In last week’s discussion of library rental fees, someone commented:
It is about our customers. In many cases, the rentals aren’t available either, and then they go and buy the book or check another library system.  Yes patience is a virtue, and I can see that argument, but we also need to meet the informational needs of our community be it through, in this case, rental fiction or nonfiction.
This is in response to a line of thinking that argues people should just be willing to wait if they want to read the book for free, or even nearly free… Read More

Anyone following the news in academia probably saw this article last week about the increasing number of people with graduate degrees on welfare. A kind reader sent it to me with a note: “This should be required reading for anyone pondering an MLIS degree.”

Those of you who don’t work in higher might not be familiar with the genre this article belongs to. It’s the “look how awful it is that people who spent 5-10 years in graduate school studying subjects they knew weren’t marketable and now work for peanuts so they can call themselves ‘professors’” genre, and… Read More

A kind reader sent in this link wondering if there was really a controversy. It’s a reader poll in Rhode Island that asks the question: “Should Libraries Charge Fees for ‘Popular’ Books?”

The writer expressed surprise that the Newport Public Library has a rental collection of very popular books and charges $.25/day for them, though it also has the same books in their normal circulating collection that can be checked out for free, if you want to wait until the 34 people in front of you finish reading the book, and without the incentive to read and return… Read More

The biggest news hitting the library world last week, at least as far as I could tell from the headlines, was the book Fifty Shades of Grey being pulled from a Florida county library system for being too pornographic. It must have been big news, because even the New York Times covered it.

The only response from the ALA I saw was a tweet from the OIF announcing the action, but I’m sure they’re preparing a public condemnation of the Florida librarians who made the decision.

Then again, maybe they won’t. If a library patron challenges… Read More

Not only are librarians becoming carnies, they’re also becoming beggars, even at the ALA. Is this a small anomaly, or a glimpse of the future?

A kind reader concerned that librarians are turning into beggars sent me a couple of links: this sad page in American Libraries on Why You Should Go to ALA Annual and this request by a librarian to donate money so that another librarian can go to ALA Annual. Yet another kind reader sent the original donation request.

The ALA appeal demonstrates their usual blend of peppiness and… Read More

A kind reader sent in this news story from Atlanta with the following comment: “Lots to chew on in this substantive account of how self-preservation is the #1 job of library staff.”

Indeed there is. The story is the by now typical one of how this isn’t your grandfather’s public library anymore. On the other hand, it can also be read as a story of how public libraries don’t need librarians anymore. Librarians are turning into carnies. So why not just replace them with carnies? Carnies are cheaper.

In Atlanta, a public library offers performances by barbershop… Read More

The last post took a look at an example of some of the unpleasant mail sent to the AL. Fortunately, for every email like that, I get several pointing to fun or interesting things. Here’s a selection that I liked, but weren’t quite big enough for a full blog post.

The current ALA president managed to get a post published in some CNN blog about education I’d never heard of before. But that doesn’t matter, because everyone has heard of CNN. Good publicity! It sure beats American Libraries for exposure, since no one reads American Libraries except… Read More

I’ve gotten quite a bit of email in the last couple of weeks. In the next post, I’ll point to some fun stuff people have sent in, but for today I want to reply to some nutter who double dared me to respond.

First, check out this email to the AL:
To the “Annoyed Librarian” blogger of the American Library Association:

How about running an “Annoyed Library Patron” blog?  I cannot even get a response from the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Affairs regarding my free-speech library-related grievances.  What’s the point in having such an Office?  Also, your Library… Read More

Someplace job search site  has created yet another job rankings list based on the sort of rigorous methodology you’d expect from people trying to hustle money out of you.

Librarian ranks 61, just below nuclear engineer and aerospace engineer and just above judge and heating/refrigeration mechanic. But why would the job of judge, which supposedly has similar environmental, stress, and physical demands of a heating/refrigeration mechanic while earning almost 3 times the annual pay be only one rank higher than the mechanic?

They answer that question. “Both jobs have lower stress levels, but a Judge has… Read More

Last week I criticized a lazy journalist for doing what lazy journalists do: write about stuff they know nothing about. In his case, he knew nothing about libraries, but wrote with the assurance of an expert. That’s why he ended up sounding stupid, with his talk of bun-wearing shushers and dark-framed glasses.

A media image problem for librarians is that people who write for news organizations apparently never use public libraries. Their knowledge of librarians is based entirely on old movies with librarian characters written by screenwriters whose knowledge of librarians was also based entirely on older movies with… Read More