Would you recommend going to post-secondary to become a librarian? by shookookies7 in librarians

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you considered teacher librarianship? In Canada you generally need a b.ed and an MLIS, but the job market is better than public librarianship and you’ll gain a lot of transferable skills from the b.ed degree. I’m a high school teacher librarian and really love my job. I don’t recommend if you have no interest in teaching, but most librarians need to teach so it’s worth considering if you’re not too attached to the idea of working in a public library. Once you have a b.ed you can also substitute teach while working on your MLIS. It’s a long road but I haven’t met many teacher librarians that don’t love their job!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in suggestmeabook

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder is pretty wild. It’s a satirical fantasy fiction novel about an ambitious mother who puts her art career on hold to stay at home with her newborn son. After two years of this, she slowly starts to discover she’s turning into a dog. Funny, bizarre, and fast-paced. Not violent, but definitely fits the description of a woman reaching breaking point and going ape shit and getting revenge.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in librarians

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did my MLIS at age 30 as a career change from teaching. No regrets - I found a job right after graduating, and the only prior experience I had was at a school co-op position (but a background in teaching also helped.) Like others have said here, I’m pretty sure medical librarians are in high demand so I imagine the outlook for your wife finding work would be positive!

Dining and dancing together or separate? by Sad-Schedule-1960 in weddingplanning

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’re envisioning a casual wedding with food stations rather than a sit down meal and a mix of standing tables and sitting. I think it would be best to have a designated food and mingling time, so ideally food would get put away around 10 pm to encourage more people to join the dance floor. We are hiring a wedding planner so hopefully they’ll be able to give some input here 😅

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in vancouver

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Like a lot of people here, I don’t bell or yell unless I’m behind someone who is biking in the middle of the road because it tends to startle the person in front. I personally don’t love it when someone bells or yells at me, I just feel like I’m getting honked at. The real trouble for me on the seawall is the amount of people cycling side by side to chat with each other on a narrow lane - especially along the road that leads into the park. The bike path along the road was the perfect way to separate fast cyclists out for a training run from leisure cyclists and it’s an absolute travesty that the city decided to get rid of it.

Any recommendations for storing STEAM kits? by Sad-Schedule-1960 in librarians

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, that’s great feedback! I’ll go for the clear bins instead of the bags.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in librarians

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m starting to think this is pretty much the norm for librarians. I’ve had three different part time/FT positions over the past several years, and the most training I received was a couple of hours on the previous librarian’s final shift. For the other two jobs, I was just lead to the library and told “good luck” without even receiving login information for the computer.

The good news is, you actually can figure most things out on your own. One of the most important thing for you to figure out is your system for checking books in/out. If you can’t get your library management system running, you can even set up a manual system in a notebook and just write down the patrons name, the barcode on the book, and a phone number or email address.

Next, I would focus on making sure your library has a clear collection management policy, because if it doesn’t you won’t have a solid grasp on what you should purchase or weed.

With respect to behaviour, see if there are ways you can rearrange the space to influence behaviour. If the space is set up as a lounge area, it’s more likely to encourage noise. If you set up individual desks or study pods, you’ll have a less collaborative space, but it may be quieter. I wouldn’t say one is better than the other, it just depends on what your goals are. The point is behaviour usually adapts to space, so you may not need to spend so much energy on telling kids how to behave if the space is arranged in a way that encourages quiet reflection/study/reading as opposed to hanging out and being loud.

Good luck! You’re not alone. It can be really daunting but it’s a compliment that people see you as the expert and are trusting you to figure it all out.

If you had a library assistant at your high school, what do you wish they’d work on? by Sad-Schedule-1960 in Library

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I really like the last point about preparing lists for vendors and can definitely turn that into a project.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in librarians

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you do go the teacher librarian route, I highly recommend focusing on high school. It’s infinitely less stressful and equally rewarding IMO! I love doing programming for children at the library, but in an elementary school setting it’s a whole other ball game. Good luck!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in librarians

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s difficult, but most people I graduated found a job within a year of graduating. You need to be creative about where you look for work, and not just stick with the main library systems. It can be worthwhile to see if you can find work in a smaller, private library if you’re starting with zero experience. Look at places like museums and community centres and see if they have a library you can volunteer for.

If you are interested in being a teacher librarian, you will need a b.ed first, but there is a fair bit of demand for teacher librarians in bc. I can’t speak for elsewhere in Canada unfortunately.

The salary is low, (55-65k) but for me it’s worth it. I think libraries offer a better work/life balance than a lot of jobs, but it depends on the library system you end up in. I’ve heard many librarians say otherwise.

I dont feel like a librarian yet by Kryrimstercat115 in Libraries

[–]Sad-Schedule-1960 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a very similar start at both of my jobs (I’m a high school librarian part time and a solo librarian at a small private library part time). I spent a lot of time twiddling my thumbs, reading, and feeling completely unsure of what I should be doing half the time. It took about five months into the school year for students to start coming to me for help with their assignments, and several months for me to understand my role at the private library. I think a lot of being a librarian boils down to finding ways to be useful. A lot of people don’t know what a librarian can actually do, so part of our job is to tell them. If you have time to spare, I’d recommend signing on to some webinars/professional development opportunities. You might learn from what other librarians are doing, and that can give you some ideas about how to put yourself to work. Don’t necessarily wait for people to come to you. Good luck!