10 Meaningful Volunteer Roles in the Library

Library volunteers - we all get the requests, but what to do with them? There is just only so much dusting, weeding, children programming prep, and mending you can have them do. Below are some ideas that have been successful at other libraries, especially for teens and adults. Please keep in mind - some union contracts may not allow certain tasks to be performed by volunteers, so before you do anything, make sure you double check with your Director what you can and cannot have a volunteer do.

Window Artists

  If your volunteers are artistic, get them to work on your windows! All they need are brushes, tempera paint, and a dab of dish soap (just to make it easier to wash off afterwards). You could have them paint advertisements of upcoming events or you can do seasonal themes. Better yet – pick out a children’s picture book and ask them to paint an inspiration from it, then you can put the book on display.

Children's Room windows at the Marlborough Public Library. Teens painted their inspirations from The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 

Outreach Specialists

  Is there any library that does this enough? Find outgoing people who are willing to promote library services and resources at community events and festivals. They can even bring library card registration forms or a floating book collection, which we discussed a in a previous post.

Program Facilitators

   Tap into your volunteer’s passion. What kind of programs could they run at the library and you provide the advertising? Pikes Peak Library District has a manga artist run their anime meetings as well as teachers to run their ESL circles and teach foreign languages.  Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box! Alachua County Library District has local history aides staffed by volunteers.

Shelf Managers

   By far, this was the favorite position our teens enjoy at my previous library. We trained them to be shelf readers and they spent half their time making sure their section is in order and the other half of the time shifting books. If you have any pages, see if you can match your shelf mangers to a page and have the page supervise their work. I had the volunteers to turn the books backwards when they moved it and then the page would come and flip them around. When the volunteer mastered call numbers, they didn't have to flip the books anymore. (If people are unable to pass the shelf reading test, have them only focus on shifting books. There's always plenty of work to be done there.)

Library Photographers

   Train a few photographers to come in and take pictures of your big events or final products. We had included a photo release with our online registration so we could easily know ahead of time who we can photograph, and we also gave the photographers permission forms to hand out if needed. Make sure they download their favorite pictures on your computer BEFORE they leave, or you may never get them. This program was very beneficial for our social media and our website -- and all of our library photographers were teen volunteers. Note: Make sure you credit them for their work when you post them! They like to see their name attached to their pictures. Also, consider investing in a DSLR camera. The picture quality greatly increases, even if you just use the auto mode.

Photo Credit: MPL Photographer, Lauren Munday

Social Media Managers

   Social media can easily eat up a lot of anyone’s time, especially if you want to keep fresh content on it. There’s no reason why a librarian needs to manage these accounts 24/7. Volunteers can help post new information that may interest patrons (if you don’t want to give them direct access to your account, you can have them email you posts that you can just add to your account afterwards). Create a content guideline and find ways to divide up the work!

Collection Assistants

     Use volunteers to help you fine-tune your collection. Print out reports of missing books so they can double check they are not on the shelves and then you can delete them. Have them look up your series (fiction, manga, and graphic novels) and make a list of missing books for you to order. If you put stickers on your books (like Teen’s Top Ten), have them hunt them out and add them.

Technology Gurus

     Some libraries let volunteers work one-on-one with patrons. Other libraries tap into their skills to help keep up with their own computers like installing updates and reimaging laptops so all the junk is cleared off of them and they won't slow down. You know, the things that you know you should be doing, but never have time to do...

Library Marketers

    The more you market your programs, the more the community will know about them. A volunteer can easily post all of your events online like Patch.com, your local newspapers, and most especially the local TV station. They could deliver fliers around the city/town. They can hand stacks of the library newsletters to local grocery stores and hair salons. They could write up press releases and news articles about successful programs which you can send to the local newspapers. They could even help create ads for your website and social media, if you like their artistic style (Remember Canva? It can do wonders, if you have the time!).

Find Your Passion and Turn It Into a Volunteer Opportunity

     South Brunswick Public Library has a puppeteer program where they teach teens how to do a show and then the teens perform for children at the library. Marlborough Public Library had a 4D Movie presentation of Frozen where teens engaged all of the five senses during the movie. Louisville Public Library has a Reading Buddies program that connect struggling young readers with teens to practice reading each semester. None of these are quick volunteer opportunities, but they give volunteers a chance to learn a new skill, be very creative, and provide a program to local patrons. It could be very rewarding!

Summer Bonus

Is your library buzzing with patrons unable to find their school's required summer reading books? Consider doing what Shrewsbury Public Library did and create teen greeters. They sit at table near the door with school book lists in hand. They are trained to find the books on the shelves and, if they are all checked out, they can help patrons request the book from another library. Summer chaos avoided!

Original post from: http://www.5minlib.com/2015/01/10-meaningful-library-volunteer-roles.html

4 Unknown Factors Behind the Bestseller Lists

For many people, when they hear a book is on a bestseller list, they assume just one thing: That book sold the most copies. That assumption, however, would be incorrect.

I was one of those people until a few years ago, when I read an article from the Observer titled, The Truth About The New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists. This was reinforced recently when an unknown YA author scammed her way onto the New York Times Bestseller List.

I highly recommend you read the article in the Observer, but if not, I wanted to pull out a few points that I think every librarian should know. It turns out that, in addition to being a top seller, there are four factors that greatly influence these lists:

1. The sold numbers is only collected from a limited number of sources.

         The New York Times gets their numbers from select booksellers across the United States, not all sellers. People aren't suppose to know what stores are participating, but if you call the store and ask directly, they will tell you if they report back to the NYT or not. (Which leads into the problem stated in #3.)

         The Wall Street Journal gets their numbers from Neilson's BookScan, which doesn't cover 25-15% of the book selling market.

2. Personal opinion trumps selling numbers.

The editors from the NYT evaluate their bestselling list and decide which books make the cut, and which ones don't. And some big books were excluded from this list, like William Blatty's novel The Exorcist. It eventually made it onto the list once, but it was a bestseller for many weeks. Hugh Howey's Dust sold more than 50,000 copies but was listed at #7, much lower than other books on the list who had sold less copies.

3. Bulk purchases can change the game.

NYT tries to prevent people from buying their way onto the list. Any bulk purchase is flagged and not included in the numbers. However, there is a cutoff point of how many books are considered a bulk purchase (80 for independent stores). The YA author I mentioned above did use bulk purchases -- but she bought just 79 so she wouldn't be recorded as a "bulk" buy. Other bestsellers have used book laundering firms to do this dirty work for them.

