Category: Libraries
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At home in the Library of Congress
In a delightful convergence of two of my favorite things, Steven Johnson wrote about a research trip to the Library of Congress: Everything about my visit was an object lesson how a government agency can make a public resource available to its citizens in an efficient, useful, and even aesthetically-pleasing fashion. I am generally not […]
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This is the bookend
After nearly 7 years, today is my last day at my library job. It was my first full-time library position after a few part-time jobs out of library school, and for that alone I am immensely grateful. Whenever someone asks me how I like working at a library, I say I love it because every […]
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Fine free fate
What happened when New York Public Libraries eliminated overdue fines last fall? Exactly what always happens when libraries go fine free: A wave of returned overdue materials came crashing in, accompanied by a healthy increase (between 9 and 15 percent, depending on the borough) of returning visitors. Since last fall, more than 21,000 overdue or […]
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My professional pantheon
I now have my own office at work, along with a bookshelf I don’t have much to put on. So I moved the figurines I used to keep on my desk to the top of the bookshelf and christened them my professional pantheon. Here’s what they are and what I’ll look to them for. Top: […]
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Refer Madness: Various Vignettes
Refer Madness spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy stories from the library reference desk. Since transitioning to a new position at work last year, I’m no longer on the reference desk. (Also the library is currently closed due to COVID-19, so there’s that.) But I didn’t want to let my list of ideas for this […]
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Ideology and ‘Information Hunters’
When I first heard of the new book Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe by Kathy Peiss, I thought it was so far up my alley it should have just moved in. The book tells two primary, interweaving stories: how the information-collecting missions of the Library of […]
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Survey says: Library visits rule
Gallup: In U.S., Library Visits Outpaced Trips to Movies in 2019 Some takeaways from this survey: Yay for libraries, duh. Every other activity included in the survey—including movies, sporting events, zoos, national parks, and museums—charges admission fees. If all of them were free to access, would there be a different #1? Maybe not, because another […]
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Refer Madness: Buyers and Borrowers
Refer Madness spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy stories from the library reference desk. A patron walked into the library and approached the desk. “I was just at a bookstore but I didn’t want to buy too many,” she told me. She had a list of books she wanted, some of which she got at […]
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Library ebooks are not free
Those of you not in the library world probably don’t know about the contretemps currently roiling the industry. Library users don’t see how much ebooks cost for libraries. I order them as part of my job, and I’ve never quite gotten over the sticker shock of some costing as much as $90 each. And that’s […]
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Renewing your library card is an act of hope
All the time people come to the info desk asking how they can renew their library card. Maybe they got a reminder call or noticed the expiration sticker on the card or were blocked from checking out an ebook. Either way, I point them to the circulation department and off they go. They show their […]