’s libraries?

References

[1] Deanna Marcum, “Library Leadership for the Digital Age,” Ithaka S+R Issue Brief, March 28, 2016.

The post Modern Day Library Leadership first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

It’s no secret to librarians that many patrons come to the library for more than our collections. Most people can find books and DVDs online. They can use our research databases without getting out of bed. For reference questions they can call, email, text, or instant message. We have reference resources that don’t circulate, and anyone who’s worked in a children’s room knows that parents don’t want to buy the thirty-five books their child wants that day, so coming to the library can be a life (and pocketbook) saver. Still, many patrons who come in the door don’t, strictly speaking, need our services. Many come for another free service we provide, albeit indirectly: human contact.

Human Contact

This topic was discussed in the anonymous Guardian article, “For Many Library Visitors, I’m the Only Person they’ve Talked to All Day.”[1] The content of this article doesn’t surprise library staff, since so many of our patrons come in to have someone to talk to, or even just to be around people.

These patrons can be divided into two types. The first is a library regular who comes here to use the computers, maybe watch a DVD, or just sit and read, but they’re here several days a week. Some people hang out at their local coffee shop, others at their local bar—and for many, it’s their local library.

The second type is a talker. A patron might ask for help finding a book and then try spending the next half hour telling you why they want that book. Usually I’m more than happy to go along with this as far as is practical. Part of our job is customer service, so being pleasant and conversational is the deal. Of course, sometimes the conversation goes on too long, becomes overtly political or personal, or otherwise crosses a line, but until it does I tend to humor it.

These patrons come from all over. Sometimes it’s a patron experiencing homelessness, or an elderly patron who’s outlived their loved ones, or a latchkey kid whose house is too quiet. Some people are just shy, but they know that librarians tend to be approachable. After all, we’re polite, usually appear relaxed, and we’re not selling anything.

Libraries vs. Bookstores vs. Amazon

The fact that we’re not selling anything really is crucial here. At the turn of the century, when there were so many claims that big box book and music stores would close (they mostly did) and that libraries would collapse (they mostly didn’t), human interaction was a big part of what was left out of the calculations. Barnes & Noble and Borders had employees every bit as nice as librarians, but their job, even if it was 100 percent customer service-orientated, was to sell things. The cafés with comfy chairs were staffed by pleasant people who had nothing to do with selling books, but you were still supposed to buy a latte or a brownie, and you knew it.

The job of bookstore employees was to be friendly, but the job of the place, its sin qua non, was to sell you things. A librarian’s sin qua non is to help people find things, and we think of that as including more than just books. “Things,” in this sense, can be CDs or DVDs, free Internet, information, or even just a dry place when it’s raining. If a bookstore’s purpose was to get you to buy something before you left, our purpose is to get you to come in at all. It’s a completely different attitude, and, because of it, our pleasantness comes with a lot less pressure. For lonely people, that unconditional friendliness is extremely valuable.

Viewed through this lens, Amazon isn’t a competitor. The few times I’ve used their customer service it went far better than expected. The people on the other end of the phone and email were polite and helped me with everything I needed. But their disembodied voices and typed script were that of professionals doing a job, and they’re only available after a transaction goes wrong. While Amazon is much better than libraries at helping you find even the rarest of books or music, its algorithms can’t fill the need for an interpersonal connection. Library staff can. It’s not the only reason that libraries thrive, but it is, perhaps, a big part of our success in the face of Amazon.

Awareness

When you work behind a counter, it’s easy to see people as a transaction, to move them along because you know there’s another patron waiting. Whether we’re the only person a patron talks to all day, or all week, isn’t really the point. Libraries, like any customer service environment, need to consider that our patrons have different needs. Some are here to pick something up or print something, and even if they approach us for help they don’t want to chat. Others are here precisely to chat and might pick something up or use the Internet while they’re here. Though librarians are generally cognizant of the attitudes and needs of our patrons, we should keep in mind that for many of them, the need isn’t the book we’re handing them, it’s the conversation we’re having with them while we do it.

