Library Rant

11 Jan 2012 6 Comments

Library Rant: Why libraries click the delete button on books

We all enjoy the fabulous book sales libraries have from time to time, right? I thought so. I love those awesome sales myself. Most of the books on our for sale racks come from donations that we are unable to use, but a portion come from weeding our collection. So how do we decide what stays and what goes? We try to follow the basic weeding guidelines. Weeding is a weird term – kinda makes me think of gardening – LOL. Anyhoo, here are the guidelines we use:

1. Last date of circulation – ­ If it isn’t moving, we don’t need it collecting dust.

2. Physical condition – Who wants to check out a filthy looking book with no-telling-what smeared on the pages? Yuck!

3. Out-of-Date – Nobody wants to get financial advice from a 10-year-old finance book, right?

4. Duplicates – In some cases we overlook duplicates (ex-Twilight Series, Harry Potter) but usually, when the craze ends, the extras go away.

Like I said, we keep it super simple. My library is very small and our collection is roughly around 30,000 items, give or take, so we have to weed regularly to make room for all of the exciting new titles coming our way.With three regular employees, keeping the shelves top-notch takes up most of our time. Today we came across a book that hasn’t circulated in 3 years and had been chewed to hell and back. I was livid, to say the least. If it hasn’t been checked out, how the hell did it get damaged? It’s not like we have a book-hating dog roaming the isles looking for a steamy romance to chew on, unless I missed the memo. LOL So, of course, we deleted said book and moved on. But it still ticks me off that we have people taking books off the shelf, stuffing them in their bags, and taking off like bandits with our books.

Gosh! I think my blood pressure is spiking. I’ve managed to catch a kid working so very hard at peeling our stickers off of a book before, too. Only to have him come back a few days later and try to walk out the door with a mythology book, for reasons that escape me. Could it have been the illustrations of bare-breasted women that attracted him? Who knows. I’m just curious as to what drives people to take what libraries offer for free. I mean, getting a library card is simple and FREE, for goodness sake. I must scare the hell out of people or something, sitting at my desk in the back and staring out at the front desk. HA HA

What do you guys think? Am I crazy or is the library world just that darn exciting?

by Jennifer in Features, Library Rant Tags: , ,

23 Nov 2011 5 Comments

Library Rant #2: Strange bookmarks and other wild things

bacon bookmark

My time at the library has been a learning experience everyday I’m shocked and amazed at the things that I find in the drop box or in our books. With a grand total of four employees (yes, 4), we have a VERY close relationship with our patrons so it’s sometimes difficult (or feels impossible) to say, “Hey you left your ____ in one of our books. Here’s a bookmark to use next time.” LOL

Some of the items we’ve discovered in the past few years have blown my mind, freaked me out, and in some cases, left me speechless.

Here’s my list of weird items found in books/drop box:

(This list is subject to increase with absolutely insane items)

  1. Vintage bookmarks
  2. Photographs (family, pets, etc) (thankfully, no nudes… yet)
  3. Toilet paper (unused. Thanks be to all that is good and proper in the world)
  4. Peel-off strip from a feminine napkin. (gross)
  5. Insurance papers
  6. Bank statements
  7. Prisoner I.D.s
  8. Airline ticket stubs
  9. Payroll receipts
  10. Half smoked joint (of the illegal variety) (speechless)
  11. Roaches (dead…thank goodness)
  12. Chip crumbs
  13. Bubble gum and assorted candy wrappers
  14. Recipes
  15. Hallmark cards
  16. Postcards (from various years)
  17. Kleenex (used) (can we say gross?)
  18. Probation appt slips
  19. Medical bills
  20. Medicaid and Food stamp forms
  21. Library cards (at least they were for my library. WooHoo)
  22. Poop…yes POOP smeared on the pages (Seriously nasty…insert gag sound here)
  23. Toothpicks (possibly used…who knows)
  24. Notes informing future readers that the book sucks (pasted inside book by patron)
  25. Sticky notes listing all of the character of the book (interesting and very detailed)
  26. Lottery tickets (no winners… dammit)
  27. Business cards
  28. Spiders (dead)
  29. Health insurance cards
  30. Homework and study guides
  31. Boogers (also known as boogies)
  32. Paper clips

Not nearly as exciting Drop box finds:

  1. Letters from patrons including their fines
  2. Water damaged and moldy books
  3. Donations with living bugs in them
  4. Keys
  5. Solicitations for fundraisers (with instructions to only buy from them)
  6. Plastic bags

I’m sure that I’m forgetting to mention some interesting finds but it is Sunday, which might as well be Monday. LOL Next week we’ll cover book donations. Now that’s going to be really interesting.

What unusual things have you found in books? Share your finds in the comments.

by Jennifer in Library Rant

16 Nov 2011 16 Comments

Library Rants and other bookish things

Most of you know that I’m a librarian. It’s a given that I have an insatiable love for books and plenty of stories to share about my experiences. I’ve learned so much about the bookish community, not just from blogging, but through contact with hundreds of patrons each week. The patrons are the jam that make the library an attractive, and often times, the most humorous place to work. There are so many things that go on behind the scenes in a library and I thought that it would be interesting to occasionally share some of the stories and frustrations with you.

We all love the smell of a brand new book and appreciate the cover, binding, and the work within, right? I thought so. My shelves are lined with beautiful, finished copies and I care for them as though they are children. Maybe that sounds weird but I can’t help it. I cringe when I see a water-damaged book returned in our drop box or left on the circulation desk. The first thought that comes to mind is what the heck were they thinking. When you borrow a book, don’t you, as a reader, usually consider that others might be interested in reading the very book you hold in your hands? Obviously, some people don’t. Is it that difficult to return an item in the same condition that you borrowed it? Obviously it is for some people. So here’s my story for the week.

After reading tons of favorable reviews of Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why, I felt compelled to grab the library copy. Of course, not only was it checked out, but it was weeks overdue. I gave the patron a call and asked if she could return the book as someone else was dying to read it. The patron apologized for not returning the book on time and stated she would return is as soon as possible. She did, in fact, return the book. But that’s the exact moment my excitement plummeted to the fifth dimension of hell and I screamed inside. The book had been murdered. Yep…that’s right, murdered. My heart sank and I was immediately filled with anger. This poor, helpless book had been violated in the worst way. I think I might have cried a little on this one…welcome to my nightmare.

So I ask again, what the heck were they thinking? Why not mention that the book had been damaged? It’s not as if we are heartless librarian trolls. We are reasonable human beings that will work with you. In the end, we ordered a new copy and it has remained intact, and all is right in the world of books. Well, almost anyway.

This is a completely different situation, but one I thought was share-worthy. This was a video that we found in our parking lot. Not much left of it but we were able to figure out what it was. Thank goodness for labels. LOL

I had to laugh at this one a little. The case made it to the book drop but, sadly, the video didn’t. Oh well! You win some, you lose some.

We’d love to hear your bookish nightmares, share your damaged book stories with us in the comments.

by Jennifer in Features, Library Rant, News