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January 12th, 2006
 | 08:27 pm - Library Science for Fun and Profit
I work in a library and am, as one might assume, a book fan. So are quite a few of the people I work with, most especially the librarians. The librarians have the wonderful job of choosing and buying all the new books we get... but they also have the less enjoyable (to most at least) job of getting rid of the items that are no longer of interest to anyone, or no longer in the condition to circulate. Often these 'withdrawn' books are sold in book sales, but also quite often they are simply thrown out. Here is where we reach a problem...
I have been told that, in Library School, one thing they ask the class to do is tear a page out of a book. For some, this is, of course, no big deal; but there are those who CAN'T do it. For some, this is the core of why they became librarians in the first place. Thus, for many, the idea of 'weeding' through the collection is a horrific idea. They can often be quite serious about this, to the point where once librarian from another branch threw some withdrawn books away into our garbage, fearing that otherwise another person they work with would pull them back out.
My currant boss is fairly against weeding, as far as it goes, but another Librarian there is all for it, and so I know who to ask if I want us to keep something, and who to ask if I think it should be trashed
(Of course, leaning toward the crazy bibliophile side myself, I rescue and take home one out of every ten or so things we would throw out anyway). The only problem comes when they argue about it all, and that leaves yours truly to try to play diplomat and mediator. And to think, I took a job shelving books because I'm an antisocial recluse! ;)
Oh well...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/os/triangles/nerdy.gif) nerdy
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Comments:
Hello! I just wandered over from Utena_Hush and I just added you (hope that's okay). You have so many of similar interests to mine. And then I read this post!
I'm getting my masters in Library Science right now. That must be really tough to have two people so diametrically opposed with you stuck in the middle.
I'm all for weeding in certain instances. If the library has a space problem them weeding is a good solution. Getting rid of outdated books that aren't used anymore (provided they don't have intrinsic archival value) is also a good idea. It makes room for new books that should get more use.
It's a bummer that some of them just get thrown out. I prefer to see them get donated to charity or to a book sale or something. But in some cases there's really no one who would want them. I work in a Science Branch library and some of our old books are so outdated and antiquated that they're no use any more because the field has changed so much.
... and I ramble on and on. Sorry!!
Anyway, this was mostly to say that I added you because your icons are beautiful! And you have really cool interests.
-Caitirin
Sorry it took me so long to respond back (life has been crazy, with finals and all) but thank you for the long and thoughtful comment. It's always interesting for me to hear from other library people.
About a week ago, the weeding-happy librarian that I had mentioned before transferred to another branch, which is particularly problematic considering she was the only one who ever really got anything done. I don't know how your library is, but in L.A. the library system, off the record, has gotten so spread out it's become a government beaurocracy in and of itself. Like in all serious beaurocratic systems, everything seems to be set up to insure that, no matter how good an idea is, there is someone whose job it is to stop you from doing it.
Of course, I still love library work, and don't plan on quiting it any time soon. I am just often frusrated that something that should be a non-profit, for-the-public institution has evolved an almost dilbert-esque management chain. But that's it for random complaining...
Thanks for the compliment on the icons, and I am also quite a fan of yours as well (I thought the one that just won third last week was particularly lovely). Back to libraries: Does the system that you work in use Dewey Decimal cataloging or Library of Congress? I was surprised to see, when I visited Illionis last year, that the entire Chicago system uses LoC, which I had thought was only really employed in school libraries. Now I tend to ask people who live in places I haven't been to what their libraries are like. Usually they don't know what I'm talking about, so I figure asking a librarian should be the way to go. :)
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/82417330/297202) | | From: | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) caitirin |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2006 04:01 pm (UTC) |
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Yeah, we've got that annoying beauracracy as well.
We use LoC for all of our libraries :) It actually always surprises me when libraries use Dewey still just because the cutter numbers can get so incredibly long :) |
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