I (28m) am a security guard at a public library in a small city. My job is mostly made up of addressing small infractions of the code of conduct like eating, patron items causing tripping hazards from being spread out, etc. Occasionally, I do have to deal with behavior issues from patrons, but the most harmful behaviors I feel like I am pigeonholed by the administration. Women on staff experience sexual harassment daily. This could be something simple but will breaking over time with names like "sweetheart" or worse like more explicit things said. Staff is only ever instructed to shut the patron down letting them know their comment made them uncomfortable in the moment, however, this ignores basic human psychology especially for women who are socialized to make themselves smaller. Management claims that they will have the staff members backs who do this, however, previous actions show otherwise. We have lost several staff members due to the lack of action from management. The article I linked almost could have been written about my library and I am sure that is the case for so many others. If you have a good system, what is it like? If you don't, what would you like to see implemented to handle these situations? What would like a security guard to know when dealing with these issues?

not sure if this has been asked before, but i'm currently looking in to applying to grad school for my mls for fall 2027. i have a dilemma: most of the advice i've seen on here says that the network you build through your mls is the most valuable benefit and is what helps you get jobs. i was originally planning on going abroad (i'm based in the US) for my mls, and applying to university college london's program. however, i know that after i finish my degree, i will be immediately moving to los angeles california, as that is where my long term partner currently resides. does it not make sense to build a network of connections in a place that i won't be staying in post-grad and that has little connection to where i will be? should i consider a school (maybe ucla) in california instead to build that network where i will be starting my career? any advice would be much appreciated.

I’m fully aware of how abysmal the job market is for librarians in general. I have a STEM PhD and substantial job experience in my field. To what extent (if any) does that benefit career prospects if I were to make a career shift and complete an MLIS, particularly if my preference would be working in an academic library?

*VPL-Vancouver Public Library

This is an update from this post. https://www.reddit.com/r/librarians/s/L1nVHWHZrY

But I got an interview finally 🎊🎉👏
Its for a cataloguing and librarian role and it’s within a creative academy. I’m really excited but this is my first time being interviewed for a position like this.

Background: I have some experience in archival and librarian both from studies and from volunteering.

I get so excited and blank in interviews, I am really nervous but I want to prepare for it. The interview is next week.

I’m a public librarian thinking of transitioning to a school library position (not elementary). For those who have done this, is it something you’d recommend? It seems like it should be worth it simply for the fact that you’re not going to have to work weekends/summers. I’d love to hear others’ experiences.

Hi everyone! I’m a fairly new youth services librarian at a suburban library in the U.S. with a big Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese community. Our juvenile world languages collection is embarrassingly outdated, so I’ve taken it on myself to fix that...

I know Brodart, Ingram, etc. have pretty limited selections in these languages, so I’ve been doing my own digging. So far I’ve found:

• Book Window / Tsai Fong Books
• Pan Asian Publications

Has anyone worked with either of these? I would love to hear how they’ve been for selection, quality, and shelf-ready services. And if you know of other vendors (or small publishers or shops) worth checking out, I’m open to any advice.

(I have family heading to Vietnam soon, and I’m honestly tempted to just ask them to haul back a suitcase of books. 😅)

I’m currently in an LIS program and am staunchly anti AI. Recently, my university pivoted to a pro AI stance and have incorporated a variety of AI programs into their curriculum. They claimed that alumni said they were not accurately prepared for the level of AI they are asked to use in their jobs. It’s been very disheartening and disappointing to see the immediate capitulation to generative AI my professors have all done, and I’m starting to lose hope in my degree path. I’m wondering if this job is right for me, although it is a bit too late to go back. Do you find AI to be something you constantly deal with/are asked to use during your everyday activities? How do you deal with the emotional weight of being forced to use AI, if you aren’t an AI user?

I had a very good performance review for my Substitute Librarian job. When I asked if there was anything I could improve on, she suggested I could work on my readers advisory (not for any particular reason, just something that’s always useful).

I am trying to figure out how to better develop those skills into something that I can clearly articulate to someone. If a full-time position opens up, I want to show how I’ve taken that suggestion to heart and made improvements.

