I'm feeling exhausted by my work, and I'm worried I have cornered myself into public librarianship.

I got my MLIS with the intention of working in an archive or within the broader field of cultural preservation. Essentially I wanted to professionally store and research old stuff.

During my MLIS, I started to work casual in a well-funded, small public library system (not as a librarian but adjacent work). I had one archival internship under my belt, and focused on archival coursework, but as I started working for this library system I started to think I liked the idea of public libraries. When I graduated, I applied to both public library jobs and archival/collections jobs and while I got interviews for both, I ended up working in a new public library system.

I'm just over 3 years into this job, and I regret pivoting away from my original career coals. I'm working for a large under-funded city central branch that has all the issues you could think of. That, coupled by a very selfish administration, a terrible schedule I was forced into by said administration, and an inept branch manager, I am so tired of my job.

I've seen job postings come and go, and never applied because I kept telling myself to stick it out and things would get better, but things aren't getting better and I deeply regret not applying to the other jobs. I'm worried now that I've spent too much time in the public library field and that if I want to change to archival/collections work (or academic librarian work too), my current experience won't be taken seriously. Why hire a public librarian when you could hire a newly graduated MAS student with fresh archival experience?

Anyways, I started venting. I am looking for advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation. Were you able to get out of public librarianship and started working in an archival, collections, or academic field?

TLDR; I started working as a public librarian because I got fooled by a fancy library system that the job was fun, and now I'm working for a terrible system and I deeply regret pivoting from my original goal of working in archiving or collections management. Looking for advice on shifting careers to where I want to be.

Thank you all <3

"We asked dozens of librarians about America’s libraries — what they provide, what they need to survive. Here’s what they told us."

Hi there!

I'm in the middle of an assignment where I need to use WebDewey to track how a resource gets its call number. I've done really well until this very long one.

I've done the readings, listened to the recordings and I still don't understand how to create it!! I've looked at this for the past few days and I still don't understand.

If someone could explain it like I'm really stupid (which I think I am right now) that would be fantastic.

Resource:

Aboriginal Title and Indigenous Peoples: Canada, Australia, and New Zealand / Knafla, Louis A. Westra, Haijo Jan.

ISBN: 9780774815611

Trove DDC: 346.71043208997

Thank you!

Edit: half of the title was missing, sorry!

Hey y’all, I’ve found myself in an interesting predicament and I’m seeking guidance on how to proceed with my education. I’m fairly certain that I’ve made the correct decision, but would love an outside perspective.

When I began my MLIS, I found out that App State was still in the process of receiving accreditation. I was assured that it would be completed by a certain time—which was within the timeline that I intended to graduate. However, during our student association meeting last week, we were told that they had not passed a level of accreditation and because that portion needed to be resubmitted, the process would be delayed until 2030–and only those who graduate in 2028-2029 are able to be grandfathered in. I was planning to complete my Capstone next summer.

That being said, I don’t believe that it’s worth it for me to continue this program. I want to finish the semester—I really enjoy my professor and this is the 3rd course I’ve had with him and he’s the only academic librarian on staff—but I don’t think that I want to return to complete my degree from App. I’m also considering how much of my appeal when submitting applications for library jobs hinges on having experience in a library—something that I do not currently have. In addition to that, we are piloting a mentorship program and the professor I was partnered with is a K-12 librarian. While I understand how much of academic librarianship is teaching, educating, and engaging with students, the K-12 world is beyond disinteresting to me.

The way I see things, it seems likely that the best career decision would be for me to spend the time I would have in the program gaining more real world experience. I would appreciate hearing your perspective and ideas for next steps towards academic librarianship.

Another part of why I’m considering leaving is because I don’t think that App is well equipped to educate their students in academic librarianship or working in academia at all. Very few of our courses mention that aspect of LIS and though I took an academic librarianship course last year, it was the very first time that they had even offered it. I think that perhaps this program is just not a good fit for what I want out of a career in LIS.

Right now, I’m planning to finish this semester, put the program on hold (though I’m also open to transferring), and gain work experience in libraries. Thoughts?

There is a potential opening at my dream library, and I am looking for some advice as to how to prepare. I am currently working full-time, but am burnt out and am losing confidence in myself. I have ADHD and am learning to manage it.