4. People with money can still buy their way onto the list.

As was pointed out in the Observer, one author spent big money advertising his own book, hired people to buy it all across the US, and succeeded on making the list -- for one week. It was worth it to him -- he can forever call himself as a New York Times bestselling author -- and it may explain why odd selections have made the list.

So, what does this mean for librarians? Should we ignore bestseller lists?

No, they are still important. Many patrons do pay attention to bestselling lists and will want to check these books out. However, if you do find the bestsellers aren't circulating at your library (besides the books from the obvious popular authors), this may explain why!

Further Reading

Find this interesting and want to read more? Here are more articles!
The convoluted world of best-seller lists, explained
Scientists Decode What Makes a New York Times Bestseller
How To Get On The NY Times & Every Other Bestseller Book List

How Ask for Prize Donations

Summer Reading is approaching, and we are all hard at work planning programs and booking performers to come in. Now is also the perfect time to think about prizes - specifically, prize donations. Who do you ask? What do you even ask for? And how do you do it? For many of us, just the soliciting of donations can be awkward and stressful, and we may be tempted to skip it. But fear not, my friends! We are here to help.

Why Ask?

Budgets are tight everywhere. Even in the most well-off places, there's no good reason to spend money that doesn't need to be spent, and if you can stretch your budget and spend your programming money on other things, it's never a bad thing. In addition, reaching out to local businesses can provide valuable partnership opportunities in the future. Even if they are unable to donate prizes, you may be making contact with places that you can collaborate with later for programming. (Perhaps the local bakery doesn't want to give out free cupcake coupons, but may be interested in doing a cupcake decorating class in the future. You never know!)

Please note that this doesn't have to be just for the children's department, though it may be a good idea to have one point person for the library being the one to solicit, and prizes can be distributed to where they might be best used once they arrive.

Who to Ask?

Be creative! Local ice cream stands may give coupons for free cones; bowling alleys may give free games. A candy store once gave me a large supply of candy, which was given out to teens who won it on a scratch ticket. A local grocery store might donate bags of chips for a movie night. The possibilities are endless, and you never know what someone might have to offer until you speak with them. Savvy business owners will know that handing out a coupon for a free ice cream cone means that everyone else in the family will end up purchasing one.

While many chain stores may not be allowed by store policy to donate items, many also have donations written into their policies; I got a lovely assortment of food from Trader Joe's one year, because they had it in their rules that they could give it to us. (I believe the teens ate it at a movie night.) It never hurts to ask!

What to Do

I generally send a letter to each of the businesses I've selected, and include an addressed, stamped return envelope to make it easy for the businesses to reply. I also keep a spreadsheet of who I have asked and what their responses were, and what, if anything, they donated. In addition, I make sure to note in a press release and on promotional materials (if there's room) that "prizes have generously been donated by..." I have also printed out the logos of local businesses and hung them on a bulletin board in the children's room.

What to Say

Here's a sample letter that you can adapt to your needs.

[Business Name]
[Address]
[City, State, ZIP]

Dear General Manager,

My name is Miss Kat and I am the Children's Librarian at the Everytown Public Library. I am reaching out to you about the library's annual Summer Reading Program. I was hoping you would be willing to donate a prize for program participants.

The Summer Reading Program has been an annual tradition since the 1890s, and promotes literacy and a love of lifelong learning in children and teens. More recently, there are adult Summer Reading programs as well, so everyone can join the fun! This year, our theme is "A Universe of Stories," and we will be holding [large number of] programs for town residents.

In addition to helping us reward our library patrons, a donation would help promote your business and help foster a sense of community in Everytown. We would be happy to thank you publicly for your generosity, and promote your business at the same time.

Thank you so much for your time!

Sincerely,

Miss Kat
Everytown Public Library
[Contact Information]


⃞ Yes, I would love to donate a prize and I will contact you!
⃞ Yes, my prize is enclosed!
⃞ I would not like to or are unable to donate, but thank you for thinking of us!

Following Up

ALWAYS send a thank you note! Even if the answer is "no," it only costs you a stamp to be polite, and this can help foster goodwill future. A simple "thank you for your response!" can create a warm and fuzzy feeling that will last. I also stick a Summer Reading Program bookmark inside the note; some businesses hang up the card and the bookmark, and get brownie points from their customers for being so generous.

Storytime Basics

Whether you're working in the Children's Department, subbing in there for a vacation, or maybe just thinking about becoming a librarian someday, it's always a good idea to have some storytime basics in your pocket, just in case you need them.

Now, everyone does storytime differently, and your ideas may vary wildly from what I do -- and that's okay! These basics are here to give you a good jumping-off point, so you're not overwhelmed by the thought of having several small faces staring at you.

The Books

To theme, or not to theme? That is the question. The choice is yours; do you want all your books to be on the same topic, or just have a few books that you feel like reading that day? I've done it both ways, and it works both ways. Sometimes it's easier to pick out a book from the multitude of great options by deciding they all need to be about dinosaurs; sometimes you just really want to read some new ones you just learned about.

To read, or not to read? Some libraries have storytime that no longer has stories! Instead, it's songs, dancing, music, and maybe some storytelling via felt board. Do whatever works for you! Are children enjoying the library? Well, that's one of the main ideas.

When choosing books, I try to make sure they're not more than a sentence or two on a page for kids through preschool age. Many people use voices for different characters, but I am absolutely horrible at that, so I don't even try. I do, however, use facial expressions and emotions to react to what's going on in the story.

The Songs

Repeating the first and last songs of each storytime session helps children to recognize the patterns of the event. "Oh! We're singing 'If You're Happy and You Know It' so we must be getting started!" Interactive songs (with hand motions) are always a good way to get everyone involved in the program and ready to go. I usually start with "Mister Golden Sun," because it's just so cheerful.

I generally sing a song or two between each book. Some librarians have lyrics written out or printed on sheets; I used to do this, but now I generally sing one line of a song and have them repeat it back to me, and we go through the song that way, and then once all together.

You can add an extra element to your songs by introducing shaker eggs, scarves, or jingle bells. This is especially good if the kids are getting wiggly, as they encourage everyone to get up and dance!

If you don't feel comfortable singing, pull out a CD player or an iPod. There is no shame in getting help from the pros!

The Extras

In addition to books and songs, many storytimes also include some extra elements, such as finger-plays, puppets, and felt-board storytelling. Many also have a craft or coloring sheets at the end. At my current library, I inherited the Guess Box. It's a small box with a hole in the lid; I put something inside and the kids have to guess (without peeking or pulling it out) what is inside. They LOVE the Guess Box.