I recently found out I have ADHD and am looking for different strategies that can help me at work. I try and take notes and lists, but organizing them is difficult and it’s hard to focus sometimes. If I have to describe it, it’s like I’m trying to assemble a puzzle in my head where the pieces are the different criteria for a needed book, and I have a time limit (impatient parent).

As it is now, I have a general idea of what books would be good for grades, what ones are popular, and books that I’ve read that I like. Our catalog also has Syndetics Unbound, so we can better find specific Lexile and AR levels, along with age ranges. I’ve thought about making a list, but get tripped up on how to organize it.

Any advice or tips you can provide would be a big help.

so once I finish my MLIS I want to relocate to different state (NY). ill prob have 4 years experience of teaching by then w professional license in FL. with that being said, how likely is it that I'll get hired as a school librarian if im applying out of state? id be willing to relocate ofc but just wondering if it'll hurt my chances. should I perhaps try transitioning into teacher role there if that fails? I just want NY pay scale and pension lmao but id be nice to also do what I love.

I've been working for my current library system for 5 years and have my MLIS but this is the first time I've gotten a Librarian interview with them in a LONG time. I started out as a Page and have spent the past 2 1/2 years as a Senior Clerk in the Tech Department so I'm very familiar with how our system works. Also I came to the library as a second career, my first being production. Since I'm in Southern California, I've stressed this experience as well as the experience of having to transition from one career to the other in my application since I know that makes me stand out from the other applicants and it is a situation I will be dealing with often as a Workforce Librarian in this town.

All that context to say, does any one have any suggestions on prep work I could do or questions I should be ready to answer in the interview? It's next Friday morning and I really really need to nail it so I'm just trying to be as prepared as possible.

Please and thank you in advance.

Hello, today was my first day as a library assistant in youth services.

For background, I worked in Circulation at our downtown branch, which most of the time was always busy.

When I got at my new branch today, I was in shock to see how calm and quiet everything was.

I'm just trying to get my thoughts out right now. Everything with this job happened so fast and I just left a branch I was very comfortable in with awesome co-workers. I'm excited to keep learning more here though and will look at the positives!

Has anyone done practical exercises in an archivist job interview? What were they and do you think they were an effective part of the interview process?

I have been a Librarian for 6 years (only working part time despite having applied to and interviewed for multiple full time positions) and I'm just tired of the whole thing. I love libraries, but I am tired of having to put up with the crazy customers, inept city leaderahip and singleminded directors. I'm also fairly certain that job cuts are coming for my library system because the city has missmanged funds to such a degree that its a miracal they can function. I will be the first to admit that programing is probably my least favorite job duty and I'm not super great at it (I have good results with the programs that I do, but I don't like it). With all that being said I am looking at making a career change. I don't have any computer programing skills and I have no idea how to tailor my resume to other fields to increase my odds of being interviewed let alone what other fields my skill set and degree would be applicable to without coming off as over qualified (other than admin assistant maybe?).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi All. I really want to transition out of adult services/ programming librarianship into a cataloging position.

I took one cataloging class years ago and really need a refresher course.

Can someone recommend some resources/online courses to brush up on my skills?

I'm at a little bit of a crossroads in life and its making me unsure when and where to do my MLIS. I finish my Bachelor's next summer and currently live in New York. I was planning on going right into MLIS program (maybe a year off in between) because there's a few programs and they're more affordable.

However, in the past year I lost my mom and my dad is on hospice. My closest friends already live in the PNW or are moving to the PNW and I absolutely want to move after my dad. He's on longterm Hospice so its a little uncertain when he'll pass but I'm expecting only about a year.

Would it be better to continue my plan to get my MLIS in New York or move and then start it? I'm mostly interested in Archiving.

I’m currently working on my MS to become a school librarian. I’m already a certified teacher and have taught full time previously.

Currently, I have a standard boring office job in a university, completely unrelated to library work. The graduate program I’m doing is online asynchronous, ending in May.