References:

[1] “For Many Library Visitors, I’m the Only Person they’ve Talked to All Day,” Guardian (Manchester), February 6, 2016.

The post We Are Here, and We Are Generally Pleasant first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

A message by ALA President Sari Feldman in the October, 2015 issue of “American Libraries” addresses this conundrum. Ms. Feldman acknowledges that technology’s ever-changing nature makes it difficult to keep related skills and knowledge current without regular on-the-job professional development. Recent MLIS graduates frequently lament about the poor state of the current library job market, which also raises questions about the future of the degree. In her article, Feldman cites conversations with several industry leaders who weigh in on the current state of higher education. Although there are many schools of thought on the topic, it is clear that the structures of MLIS programs must change. This means both the increase of online education and the actual focuses and curricula of the programs.

To further this cause, ALA has launched two task forces specializing in accreditation of LIS programs. One, the Task Force on Accreditation Process and Communication, focuses on internal and external communication concerning the value of LIS education and its place in higher education. The other, the Task Force on the Context of Future Accreditation, will develop a white paper concerning the specifics, contexts, and values of accreditation and, based on the findings, a new framework for accreditation.

Although I was fortunate enough to receive a librarian position several months before completing my degree three years ago, enough of my peers have struggled in finding work that I am very sympathetic to the difficulties surrounding the LIS job market. Additionally, now that I am employed in library administration, I find myself saying more and more often that my degree did not prepare me for certain situations of the job. These sentiments, both of which I believe are shared by many in our field, help illustrate Feldman’s point. If our educational structure does not continue to evolve with the profession, we are ultimately doing ourselves as librarians a disservice.

There’s certainly no easy answer to this, even as the cost of higher education continues to rise. However, the development of the ALA task forces should help provide more formal and accessible research on the topic that can then be turned into policies and best practice.

What are your feelings on the MLIS?

Sources

Borman,Laurie D. “Task Forces on LIS Accreditation Announced.” American Libraries Magazine, October 30, 2015. Web. http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/task-forces-on-lis-accreditation-announced/. Accessed January 5, 2016.

Feldman, Sari. “The Future of the MLIS.” American Libraries Magazine, October 30, 2015. Web. http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/10/30/future-of-mlis/. Accessed January 5, 2016.

ALA Executive Board Document #12.38 presented at ALA Midwinter Meeting (Chicago, IL). 28 June 2015. http://bit.ly/1kJ8fOV. Accessed January 5, 2016.

The post What Will Happen to the MLIS? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

As the application’s tagline suggests, capturing and sharing moments at the library is considerably easy but it requires some digging to uncover inspiring posts. Discovering the accounts of prominent public libraries such as the New York Public Library and your own local libraries can be simple enough. The accounts could be searched for by name using Instagram’s search function, but discovering new libraries and library related trends can be overwhelming.

Hashtags allow content on Instagram to become accessible to a wider audience. Instagram users can explore content that are publicly uploaded by searching the hashtags that the creators have coupled with their posts. Browsing results of the most popular tags can prove to be impractical and daunting. Exploring the popularly employed #librariesofinstagram, for example, yields thousands of images that are related to libraries; searching for #library yields million of hits. As of yet, the only way to browse results on Instagram is through infinite scrolling. Since the results are ordered from the most recent to the least recent, seeing all of the posts for a given hashtag depends on one’s willingness to continue scrolling.