None of these are mandatory, and they're supposed to be fun, so if this just stresses you out, feel free to forego them.

The Basic format

Again, your mileage may vary, but I usually do:
- Opening song
- Book
- Next song
- Book
- Shaker egg song
- Extra (usually the Guess Box)
- Book
- Another song
- Closing song

Always read the longest book first and the shortest book (or the one with a gimmick - the pop-up or the one with sparkly pages) last, when their attention span is waning.

Different age groups

Any and all of these ideas can be adapted for different age groups. With younger children, you can use very short books or only songs and finger-plays, and include interactive bouncy rhythms. Older children can sing more complicated songs, understand longer books, and answer questions. (What color is this? Does he look happy?)

Pre-literacy skills

There are six basic pre-literacy skills that help the very young learn how to read. Some libraries and schools will talk to parents about them during storytime, or have them hanging in poster-form on the wall. Even if you're not doing this, or have never heard of them before, chances are that you're already encouraging them just by hosting a storytime. They are:

1. Vocabulary - Just by reading to children, you increase their vocabulary and reinforce words they have already learned.
2. Print motivation - Reading is fun! What better place to learn that than by enjoying a visit to the library?
3. Print awareness - Look at the words on this page! We can tell a story by reading them!
4. Narrative skills - Being able to tell things in sequence to tell a story. What happened first?
5. Letter knowledge - What letter is this? What sound does it make?
6. Phonological awareness - What sound does this letter make? What word rhymes with CAT? 

They're good to know! But if you don't want to start working them into your storytime, don't despair - you probably already do it.

Tips and Tricks

When dealing with a group where parents get very chatty, I usually start by saying, "Parents, please make sure your little ones are paying attention! Kids, please make sure your grown-ups have their listening ears on!" 

If the room gets wiggly and unruly, I usually use the Simon Says Trick:

Miss Kat Says put your hands on your belly!

Miss Kat Says put your hands on your nose!

Put your hands on your knees! Oooo - Miss Kat didn't say!

Miss Kat says put your fingers in front of your mouth and quietly blow - SHHHHHHH.

Great job! Let's keep going! 

Don't be afraid to just end the session early if you need to. Sometimes there's a day when nobody can sit still, nobody wants to pay attention, and it's just not working. If you've tried all your tricks and it's just A Day, feel free to say, "are we out of attention span for the day? Would we rather go play with the toys?" Remember - it's supposed to be FUN.

If you decide to ask questions about the story, make sure you keep them closed-ended ("what color is this?"), because some preschoolers will tell you a whole story if you let them. If nobody answers, just pretend they did ("that's right! It's BLUE!") and keep moving along.

Remember - if you mess up, nobody will care. Forget the words to a song? Laugh it off! Skip a page? Say, "whoops!" and keep going. Don't stress about it - this is supposed to be fun for you, too!

In Conclusion

We hope this helps any storytime newbies out there! We'd love to hear what works for you. Tell us here in the comments, on our Facebook page, or on Twitter.

2002: When Hate Came to Library Meeting Rooms

There has been a lot of talk about ALA's (previous) specification of including hate groups in meeting rooms. But while there has been a lot of focus on what could possibly happen if someone tries to hold a hate group meeting at the library, public librarian Lena Gluck pointed out on Twitter that we don't need to wonder - THIS has happened before. To multiple libraries. And she goes into detail about what exactly happened at each one.

With her permission, we've shared her Twitter Thread below. If you would like to see the articles citing these cases, you can check out Safer Library Spaces where they list the articles out and provide brief explanations of each. We also linked her points back to the corresponding source in the message below for your convenience.

Without further ado, let's let Lena Gluck jump us back to 2000-2002:

On the subject of #NoHateALA I want to bring attention to something. The explicit welcoming of hate groups in the meeting room interpretation was justified with cases where libraries were sued by white supremacists. The citations at the bottom of the (now rescinded) revision included cases where white supremacists tried to use library meeting rooms, were denied, sued libraries, & won. 

But what isn’t remarked upon anywhere is that these cases involved the same white supremacist group— They used to call themselves WCOTC and were led by a Nazi named Matt Hale - mentions classifies them as neo-Nazis and they are known for being extremely explicit in their calls for genocide, and enacting those calls through violent hate crime & homicide using public library meeting rooms to hold rallies was their signature tactic in the early 2000s. From 2000 to 2002 WCOTC held rallies in Bloomington Public Library, Schaumburg Township District Library, Wallingford Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Tabb Library, Martin Memorial Library, Baltimore County Public Library, & Lucius Beebe Memorial Library. Make no mistake, this was not a ‘controversial’ group holding quiet meetings, this was literal Nazis systematic co-opting libraries to terrorize communities. 

Schaumburg- one of the libraries whose case with Hale was cited in the ALA document- denied meeting room space because they feared literal *violence.* When Hale won his ‘free speech’ case against the library, he called it: “a great victory for our White Racist Cause.” 

Schaumburg, forced into letting Nazis use their meeting room, tried to protect their community by making them hold the meeting on a Saturday 2 hours after closing. Township officials brought in 250 police & spent $17,000 as a precaution. They were *scared*. The fear was with good reason. York Daily Record reported: “Streets surrounding [Martin Memorial] were barricaded & hundreds of police in riot gear turned out. Police snipers were stationed on roofs overlooking the area authorities feared could soon become a war zone.”

Mark Bray writes in 'Antifa' about how antiracist activists worked with local kids of color to go around the police to reach the fascists as they were leaving the library. One Nazi drove through the crowd of protesters in a pick-up truck— 15yrs before Charlottesville.

Local news reported a young girl was taken to the hospital by ambulance and that a Nazi skinhead pulled a gun on antiracist protesters. Twenty-five people were arrested. Picture living in this neighborhood and the trauma this meeting room reservation caused.
In Tabb, WCOTC had a two-hour long rally in the library meeting room while they were guarded by 170 police officers with riot gear. The entire library had to close and police wouldn’t allow parking within a mile of the library.

Think about this in material terms— to let Nazis use the meeting room, the city spent thousands of dollars and closed the entire library, shut down roads. So, Nazis were prioritized over every other member of the community who needed library service/materials that day. 

This is what it looks like when we prioritize Nazi speech— it looks like denying everyone else’s speech. It looks like silencing and kicking out PoC and Jewish folks. That’s how fascism works on a basic material level, and it’s intentional.

Wakefield Library drew a direct connection between their own experience with this group in 2002 to the well-publicized Charlottesville rally of 2017. Ann McGonigle Santos, a member of the Board said, "Their racist chants, Nazi salutes and messages of hate are remembered by all who were there to witness it... We’re still fighting this fight. And to not have a national leadership that is embracing the fight that our little town of Wakefield did in 2002 is also shocking."