I have been a librarian for about 7 years. Before I got my MLIS, I started as a page at a library that I fell in love with right away. The people and environment are fantastic. I worked in adult and youth and eventually became an intern in the youth department while taking classes. It was a great experience and it was very hard to leave when it was done. (I got an extension due to Covid, but there were no job openings there). I have since returned as a substitute librarian there.

My actual full-time job is miserable. My boss is a bully, and gets pissy when things don’t go their way. They constantly interrupt while any of us are speaking and redirect the conversation to themselves. They are never happy with anything that isn’t their idea, and criticize the smallest actions. They discourage asking questions and act like they can’t be bothered. Whenever I feel the most confident in myself and get productive, that’s when they tear me down.

Communication between departments is terrible and we are constantly getting mixed information, and sometimes none at all. More and more people are starting to leave because of their poor supervisors.

I’ve created 3 programs so far. I’m proud of them, but my boss has never commented on them, and is only interested in patron numbers. The whole experience has me second guessing my work, and things I do off the clock.

I want to make a plan for how to make myself look fantastic for if this opening at the dream job works out. They know me there, and I’ve gotten great performance reviews. I know I shouldn’t settle on a single library, but as long as I have an in, I want to aim for it.

What are some tough questions I should be prepared for?

What should I wear to an interview? A suit or business casual?

Is bringing a bag of Storytime books and program note a good idea? Anything else?

Apologies for being long winded. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

I’m currently working as a library clerk at an elementary school and I am also in my last semester of my MLIS program.

I just saw a bookstore manager position open in my district at a high school and I am wondering if I should apply for this job or just stay where I am.

I've just started a postgraduate degree in the UK and so far it's very theoretical/philosophical and reminds me of studying sociology many years ago which I hated! I do understand that this is meant to give a foundational basis for a career and I'm certainly interested in the topics covered but the study and essays are feeling like a slog. I'm constantly questioning what the point is and I'm absolutely craving a real life task! We'll be covering cataloguing and information law later on in the course which seems more like something I would really use in the work place.

I'd really like to hear from other people, what was covered in your degree, course was there a balance between theory and practical/technical skills?

Have you found the theory elements useful in your work? Or do you think it was just a means to an end? i.e. pass the assessment and get the degree so you can at least have the chance of getting a job where you need that degree.

EDIT: So I was hoping to get a bit of insight into other degree courses and work life but ended up being told not to pursue a library career. Very much regret asking these questions in this forum. I am questioning my choice but I've always been passionate about sharing information, helping people to access and engage with information. I might not end up doing this in a library setting but I would like to keep that option open. Turning off notificiation now because I don't need any more discouragement at this time.

Edit: Thank you for your feedback. I generally agree with all of your points regarding the portfolio. I want to clarify that I don’t mean to discredit my wife’s perspective, as portfolios are valuable in her field. However, in librarianship, I find the concept to be somewhat nuanced. I plan to create one, but primarily to help refresh my memory and to have prepared responses, rather than for direct use in interviews.

I have worked in a public library for 11 years (6 of those years I was a para and a librarian). I recently moved to a new state, and I am having a hard time getting interviews. I did have one out of the 10+ libraries I applied to. They decided to go with a different candidate. My wife recommended putting together a portfolio for them to review. I just don't know if that makes sense in the context of library work and interviews. Her rationale is that my old library knew me for so long that it wasn't hard to interview me for promotions. A portfolio is a visual aid to give them an idea of who I am and what I do. Would it be a good idea to bring a portfolio?

Just to add, I do have my MLIS.

Hello all! A quick question about CV's which has probably been asked before, but I can't really find anything specifically on this question.

I'm a public librarian applying to an academic role that aligns with my experience, but I have never written up a CV before, only resumes. Can relevant coursework be listed on a CV? Especially since I don't have a ton of publications and presentations under my belt. I don't know if it would add to the CV, or if it would be irrelevant to add coursework and recruiters wouldn't care.

Thanks in advance :)

Hello all! I’m a middle school (6-8) librarian in the middle of a massive weeding project. Our classics section, up until this year, was tucked away and hard to find, so the books rarely circulated. We moved them to a more central shelf and have started picking out newer editions of some of them so the kids will be more likely to pick them up, and it’s worked really well so far!!