Results that are more relevant to your interests are accessible by searching for specific hashtags. Here is a sampling of hashtags being used by libraries today:

• Examples of tags that encourage participation include #bookface and #bookfacefriday which showcases creative uses of book jackets. #libraryshelfie features library shelves with or without library staff members to accompany them. Newly created #libraryinmyhand promotes electronic resources and services offered by libraries.
• Librarians that are fashion conscious may be keen on viewing posts tagged with #librarianwardrobe or #librarianstyle to see what librarians are wearing.
• Teen librarians may be interested in posts that are tagged with #teenlibrary, #teenlibrarian, #makerspace, and #yalit.
• #childrenslibrarian, #storytime, #flannelboard, and #earlyliteracy are relevant to librarians working with children. Some libraries have also chosen to have Instagram accounts for teens such as Franklin Park Library Teens.
• Anyone seeking inspiration on promotional displays may be interested in those tagged with #librarydisplay.
• Examples of responses to reference questions appear upon searching for the cheeky tag #letmelibrarianthatforyou.
• Posts of programs at the library can be seen by searching #libraryprogram and #libraryevent. (Some nationwide programs have their own tags such as the early literacy program #1000booksbeforekindergarten.)

While hashtags offer a way of accessing Instagram posts from the perspective of the library, location tagging is unique in that it offers a way to re-discover the library as it is experienced by its visitors. Library users on Instagram are publicly uploading their own content and are tagging the library’s location. Regularly reviewing the content allows libraries to assess how visitors are using the library and uncover what patrons like and dislike about the library.

The post Libraries of Instagram first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

One of my earliest memories of finding a librarian noteworthy and thinking “hmmm, that could be an appealing job” was Parker Posey’s character Mary in Party Girl. Now, I’m not a girl, I don’t live in New York City, and I’ve never been arrested—so this seems like a stretch. Yet there was something about her discovering the joys of libraries and librarianship that really stuck with me. There is a scene in the movie where she has researched and culled some books for a patron who is overcome with delight and gratitude, and Mary replies, “So happy I could help.” I just remember thinking, “She got to read books and do research as her job—and people really appreciated it. Sign me up!” To me, there is nothing better than helping people discover some little treasure that they never knew existed and may not have found if I hadn’t been there. For example, I always own two copies of my favorite book A Confederacy of Dunces. One is for me, and the other is to give away to someone who has never read it, because I found that usually people love it so much they don’t want to return it. After all, who doesn’t fall in love with Ignatius J. Reilly and Miss Trixie?

Also, I really drew inspiration from Rupert Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Often the general population thinks of librarians as old women with their hair in a bun who shhhhh-ed you. Yet with Giles you got a man who battled demons and carried weapons in order to save the world, as well as knew the Dewey Decimal System. What was great about his participation in the show was that it always underscored the magnitude of doing research and being prepared before engaging in battle. Basically he preached being smart as well as strong.

Many shows and movies have highlighted the significance of librarians and challenged preconceived stereotypes of them. Which pop culture librarians are your favorites?

Photo Credit: Nevins Memorial Historic Collection

The post I Wanna Be On TV! Librarians in Pop Culture first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Via coccinellevoyage.tumblr.com

2. While you do get some really unique reference questions, you also get the same questions over and over again.

Via gif-database.tumblr.com

3. People think your job is easy.

Via http://whatshouldbetchescallme.tumblr.com/post/38630823737/when-im-standing-outside-the-shower-waiting-for-the

4. The patron who always asks for you and makes you feel a little uncomfortable.

Via http://wifflegif.com/tags/164411-you-re-making-me-uncomfortable-gifs

5. Your patrons think you’re a computer expert because you know how to open an e-mail attachment.

Via atrl.net

6. When books get returned and they smell funny or are sticky.

Via http://www.reactiongifs.com/emma-stone-eww/

7. When your library is cold.

Via http://weheartit.com/entry/45589098

8. Tax season.

Via reddit.com

9. The never-ending fight against bed bugs.

Via alliwantisklaine.tumblr.com

10. When someone comes in looking for a book, but they have no idea what the book is called, who the author is, or what the book is about.

Via http://www.reactiongifs.com/britney-say/

Even though there are days when you can’t wait to go home and relax — when a patron comes up to you and lets you know how much they appreciate your help with the book recommendation, or the job search, or taxes, or using a computer, it reminds you of why it’s all worth it.  Want to see a whole bunch of amazing librarian problem gifs? Check this out.

The post GIFs List! Ten Public Librarian Conundrums first appeared on Public Libraries Online.