The only reason this didn’t continue beyond 2002 is because Matt Hale got a 40 year sentence for plotting to assassinate a federal judge towards the end of that year. The US judge who gave the sentence was quoted saying: "I consider Mr. Hale to be extremely dangerous."

PoC & Jewish folks in all the communities he terrorized KNEW he was extremely dangerous. Libraries KNEW he was extremely dangerous. Libraries tried to protect their communities and when they were stripped of their ability to, communities were forced to defended themselves.

So when someone argues that public librarians must allow fascists to use our meeting rooms, know that these are the cases they’re referring to. And know that this argument is the exact same one made to deny libraries any agency in protecting their neighborhoods.
It IS important to reference these cases, because it was an absolutely horrific campaign of violence orchestrated within library buildings. But we have a moral obligation to find ways to DEFEND & SUPPORT our libraries, not contribute to their powerlessness in this fight.

We need to pour energy into legally and materially defending public libraries who stand up to dangerous fascist organizers to protect their communities. NOT pour energy into spinning our wheels talking about "slippery slope" hypotheticals. We don’t need to talk about hypotheticals- we need to talk about the material reality of librarians being rendered powerless to protect their communities & communities being traumatized by homicidal fascists. This isn’t a debate about Intellectual Freedom in the abstract this is the decision between supporting public librarians or hanging them out to dry when Nazis come to town. We are talking about the direction of our field as a whole, whether or not we will collectively stand in solidarity with individual libraries who take a stand.

Do we support librarians and communities who fight even in the face of a legal system who won’t consider a fascist “extremely dangerous” until he threatens to kill a judge (after decades of explicitly of threatening to kill Black & Jewish people)? Or do we abandon them? That is the question antiracist librarians are asking of ALA. That is the question that will be answered in the new revision of the meeting room interpretation.

It is scary to think this could happen again, just 16 years later. Have you checked your library's meeting room policy? Now is the time to evaluate it and see if you can make your library safer, before someone makes a request. (You can visit Safer Library Spaces for examples of how you can do this.) Let's learn from history instead of watching it repeat itself.

To Clean or Not To Clean: The Library Book Question

Recently shared on Facebook is a fascinating video of a library cleaning every item returned to the Children's Department. I watched it in awe - wow, who has the time and staff to do all of that cleaning? (Here's the video, if you would like to see it.)

But what a great idea! If you don't have the staff, it would be a good volunteer project. It doesn't require many resources, just half water/half rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and reusable towels. Squeaky clean books will make any collection much more attractive. And viruses can last on books (especially the plastic covers) for days, depending on what virus it is.

It isn't surprising to see someone bring their kid too sick for school to the library... And, being a parent of young kids, I am learning that kids can be contagious *before* symptoms appear. In my house, we dodged the Flu, but succumbed to Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. So, even being a responsible guardian, sometimes, you just don't know.

Another area that I wonder about -- if your library has a play area with toys, how often do you clean it? I thought when I had kids, I would be visiting the play area every rainy day. Now, I actively avoid it during flu season. (If you don't wash the toys often, please, please, please offer a "To Wash" bucket where parents can put toys that their little ones have put into their mouthes to be washed.) Another idea to simplify the process is to buy a UV cabinet (or UV wand) and use the light to sterilize the toys.

Ah, the library... Where you can get books, movies, and viruses for free! Just kidding. Actually, according to this article from Mental Floss, while books do hold minuscule amounts of viruses, the risk of patrons getting infected is very low. So, no guilt if you don't clean!

7 Ways Libraries Can Go Green

How green is your library? Everyone knows where you can recycle old books that don't sell at the Friends' book sale, but what about the other items at your library? With Earth Day just around the corner, we thought it'd be a good time to explore different ways to keep your library's junk out of landfills:

Recycle Bins

Does your library have recycle bins for paper and plastics for patrons as well as staff? If you allow patrons to drink in your library, where can they put their empty bottles? It might be a great volunteer program for your teens to empty the bottle bin and bring back the cash for teen programming. Or, maybe you can make a community connection and invite in a group (like the local Boy Scouts) to empty the bin monthly and they can keep the money.

Recycle Your Electronics and Batteries

There's a long list of electronics that you can recycle from computer speakers and printers to gaming consoles and handhelds at Staples. Also, if you are collecting a lot of dead batteries with your many electronics, you can drop them off at these places as well or find a drop-off location at call2recycle.org.

Give Back Box

Amazon and other retailers have joined the Give Back Box where you can use their boxes (or any box) and ship for free (no weight limit when using UPS!) to local charities. This may be your perfect program for items donated to the library that you cannot use and, for the Teen and Children's Librarians, any programming materials that you know you won't use anymore. (An old tea set? Costumes?)

Unusable Toys and Other Big Stuff

TerraCycle has lots of free programs for you to recycle non-organic and non-hazardous waste. If you don't have time to separate your stuff out, you may be interested in buying a generic box and just recycle everything together. It isn't free, but it'll do the environment good! It could also make a great annual program to open to the community -- asking them to drop off unusable toys and you'll send them off to be recycled. Another option is to collect your broken electronics and wait for your community's electronics recycling day.

Try to Avoid Crayons for Art Projects

Washable Markers and Paints on paper are recycleable, but crayons are not. If you do have crayons, you can get rid of your small pieces by sending them to The Crayon Initiative (thecrayoninitiative.org), or you can melt them together and make new crayons.

Recycle Lost & Found Phones

Find lots of phones at your library that no one is claiming? You can mail them to Smartphone Recycling and make some money! You do need at least 10 phones in your shipment box, but this may be a great opportunity to ask staff if they want to participate as well (or open it up to the community as a fundraiser for the library). You can earn up to $350 per phone and they do accept Lost & Found Phones. If you don't have 10 phones to send in, you can donate them to the Operation Gratitude program which supports U.S. Troops.

Buy/Use Green Products

Decrease your battery waste by buying rechargeable batteries. Make sure the librarians who shop for library programs and events are using reusable bags and not collecting plastic bags (Bonus points if the reusable bags advertise the library!). If that doesn't work, designate a place to collect plastic bags and assign someone to recycle them at any grocery store.

Programming Librarian: Spend $$ Wisely With New Tool Fakespot!

We are really excited today to talk about a new online tool, Fakespot. If there could be a librarian for Amazon reviews, Fakespot would be it.