Now, I’m looking to beef it up a little bit, since there are definitive gaps in the contents the previous librarians considered “classics”. I’ve been trying to find less “mainstream” classics, ideally written by people underrepresented in the usual discussion of the genre (people of color, LGBTQ+ people, indigenous people, even just anyone not in the “American/European men” category, etc).

The problem I’m running into is that a lot of the topics in some of the classics that I thought of off the bat are a little too mature for my middle schoolers. I understand that this was the truth for a lot of these authors and communities, but I still have to look out for my kids best I can.

Violence we’re a little more lenient on (like if it’s considered 14+ but only for violence we’ll usually let it slide) since we have a lot of horror & mystery readers and we trust our kids not to get into anything they don’t think they can handle. Sex, on the other hand, we’re a little firmer on, trying to keep it closer to 10+ or 12+. We’re also very lucky that we have full discretion over catalogue curation, and have no concerns about censorship or blowback for adding specific titles so long as they’re age appropriate.

Let me know if you have any recommendations for things to pick up for the collection! Right now, I have The Three Musketeers, some Jane Austen, and not a whole lot else.

I know, being a librarian is not about getting to read at work... but it's sure a nice part of the job if it's allowed, no? I'm a library assistant in a public library, and we are allowed to read when we work the reference desk, so long as we are attentive to any patrons who need assistance. I notice though that the librarians here are much busier and rarely seem to read books, while the clerks and LAs take advantage of downtime to crack a book at their desk. I have a friend that is an academic law librarian who reads for fun at his job. Any full-fledged librarians able to read much at work? If so, how much and under what circumstances?

Just as the title says. We have one Roku and another waiting to be cataloged, but I'm tempted to get rid of them when they finally stop working. We only offer Disney+ and Hulu, along with some of the other free apps. Our patron base is mostly older seniors (who are very tech averse) or young families. We're also in a Title I school district in the US. I would keep it for the young families however, it seems like the families aren't using it either. They've decided to get their own Disney+ subscription according to discussions at the reference desk. At one point, it seemed as though there was only one person using the Roku, and even that person hasn't used it in months.

I want to offer more options, but with the crackdown on password sharing I'm hesitant to subscribe to anything else. Our older patrons hear about shows or movies and want them on DVD, which I can't do because that's not an option for some things. They're also not very well marketed but I can't do anything about that until *maybe* January. We have no separate website (we're a department on our township's page) and the township supervisor has made it clear he does not want to be on Meta, so that leaves out Facebook or Instagram.

Has anyone else seen a decrease in Roku usage? Should I continue to hold out until I can advertise or should I just cut my losses?

Apologies in advance if I used the wrong flair.

I am a public services librarian in the PNW, and our branch will be celebrating its 25th anniversary next year. My manager and I are brainstorming ideas for ways to promote/celebrate our anniversary with our patrons. I wanted to see if any of you have ideas/suggestions re: programming?

Ideas so far:

• Passive
  • Memory Wall: Patrons post memories/favorite things about the branch either via text or images
  • Photo timeline: Pictures and data about the area where we live and/or the library itself
• Active
  • Library Trivia: Part of a reoccurring program already, but would be changed to focus on local history or a library theme
  • Historical Society: County has speakers who could come talk about the area (Ex. Lewis & Clark camped nearby and wrote several [sometimes not so flattering] journal entries about their stay OR nearby university has speakers about the Native American history of the area
  • Walking Tour: Historical or scientific/nature-based talk & walk in the area (we have several outdoor areas nearby)

Hey everyone, science librarian here. Just so we all know, the standards website https://www.normsplash.com/ is a scam.

I confirmed with a standards organization today that this "company" is not a legitimate standards reseller.

When searching online, I couldn't independently confirm if the site was legit. Well, now that I know it's not, I wanted to post this warning for all my library colleagues (and with the hope that this warning will surface for others who come across the site).

There are ongoing efforts to take the site down. With any luck, this warning will be moot sooner rather than later.

Hello! Applying to get an MLIS at a few places, including UW Seattle. The advisor there mentioned the concurrent MLIS-Museology degree they have. Any quick takes on the usefulness of such a degree? I'm still not 100% sure what I want to do with my degree, being a generalist and interested in everything, as well as someone who could do public-facing work as equally as backroom work, so only asking what folks think of such a degree, not necessarily whether or not it's a good fit for me.