I have an opportunity to work in a public library as a programming assistant. I’d be planning and running classes, leading story time, helping with summer reading, etc. I think I would really enjoy the work and it would give me more library experience. Pay, benefits, and hours are pretty much the same as my current job, but I’d have a much shorter commute.

My end goal is to be a school librarian so if I took this job I would still be actively looking for this. I know schools ideally want candidates who already have library experience. I’m doing lots of fieldwork, and will be doing practicum in the spring, but outside of that I don’t have library experience. However, I did manage to land 3 school library job interviews over the summer, when I first started the program and hadn’t done any fieldwork yet, which I find encouraging.

Would it be a bad idea to take this job knowing I’ll be leaving as soon as I land a school library job? Or should I just stick it out in my current job and hope my fieldwork and practicum is enough experience?

I am thinking of applying there for next September and sadly I only have a 2:2 and I live in the middle of nowhere which means I cannot volunteer at a library. Manchester Metropolitan is my only option and I don’t see any posts of people going there for MLIS and their website I feel like is not detailed enough

I’m conducting a research study on decision-making during large-scale collections projects (e.g., subscription cancellations, package reductions, or major weeding initiatives).

I’m particularly interested in how decision-making evolves over the course of these projects and what shapes that experience.

If you:

• Work in an academic library (college or university), and

• Have participated in a large-scale collections project in the past 5 years

I’d really appreciate your input. The survey takes about 5 minutes to complete. 

Survey link: https://carletonu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8cfbFNVbi5Fy4rI 

If you have any questions about the survey, please feel free to message me on here!

Hey, all. I've been employed as a library page off and on throughout my life, and I'm currently settled at my position for a little over a year.

The thing is, I think my age is getting to me. I used to be able to shelve for hours, no problem. Now, I'm getting pain, stiffness, and weakness in my shelving arm, and stretching only goes so far. I started noticing a little after the September rush, and it's been calming down on time off, flaring up again after/during work. Displeasure.

I'm seeing a doctor on Friday, but my fiance mentioned I'm probably not the first library page to ever fuck up an arm, and they're usually trustworthy like that. Can anyone here relate, maybe share advice? I'm hoping it's something I can fix with instruction, but the idea that I'm just plain boned won't get out of my head.

Thank you all so much <3

Hello all!

I am currently working as a library assistant in a downtown public library in a large city! I’m about to finish up my MLIS in December and have been working at the library for almost a year. I have experience in both academic and public libraries, but I found myself more passionate about the public space.

I love my job, however I’ve found myself getting burnt out by the negative patron interactions. I feel like there’s not a day that goes by where I’m not being berated I also feel like my management isn’t the best when I try to voice concerns. I knew this was going to come with the job, but I’m starting to doubt if my skin is thick enough for the public.

I was wondering if anyone has any tips other than “Don’t take it personally”, as that’s what I’m always told by my managers.

I love libraries and am so passionate, however, I am afraid what my future looks like after feeling burnt out after just one year.

Does it get easier? What do y’all do to preserve your mental peace? Is this a normal feeling?

Hi there!

I want to create an opportunity for more patron/community engagement at the library I work at.

I was wondering if any of y’all could recommend an online platform that is 1. free and 2. allows users to offer thoughts/feedback on a given prompt AND to see what other people wrote.

For example, a prompt might be “What is a book that changed your world view in a critical way, and why?” and people would submit their own response and then get to see what others wrote.

Hi all,

My library system has been ordering from Amazon for the past 18 months and have been unable to get on either with Brodart and Ingram. There have been two books within the past few months that have had large sections of pages missing. By the time it was brought to my attention the 30-120 day window to return items has passed. While Amazon has refunded the amount of the two books, it's been grudging and I'm not counting on the fact that they'll honor it again.

They've suggested that we look through all future purchases to ensure that we notify the defective items within that time frame. However, our cataloging department processes roughly 600 items per week and our team is three people that also helps out with occasional housekeeping (one of our housekeeping staff retired while the other is dealing with a family emergency; it's one full-time staff with two part-time) and the business manager. I don't know if this is feasible. Do you all have any suggestions on what could be done?