It is the perfect website for anyone who has to purchase an unfamiliar product. It doesn't matter if it is craft supplies for a library program or a new vacuum for the staff room- Fakespot will evaluate the reviews for free! Fakespot won't tell you which is the best - you will need to pick out your favorites first - but afterwards you can analyze their reviews through Fakespot to double check their authenticity.

It is so easy to use. Just go to Amazon and look up the product you want to buy. Let's say you want to buy a cell phone charging station for your reading area. Amazon has over 50,000 results! What charging station to choose?

On the first page, you can find three of them with 4.5 stars, all over 100 reviews. Let's see if they are comparable. Just copy Amazon's URL for the product and paste it into Fakespot's search bar:

Fakespot will give you a grade (rating the *Reviews*, not the Product), analysis overview, reviews summary, review count, and price track. And, lo and behold, they all rated differently (double click image to make it larger):

So, now your decision is easy! Best go for the middle price point and order the last one.

If you don't want to do that much research, you can use their "Find Me Similar Products" feature and they'll bring you to the ones with good reviewer grades. It is located in the exclamation point section.

Fakespot is best for products with lots of reviews (more potential to find fake reviews there than one with just a handful). They only work for Amazon (and a few other websites that are non-library related), BUT even if your library doesn't order from Amazon, it is very likely that your store's products are also on Amazon. Research first, then buy!

Of course, as we all know, automated evaluation programs aren't perfect. So, take their results with a grain of salt and use your judgment. However, they are certainly helpful with making decisions if you aren't sure... And in this day and age with so much fake hype going around, having a truth detector is very handy.

Happy shopping!

8 Lessons Learned from the 2017 Eclipse

Last August, the hottest topic of discussion in the library world revolved around the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse. For many librarians, this was the first time that they held a library program connected to it and handed out special glasses to safely view the natural phenomenon. Now that we have survived this experience, it is time to take a step back and see how it went.

Mostly because, if you are in North America, another one is coming on April 8, 2024. Right in the middle of tax time, yippee! And for our international librarians, partial Solar Eclipses are coming in 2018 for South America, Antarctica, and Australia. The next total solar eclipse is coming July 2, 2019 for southern North America and South America.

So, what do we know now that we didn't know before that we can share with future librarians?

1. It Was Wildly Popular

When word got out that libraries had free solar glasses, libraries were inundated with phone calls and visits. (And, unfortunately, this was inaccurate information. Not all libraries had solar glasses.) Hundreds of people turned up at viewing parties. People were lining up HOURS early for the viewing program. It didn't matter to people if they were in an area with full coverage or partial coverage, this was a popular program all across the U.S. Many libraries were caught off guard when a surge of interest in the glasses appeared two weeks before the event. (However, it might be important to note that this year's solar eclipse was during summer vacation for most students. Many families made a special day of it and parents/care givers took off work to experience this special event together. If school was in session, I wonder how many parents would have kept their kids home.)

2. Desperation for the Glasses

It wasn't uncommon for libraries to receive over 100 phone calls in one hour asking about the glasses. Some patrons got ugly when libraries ran out or wouldn't hand out glasses earlier than the viewing event. There were bangs on windows trying to get staff attention when libraries weren't open to the public just to double check they were out. Some libraries asked for a $1 donation if they had paid for the glasses and people were willing to do that. This may have also worked as a Friends fundraiser for the libraries who can't charge or ask for donations.

3. Where did the glasses come from?

Some libraries were able to get grants for the glasses and bought their own from these reputable dealers. (Be wary about Amazon -- a few libraries were told the glasses they ordered couldn't be verified to be legitimate so their order was automatically cancelled.) Star_Net also gave out 2 million free glasses (and 4,000 educational kits) to over 7,000 libraries.

4. Might be a Great Way to Get People Back to Libraries

Some libraries required registration to participate to the viewing event and receive solar glasses. Others only handed out glasses to those with a library card. Many didn't require anything at all... So many pros and cons to each one. One county with four branches had 1,000 glasses. They only handed them out to card holders, so they issued 70 new cards, 7 reissued cards, and brought in $200 in fines. This event could have been played as a great registration drive the month up to the big day... Of course, if you only have a small amount of glasses, it may not be worth all the effort of requiring registration. Some libraries held an eclipse event/presentation a week or two early and handed out the glasses then to avoid the mad rush of people at once.

5. Sharing Worked Well

People were happy to share glasses! In fact, most people didn't stare at the eclipse the whole time, so it makes sense to stretch your glasses supply and only give out 1-2 per family (more if the family is larger), etc. And many people did share at the viewing parties, so don't feel like you need to limit attendance to how many glasses you have.

6. Lots of Waiting

While the whole event happened over a few hours, there wasn't a lot of exciting things going on. You might want to encourage your patrons to bring chairs, blankets, and picnic lunches to help pass the time. This is also a great time for patrons to make pinhole projects, use a colander, wrapping paper tube viewer, and hear a presentation on eclipses. Some libraries tried to show live streams of the event on the NASA website which worked well for some, kept buffering for others, and, for a small amount, it didn't work at all. Some have found NASA's Facebook page supported the traffic much better than their website. One library gave out moon pies and Sunny D. Another library collaborated with the local Boy Scout troop who came to the library viewing event with their telescopes with special solar filters so patrons could look directly at the sun.

7. What to do with the old glasses?

There were so many things libraries could do with the old glasses. According to NASA, the ISO 12312-2 safety standard compliant glasses last forever if they aren't scratched, punctured, or torn. So, libraries could have collected the glasses back and saved them for a future eclipse. Or, they could have donated them to the Astronomers Without Borders who would send them to another country to be reused. For the ones that were damaged, the filters can be popped out and the frames recycled. Filters can be recycled as camera film, so you can contact a local camera shop.

8. What changes would librarians make for future events?

A) The clear response across the board was buying a whole lot more solar eclipse glasses - double to 5x the amount you expect. Again, this might not be wise if your solar eclipse is held during school hours, but this could also be a great opportunity to collaborate with schools.

B) People also talked about limiting glasses to only a few per family since it was easy for everyone to share. Others planned to keep more glasses on hand for their event since many people were willing to come to the viewing event.

C) There were also suggestions of getting porta-potties, offering food, telling patrons to bring their own chairs/blankets, and planning more events during the program.

D) The media also didn't always give out the correct information, so make sure to keep them updated with how your library is participating. If you are part of a library network, it might lessen confusion if you all agree to start handing out glasses on the same day, etc.