I'm filling out the SJSU MLIS application right now, and it says to list any colleges you might have taken classes at, even if it was to just transfer credits. I attended a community college this past summer to transfer a class for GE credit. I got a B-, and since it was the only class I've ever taken with this community college, my GPA at the community is 2.7. I know SJSU requires a 3.0 GPA at least, but I did indicate that for the full-time university I actually attend, my GPA is a 3.8. Will this affect my chances?

Hi, I plan to go to bunker hill community college in Boston for English as I plan to seek out in MLIS program for my masters. I’m currently only going for my bachelor’s but I want to have a general plan as I dropped out of college in 2024 immediately after graduating high school after a bad experience with my first program.

I should also mention I would like somewhere with a good disability program as well since I do have some cognitive + physical disabilities which lead to me being in specialized schooling all throughout middle and high school and although I am aware accommodations are very different with college I have all necessary paperwork when it comes to that. I’d just kinda like if they’d be a little more lenient than average schools but that’s not a main goal. This is kinda more of a want and than need I figured I’d throw in just in case someone was aware of anything like this.

I want to just have a stable plan or idea of what I’m kinda getting into. I’ll be honest I struggled greatly in high school due to said disabilities and my GPA wasn’t the best by graduation just due to lack of attendance. I haven’t gone back since as I am also likely gonna have to be fully reliant on financial aid due to the fact both my parents are disabled and survive on government assistance so I’ve been fearful to go back as I do have a lot of resources when it comes to college. I just don’t wanna end up almost wasting my time again like I did my first attempt at college since I almost lost a lot of resources given to me had I not dropped out early. Due to this even though I don’t plan to start till Spring 2027 I want a general plan and idea of colleges and universities in my area but I’m struggling to find much resources and a lot of contradictory information online when it comes to specific stuff such as ALA accreditations and K-12 Librarianship.

I do not wish to do a K-12 program and a lot of stuff says they’re not then people online or other informational stuff says they are? or a lot of issues with good schools being just way too out of price range. I also have an issue of transportation as I cannot drive due to said medical reasons. I am amazing with public transportation and live in the Salem area and can easily commute into Boston or even farther my only issue is I want to be able to know what schools are actually worth it and maybe worth even taking out a loan or two if the program is good. I just honestly cannot find any solid information in the Boston area.

I should preface I do wish to either become a public or academic librarian. I don’t know if that matters much with specific schooling as I’ve also heard contradictory stuff which is again just very confusing. I know I kind of info dumped im just not 100% sure what info is and isn’t needed as I mentioned im struggling when it comes to at least northshore mass specifically with information.

If anyone is able to at least give me kind of an idea or grasp of things that’d be amazing! I’m aware I’m thinking very far in the future I just wanna be 100% prepared due to my specific situation as this is likely my only chance at going to college without taking out enough loans to kill me. If you had read this far I greatly appreciate it and let me know if I’m being too anxious and nervous or just a kind of silly.

I have been a librarian at a small college for almost two years. My director has asked me to give our underused (mostly unused) reference section a thorough weeding. It currently takes up two full rows of prime shelving real estate. At least half of what’s there is obvious to get rid of, but others I am not so sure. About 1/3 of the items can be easily relocated into circulation. Any suggestions for what should remain in a small reference section, if anything? Thanks in advance for any help from those with more experience! ❤️

I was just accepted into my MLIS program! Any tips I should know before getting started? Particularly in terms of juggling working full time and being in school at the same time. For those who did it, how many classes did you take per semester? My program is fully online.
I’m also curious about switching concentrations. I applied into the school media concentration, but could also see myself going into public libraries as well (although that route scares me with how often I see people on here talking about the job market). Is it possible to switch concentrations or will it mess up my timing of finishing.
Any words of advice would be helpful. Excited to be joining this field!

I'm still pretty young in my career and I'm trying to figure out what direction l'd eventually like to take, so l'd love to hear from people who have experience in both school libraries/media centers and public libraries!

For those who have worked in both settings, which do you personally prefer and why?
What are some of the biggest differences you've noticed in terms of your day-to-day work, environment, responsibilities, work-life balance, etc.?

I'm not necessarily looking for a "which one is better" answer (although, feel free to answer) - I'm just young in my career and would really appreciate hearing people's experiences and any advice you'd give someone trying to figure out