LIBRARIANS BEHAVING BADLY
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SMELLS LIKE LIBRARY (the comic)
SMELLS LIKE LIBRARY (the comic)
IN THE YEAR 2013...
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OFF-TABLES : I knew it.
One of the first things I do every morning when I first come in and open the library is patrol the very back shelves, looking for out-of-place books the students might have stashed back there at the end of the previous day. They're always easy to spot.
Then I go through the rest of the room and grab any books left lying on tables, or otherwise out of place. I then scan them in "statistics mode," so our circ system will know that they've been used, even if not officially checked out. I also do this after any period of heavy library traffic, once things calm down. This is important to show the REAL usage some of your library's books are getting, since when it's time to evaluate books with weeding (discarding) in mind, one of the factors you look at is how many times they've been checked out. If you did NOT scan the "off-tables," a book such as "The Period Book," about girls' reproductive systems, might appear to have never been used. But if you have done off-tables, then you might see that "The Period Book" had actually been used about 3,000 times in one year. But no one's been brave enough to actually check it out.
Anyway, a while ago we received a batch of free books from Disney Press, which included the super cheesy and disposable, "Wizards of Waverly Place: the movie: the junior novel." It's a horrid 123 pages of dreck and movie photos.
But I decided to go ahead and put it into our collection. Here's why:
Our school is a college-prep academy with an entrance exam and extremely high standards. BUT... our students are still kids. They may argue philosophy and do quantum mathematics in their sleep, but they also watch cartoons and play video games. I was dying to see if any of them would be bold enough to check out the stupid Wizards of Waverly Place book, in between the David Sedaris and Sartre.
No one has officially checked it out. But FINALLY, this morning after the before-school rush of kids, when I went around and collected off-tables, THERE IT WAS. The lame-ass Wizards of Waverly Place book. And it was lying on a table near the circ desk, and there had NOT been raucous laughter coming from that table. That table was quiet. Which means whoever had been looking at it or reading it had NOT done so in a mocking fashion.
I KNEW it. Everybody needs their deep dark guilty pleasures, even young geniuses.
This does not mean I would ever want to PAY for something so stupid, but if it's free and gives a hard-working kid a few moments of freedom from serious thought, then why not?
Then I go through the rest of the room and grab any books left lying on tables, or otherwise out of place. I then scan them in "statistics mode," so our circ system will know that they've been used, even if not officially checked out. I also do this after any period of heavy library traffic, once things calm down. This is important to show the REAL usage some of your library's books are getting, since when it's time to evaluate books with weeding (discarding) in mind, one of the factors you look at is how many times they've been checked out. If you did NOT scan the "off-tables," a book such as "The Period Book," about girls' reproductive systems, might appear to have never been used. But if you have done off-tables, then you might see that "The Period Book" had actually been used about 3,000 times in one year. But no one's been brave enough to actually check it out.
Anyway, a while ago we received a batch of free books from Disney Press, which included the super cheesy and disposable, "Wizards of Waverly Place: the movie: the junior novel." It's a horrid 123 pages of dreck and movie photos.
But I decided to go ahead and put it into our collection. Here's why:
Our school is a college-prep academy with an entrance exam and extremely high standards. BUT... our students are still kids. They may argue philosophy and do quantum mathematics in their sleep, but they also watch cartoons and play video games. I was dying to see if any of them would be bold enough to check out the stupid Wizards of Waverly Place book, in between the David Sedaris and Sartre.
No one has officially checked it out. But FINALLY, this morning after the before-school rush of kids, when I went around and collected off-tables, THERE IT WAS. The lame-ass Wizards of Waverly Place book. And it was lying on a table near the circ desk, and there had NOT been raucous laughter coming from that table. That table was quiet. Which means whoever had been looking at it or reading it had NOT done so in a mocking fashion.
I KNEW it. Everybody needs their deep dark guilty pleasures, even young geniuses.
This does not mean I would ever want to PAY for something so stupid, but if it's free and gives a hard-working kid a few moments of freedom from serious thought, then why not?
CATEGORIES>BIBLIOGRAPHY
I'm so excited. While processing new* books so they're ready on Monday for the first day of school, I discovered that in Alexandria's "Items" window, if you click on the Categories tab you can put a bibliography heading/title in the "Bibliography" field. This changes EVERYTHING, man.
I love creating and maintaining bibliographies, and I make bookmarks with them, small enough to print 3 per sheet on regular-size paper. But that means I can only fit so many titles per list. I have a few "expanded" lists (sci-fi, and horror), which I do a tri-fold thing for. But that takes up a whole sheet per list.
I really like doing unusual subject lists, like, "Recommended if you like Tim Burton," or "Read the Movie," or "Frequently Challenged and/or Banned Books," but those subjects aren't going to already be in the MARC records.
This is why the "Bibliography" field I discovered is exciting. For example, I was processing a copy of David Brin's The Postman, so I put "Read the Movie" in the Bibliography field. That's a new list I'm working on, and I can tag as many books as I WANT with that heading! And at any time I can call up a complete bibliography just by typing "Read the Movie" in a keyword search.
Trust me, this is RAD.
*Most of them aren't really new, they're donated. Because we have exactly $0 for a book budget. But at least they're new to us. And I clean them and put protective film over the covers.
I love creating and maintaining bibliographies, and I make bookmarks with them, small enough to print 3 per sheet on regular-size paper. But that means I can only fit so many titles per list. I have a few "expanded" lists (sci-fi, and horror), which I do a tri-fold thing for. But that takes up a whole sheet per list.
I really like doing unusual subject lists, like, "Recommended if you like Tim Burton," or "Read the Movie," or "Frequently Challenged and/or Banned Books," but those subjects aren't going to already be in the MARC records.
This is why the "Bibliography" field I discovered is exciting. For example, I was processing a copy of David Brin's The Postman, so I put "Read the Movie" in the Bibliography field. That's a new list I'm working on, and I can tag as many books as I WANT with that heading! And at any time I can call up a complete bibliography just by typing "Read the Movie" in a keyword search.
Trust me, this is RAD.
*Most of them aren't really new, they're donated. Because we have exactly $0 for a book budget. But at least they're new to us. And I clean them and put protective film over the covers.