E) There are disagreements about whether or not a library card should be required to get the solar glasses. This will have to be for each individual library to decide. Some people felt it was a success just getting new people to walk into the library but others felt that it was a missed opportunity to get people to become patrons. (Some libraries were dismayed to learn people had driven long distances to visit them and get glasses because their own library was out or never had any.) One library not only made it a requirement to have a library card, but required that they checked out at least 5 items to earn their free pair of glasses.

F) Lastly, while the weeks leading up to the event might be insane, the day of the event has been very rewarding to many librarians. Coming together as a community to learn and witness a natural phenomenon was an amazing experience.

Please note: 

Many of the specific situations cited in the post above came from Facebook Discussions here and here last August. If your library participated, what did you learn from the experience?

Creative Ways to Handle Fines

We're here today to talk about overdue fines, which can be a surprisingly divisive issue. I've worked in a few different library systems, and every system (heck, every library!) deals with fines differently. In some libraries, having even $0.25 in fines can result in a blocked library card; others will have a cap (one place I worked had the cap at $30, another at only $5), at which point you can no longer borrow items or use online systems. Some places don't have fines at all, which can cause some issues in and of itself (such as, a patron having a book out for months at a time and not feeling the need to return it).

The pros of having fines:

• Incentive to bring books and other materials back in a timely manner.
• Raising money for library services (sometimes).

The cons:

• It causes unnecessary stress on library patrons and staff.
• Patrons with very overdue books know they owe money, and won't return to the library because they either don't want to or can't pay the fines, or they're embarrassed about money owed.
• Some libraries don't even get their own fine money - it goes to the town. (In one library where I worked, the director would have to go to Town Meeting every year and ask for the fine money back, and would hopefully be granted a "special one-time money transfer" for the funds.) 

Okay. So, that's what we have going on. It's not a perfect system, but it works fairly well. BUT - is there a better way? Some libraries have creative ways of dealing with fines. Perhaps one of these could work for you!

These might be an easier sell to your Director and Trustees if your library doesn't get the collected fine money anyway, but just the act of getting patrons back into your library could be a huge selling point. (Of course, these only apply to overdue fines, and not lost book replacement costs.)

Creative Ways to Handle Fines

Amnesty Day/Week/Month - Some libraries will have Amnesty/Forgiveness during certain times of year - usually the first week of summer vacation, or around New Year's. Bring your items back and, no matter how overdue they are, they will be checked in without fines. I used to work in a library that had Fine Free Wednesdays every single week, and let me tell you, it brought in tons of people who hadn't been to the library in far too long - sometimes years! Since it was all checked in fine free, there was no issue with being embarrassed, because we wouldn't even know how overdue the items were. Plus, Wednesdays went from our slowest days, to our busiest!

Food for Fines - Often done for a week or sometimes the entire month of December. Patrons bring in food/non-perishable items for the local food pantry or homeless shelter, and we waive any fines that have accrued on their account (or, in some libraries, clear $1 off for every food item). I've also seen this done in partnership with animal shelters, with donations of canned cat and dog food.

No Fines for Special Populations - Fines will accrue on items until they are returned, and then they will be waived for whichever people qualify. I've seen this done for senior citizens, children under 12, military service members and veterans, and patrons with special needs.

No Fines at All - As above, fines will accrue on patron accounts until materials are returned. This prohibits people from keeping items indefinitely, because if an item reaches "Lost" status or the fine cap, they can no longer use library services until materials are returned - at which point, all fines are forgiven.

Fines Waived After a Certain Time - I haven't seen too many libraries do this, but there are some out there in which fines will be cleared after a certain time - generally a few years, so a book that was checked out to a 6 year old will no longer be on their account when they are in high school.

Work It Off - Some libraries will take volunteer time in lieu of payment for fines. This can be problematic for libraries, because we prefer our volunteers to make a commitment to keep coming back for a certain amount of time (at least a year), and because they need to be trained before they can work/shelve for us. However, if a teen patron wants to work off fines they accrued by cutting out shapes for storytime crafts, this may be a good work-around.

Read It Off - In some libraries, children under 12 can reduce their fines by reading (usually $1 waived per hour read) - but they have to be reading while in the library for it to count.

We'd love to hear some ideas that work for your libraries. Please let us know in the comments here, on our Twitter page, or on Facebook.

So, You Want to Be a Consulting and Training Services Director for Libraries

This week, we have a guest writer, Sarah Sogigian who is the CATS (Consulting and Training Services) Director at the Massachusetts Library System. We asked her to share with our readers what it is like to be a CATS Director and impart any tips for those interested in pursuing a similar career path. Without further ado, here's her response:

When I started working in libraries over 20 years ago, never did I think either of these words would be in a title of a position I would hold: CATS (Consulting and Training Services) and Director. I don’t like cats. And I never aspired to be a library director. So how did I end up here? Good question. Looking back on my career path, I’ve had the opportunity to learn and apply all sorts of great opportunities, some of which I admit I didn’t realize at the time how lucky I was to have. Hindsight provides a great lens for perspective.

Background

My dream library jobs include being a librarian at the Herrick Film Library, an Event Planner at the Boston Public Library, and a cruise ship librarian. But I’m very happy where I have landed. I’ve been building my career since my first job as a Page at the Shrewsbury Public Library. After being a Circ Assistant, ILL Librarian, and Electronic Resources Librarian, I finally found the position I thought I was born to do till retirement: Young Adult Librarian. Turns out, I was born to do it for 4 years. I moved on and became the Youth Services Consultant at the Metrowest and Boston Regional Library Systems. My role at MLS started with the Great Regional Consolidation of 2010, as a Youth Services Advisor, then after 5 or so years, I applied and was promoted to the position I currently hold, supervising 7 full time and 1 part time staff members. Our super fabulous team creates the consulting and professional development services MLS provides to our 1,600 member libraries.

Key Roles

The biggest parts of my job include things I have always enjoyed doing: Learning from others, sharing my knowledge, organization, writing on walls, laughing, and including as many Buffy the Vampire Slayer references as I can. I try to approach everything I do with these key ingredients. I often plan and lead trainings internally for MLS staff, and a training is much more enjoyable if you use post it notes and write on the walls or use a Buffy MadLibs to demonstrate facilitation techniques.

Goal Setting

Goal setting is a big part of my ongoing planning…I can’t do anything without goals! Whether you supervise others or just want to give yourself a road to follow, goal setting will provide you with that line. When your mind begins to wander and you begin to feel overwhelmed, you have a compass to guide you back. It’s critical to your success and your library’s success. If you are unsure of where to begin, look to your library’s strategic plan. Base your goals off of what your library’s goals are. No need to be super specific; you can always adjust your goals and how you will accomplish them as you go. Leave room for things you can’t control.

When to Say No... And Yes

Another tip that took me a long time to understand is when to say no…and yes. It’s ok to say both! Stress can be very real and often we have the power to keep it at bay. Sometimes saying no to something you can’t take on at this moment is ok. But don’t forget to say yes, too! Saying yes to new opportunities helps you develop and keeps the dreaded work plateau at bay. Saying yes is what helps define your career path. And be ready to share your skills with some professional positions like committee work, elected positions, or volunteer opportunities. Sounds contradictory to saying no, doesn’t it? It’s really about knowing your personal limitations and aspirations.

Being a Supervisor

If you find yourself saying “it’s not my job”, then a supervisory role may not be for you. In the end, everything is your job. You are responsible for those you supervise and the work they do. To be a good manager or director, you’ll need to work with your team, not establish lines of them vs you. Some people feel once they get to a certain level or job title, that they can wipe their hands of old work and move on. For me, it’s not about doing the old work, but understanding it and remembering how the work impacts your team and your public. From there, you can build a service that positively impacts your library, your public, and your staff.

Finally, don’t feel there is a time where you will be “ready” for a supervisory role. You’ll never be ready and even if you are, there may not be a job open. If you are nervous and excited, it’s the time to apply. Learn as much as you can about what will be expected of you, but be ready to work and learn for others, including your staff. You’ll need their support as much as they will need yours.


Sarah Sogigian
Consulting and Training Services Director
Massachusetts Library System
508-357-2121 x311
sarah@masslibsystem.org
@sarahatmls

---------------

Thank you to Sarah for her guidance and expertise! If you enjoyed this post, check out the rest in our "So You Want to Be a Librarian" series:

So You Want To Be a Teen Librarian
So You Want To Be a Reference Librarian
So You Want To Be a Children's Librarian
So You Want To Be a Children's Librarian: Programming and Events

Program Planning: Walk-In, Registration, or 1 Hour Early Tickets?

So, you have planned this fantastic program. Maybe you are running it yourself, maybe you hired someone highly recommended... Either way, you think that it could be a hit and you are dreaming of a full house.

But what to do next? Should you require registration or just allow walk-ins? Should you hand out tickets an hour before the event? We look at all three of these options and give you the low down on the pros and cons, as well as share a fourth technique you don't hear about often. (This post was inspired from the YA-YAAC listserv, which we highly recommend to youth and teen librarians!)

Walk-In

The easiest way to handle program attendees. You advertise the event and anyone is allowed to attend. No sign-up necessary.

Pros:

1. Patrons don't need to register ahead of time.
2. No need to keep track of who is signing up and who is wait listed.
3. You don't get no-shows!
4. People who couldn't commit to the date early won't be discouraged from coming the day of.

Cons:

1. You have no idea how many people to expect to come.
2. Hard to plan material needs. Might have bought too much or too little, wasting funds or requiring rushed trips to the store during the program.

Registration

Many libraries require registration for their programs. Patrons need to sign-up ahead of time (either by contacting the library who has a paper sign-up form or online via a program like Eventkeeper) until space runs out. 

Pros: 

1. You will know how many people to expect at the program. If not enough register, it is easy to make the call to cancel the program. You will also be able to spend the appropriate amount of money on supplies.
2. You don't have to open the registration right away. Some libraries prefer to wait either two weeks before the event or the Friday before and then open registration.
3. You can easily  keep track of the no-shows. If certain patrons keep registering but not attending, you can mentally count them out or make it a policy that three no-shows means they can't register anymore.

Cons:

1. Some communities refuse to register but still come for the program. If you find that program attendance is higher for non-register programs, you might want to go that route.
2. No-shows. Not everyone who signs up will actually come. A few ways you can remedy this: 
1. Opening registration really close to the program date (2 weeks before or the Friday before) can help decrease the odds of no-shows.
2. Or, if you see a pattern, you could register 20% over capacity, knowing that you'll never be 100% full.
3. Another option is to require a $5 deposit when people register to dissuade anyone who isn't willing to commit from signing up. At the program, you can return their $5.
3. What to do about late patrons? Should they be allowed in after 30 minutes? Should they lose their spot after 10 minutes? Make sure this is written in your advertisement.

The Big Question for Registration: Wait List or No Wait List?

When registration space is filled, some libraries allow patrons to sign-up onto a Wait List. When people cancel, the librarian will contact those on the list and offer them the coveted spot.

Pros: 

1. It allows you to not have to officially turn anyone away. A spot may open up!
2. If you see many names on the Wait List, you could make a second session and offer it to them.

Cons:

1. It is labor intensive. If someone cancels and you call the first person on the Wait List, what do you do if they don't answer the phone? Keep calling people or leave a message? What if the cancellation is a few minutes before the event, do you make phone calls then? Is it worth your time to do that?
2. It also complicates things when it comes to those who came to the event but did not register. They are willing to wait for openings, but should they be given the opportunity if they didn't join the Wait List?

1 Hour Early Tickets

Instead of requiring people to register, you can tell them to come to the library an hour early to get a ticket. Once tickets run out, they are out of luck.

Pros:

1. Everyone who gets a ticket will hang around, so you will not have any no-shows.
2. Because they have to come early, this gives them an opportunity to walk around your library, hopefully check out a few items or see how cool the Children's Area is!

Cons:

1. It'll be a bit crazy the hour before the program as everyone comes for a ticket at the same time. This can be managed, though, with careful planning. Maybe you'll want someone at the door to hand out tickets instead of letting a line form in front of the check-out desk? 
2. You'll have an influx of people hanging out at the library, which may not be ideal if your library doesn't have the space for people to wait. If you do have the space, maybe plan a few passive activities to keep the kids entertained?

Targeted Registration 

This is something I had done at my previous library that worked well. I used a Google Form for Summer Reading Registration, and after all of the usual questions, I listed all of the programs and asked them to mark which ones they might be interested in. Then, a week before the program, we emailed only the patrons who had shown interest to tell them that registration is now open. 

 Pros: 

1. Find out people's interest in your programs right away. We found the responses were a good guide for how popular the program would be... And if there weren't a lot of interest in a program, it was best to cancel it.
2. Allows you to target your advertising to only those interested so you don't become "noise" to the patrons and they start ignoring your emails.
3. People are more likely to follow through with attending when they register close to the date.

Cons:

1. Can be time intensive. We had weekly programs, so we had to send out specific emails every week.
2. Harder to buy materials ahead of time since you open registration close to the program (though you could open registration two weeks early to prevent that).
3. We had to create our own form on Google Forms since none of the big Summer Reading programs offered this option for listing programs. It was easy to make, though, and easy for us to later group emails together by interest.
4. It may not work for Summer Reading, if you want them to use an official Summer Reading program like Wandoo Reader. (Who would sign up twice?) It worked for us because we used our homemade Scratch Tickets program.

Do you have any other suggestions on this topic? We'd love to hear them in the comments! Unfortunately, there is no one right answer. Try them all out and see what works best for your community. It might be a combination. The good news: you have options!

7 Tips for the Newbie Library Director

Congratulations, you have landed the coveted role as a Library Director! But what to do now? This was a question posted on ALATT Facebook Group, and there were so many great responses, we thought we'd record them below so they would not be lost in the black hole of the internet.

1. Find Mentors

Reach out to other directors in the area. They will make a great sounding board and resource.

2. Interact with All Staff

Don't hide in your office. Meet with all staff members, not just your supervisors. Work with staff on the desk and out in the stacks. Find out what their strengths and weaknesses are. Give them opportunities to shine and ask for feedback. Help them re-tailor their jobs so they can love it as much as they can. Make sure to establish clear boundaries between boss and friends (No Facebook!).

3. Support Staff

Attend staff programs so they know you care and patrons can also interact with you, too. Ask questions about their workflow. Every library does things differently and there's usually something that can be improved. Ask them what their biggest challenges are and find ways to help them through them.

4. Reach Out to the Community

Create community contacts (PTO/PTA,Chamber of Commerce, Women in Business, United Way, Lion's Club, EDC, etc.) for possible donations, supporters, etc. Attend all meetings so they can become familiar with the library and you get to learn more about your community. This will help with knowing who's who in your community and for collection development and program planning.

5. Read, Read, Read

Read the minutes from previous board meetings. Read the Trustee manual, internal procedures, State and Federal laws, flowcharts, who's who in the internal and external environment, history of your library/library system, human resources files: the resumés of your people, if you have a person covered by ADA in your staff and so on. Learn the HR rules in your state.

6. Remember:

• There is very little that you can do which cannot be fixed. It might take time and money, but they can be remedied. So, don't worry about mistakes!
• Treat your first year as your learning year. Listen, watch, assess, then take action.
• Morale is your number one asset. Treasure it, nurture it, do not let an individual destroy a team. 
• You don't have to fake it to make it. Just act as what you think a dynamic holder of the position would look and plan to grow into that full role.
  

7. Visit the Library Directors' website

Lastly, you can connect with a broader group of library directors through the http://www.librarydirectors.org/. Join the listserv, check out their long list of resources, and more! If you are active on Facebook, you can also join the Library Management Group.

Do you have any tips for new directors? Please share below.

Like this article? Check out:

Management 101: What to Be & What to Do
Management 101: A Manager Should Not, A Manager Should Know, A Manager Should Remember

18 Excellent Podcasts for Librarians

Podcasts are the perfect companion to the busy librarian! They are useful for anyone who has a commute, many chores to do around the house, walk dogs, or engage in exercise, which we are assuming covers most of our readers. Podcasts are like talk shows or stories, that appear consistently (weekly to monthly) on your phone. (I use Podcast Addict and have them automatically downloaded as they are released so I don't use wifi while away from home. They autodelete after I listen to them.) Then, when you are out and about, you can easily play an episode and enjoy life a little bit more.

There are a million great podcasts out there (just check out the responses to this one Facebook post!) but we decided to highlight the podcasts which talk about library news and books. Maybe you'll find a new favorite!

Adventures in YA

Kristin and Sara talk about YA books in this fun and informative young adult literature podcast.

Better Library Leaders

Better Library Leaders is a podcast, blog, and Facebook community designed to explore the elements of great libraries and great library leaders. Sarah provides helpful tips, insightful interviews, and other resources that will help you make your career and your library the best they can be.

Beyond the Stacks

A podcast exploring interesting and unexpected career paths for librarians and information professionals.

Book Club for Masochists

Library staff discussing books they read that they hate. Every month, they randomly select a genre and choose a book to read and share on the podcast.

Book Riot - the Podcast

A weekly news and talk show about what's new, cool, and worth talking about in the world of books and reading, brought to you by the editors of Book Riot.

You may also want to check out their "All the Books" which is a weekly show of recommendations and discussions on new book releases and "Get Booked" which is a weekly show of custom book recommendations.




Circulating Ideas

Circulating Ideas facilitates conversations about the innovative people & ideas allowing libraries to thrive in the 21st century.

CYA Podcast

The CYA Podcast Blog is a review site for librarians by librarians who serve youth by librarians. Books are chosen by the reviewers and will be discussed on the podcast.

Cyberpunk Librarian

Daniel Messer, the Cyberpunk Librarian, talks about ideas, trends, and cool stuff for technologically minded librarians who are high tech and low budget,









Dewey Decibel

Dewey Decibel is a new podcast series from American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association. Each month, your host and American Libraries Associate Editor Phil Morehart will be your guide to conversations with librarians, authors, thinkers, and scholars about topics from the library world and beyond.








FYI: the Public Libraries Podcast

Public Library Association's Manager of Publications, Kathleen Hughes, interviews different people in public libraries on a specific topic like bed bugs, unprogramming, and special library initiatives.

Ladies Who Library

Lady librarians who talk about their experiences in the library and the books they read.

The Librarian is In

The New York Public Library’s podcast about books, culture, and what to read next.

LibUX

Michael Schofield and Amanda L. Goodman talk design, development, and the user experience in libraries and higher-ed web.

Professional Book Nerds

We're not just book nerds: we're professional book nerds and the staff librarians who work at OverDrive, the leading app for eBooks and audiobooks available through public libraries and schools. Hear about the best books we've read, get personalized recommendations, and learn about the hottest books coming out that we can't wait to dive into.

Reading Envy

A podcast where Jenny talks about the books she's been reading and brings in other readers to do the same.

Smart Podcast, Trashy Books

Sarah from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books interviews romance authors and guests from the romance community, and discusses serious issues that appear in romance lit in a fun way. Lots of book recommendations are included, too, mostly romance and suspense but other genres are periodically mentioned.

Withdrawn

Two boring librarians making libraries less boring.

The Worst Bestsellers

Worst Bestsellers is a podcast where Kait, Renata, and a guest talk about popular books of questionable quality. It’s kind of like How Did This Get Made? or Mystery Science Theater 3000, but for books. Their fabulous tag line is: We read stuff so you don't have to.







Do you know of any other library or book podcasts? Please share them in the comments below!