This falls under the category of "Services the Library MIGHT provide."

So a regular patron came in with a friend who wanted to know if we could help her with a document she was trying to "clean up" for a mortgage broker so she and her husband could go ahead with their closing date for a home purchase in a couple days. My coworker initially spoke to her, since I was helping another patron, but passed off to me because she wasn't clear on what the woman was asking for, and I'm generally better with computers, scanning and document manipulation.

This patron was one of those dear folks who has to tell you the whole reason WHY she needs the thing before the says what she needs, so it took us a minute to get to the point where she wanted me to help her blank out some lines on her bank statement and make them say something else, so she could then send that to a mortgage lender.

Naturally I was like "Hey, I'm pretty sure that's fraud! I can't help you with that." which she seemed to find disappointing. She tried explaining (some more) how those charges shouldn't even be on her bank statement, and she didn't know what else to do.

At this point, her friend (our regular) seemed to pick up on what was being asked, and said "Honey, no. You can't do that and send it to the bank! They'll catch you!" at which I definitely had to suppress a chuckle. They left to (presumably) go consult with the bank about legitimate ways to iron out this wrinkle, and I went to gossip with my manager about it.

I'm a single parent with a two year old who LOVES reading and goes through stacks of picture books. I sometimes take multiple display books from the children's section. This is partly because I have very little time to look through the library and the display books tend to have more diverse characters and interesting subject matter than those I randomly pull from shelves, and partly because using the library is difficult. If I'm alone, I'm a single man in a wheelchair in the kid's section getting weird looks. If I have my kid there, I am wrangling a kid. So I rarely want to linger.

Obviously the books are there to be checked out, but I don't know if taking a bunch of display books frustrates the library staff who just put together a nice themed display or if this is normal behavior. Thanks!

Three years ago, I was working as a circulation library assistant when a library director told me I wasn’t cut out for this line of work after enrolling into an MLIS program.

At the time, that comment stuck with me. When someone in a leadership position tells you that you don’t belong in a field you’re trying to build a career in, it’s hard not to take it to heart.

But I kept going.

I continued gaining experience, learning, and figuring out where I wanted to take my career in librarianship. That experience didn’t end my interest in libraries. If anything, it made me more determined to find the right fit.

Now, three years later, I’m interviewing for a medical librarian position 1500 miles away from my hometown — an opportunity that could take my career in a direction I’m genuinely excited about.

I’m reflecting on how much can change in three years, and how one person’s assessment of your potential doesn’t have to define your future.

If you’re reading this and feel stuck - keep trying

Well, I’m in love. The history, architecture and books were stunning. I can still smell the library while looking at these pictures.

Librarianship is my only profession, despite it being a lot of people's secondary or tertiary careers.

I have been part time for 4 years and now full time the last 2 now. I love my job. I put on big programs, I am told I'm helpful, I go above and beyond for patrons, and my customer service makes a big difference in our building.

Here is where I feel torn. I feel like being helpful is who I am. And I always thought of myself as "Tranquilovely, the librarian" because I was also told I would need to pick a career/livelyhood. But I really can't view myself outside of being a librarian because I associate the traits with it too. Being helpful, kind, smart, polite, etc. I'm also thinking constantly about how I can make projects into programs.

I guess I'm wondering, how do I find Tranquilovely the person and not the librarian? how do you separate the two to find yourself again?

Hello everyone! I was just curious because its been a year since my public library system started planning for programs 6months in advance (quarterly due dates). Ngl I don’t think it made the process easier or better for getting approvals on time. But thats my personal opinion and I’m a bit too tired to get into those details rn. I was curious if theres some crazy library out there that always does stuff last second lol (it does happen sometimes but good luck whew). Im about to finally graduate with my MLIS and knowing more about what other places do is a good thing for comparisons. What do other systems do with their programming? What does your process look like?

I work at a school and am the admin for Canva. I figured for an Education account there would be a way to filter out non-students from joining (like they have to have our email domain). We have it set that they need an invite link, but it's also connected through their Canvas LMS. However, I've got a lot of students and parents and potentially other random people who've been logging in with personal accounts. I've reached out to Canva Education which doesn't gaf, so should I care that people are getting free accounts?

Has anyone tried out the Tera wireless barcode scanners with charging cradles? Just curious as I know some libraries use the wireless non-cradle versions. Specifically these two models?:

1. https://www.amazon.com/Tera-Scanning-Bluetooth-Wireless-Handheld/dp/B0C4KN6635?psc=1#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor

2. https://www.amazon.com/Tera-Wireless-Resolution-Warehouse-Inventory/dp/B08Q879YSN/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&sr=1-2

Hi everyone! I'm a recent MLIS grad with library experience and have dedicated myself to applying to several library jobs in my area over the past few months.

I'm feeling a little down after finding out through some digging on my own that a university library position I interviewed for and had my references do reference calls for more than a month ago has been filled without letting me know.

I am just feeling really sad and frustrated with the interview/hiring process in libraries right now, I know I'm not alone and just wanted to post about it. I would really appreciate it if anyone would be able to share advice for myself and others in a similar situation.

Hi everyone, hopefully this is the appropriate sub to be posting this on.

I'm currently enrolled in a Library and Information Technician program. One of my assignments is to interview a library technician. I've contacted several libraries in my area and haven't had any luck with even getting a reply from any of them. Before I contact my professor to see if there is any help she can give me, I wanted to try my luck here. The interview can be done through chat/message or email and will focus on the basics - educational background, experience, and so on.

If anyone currently working as a library technician is able to answer some questions, I would really appreciate it!

edit: thank you to everyone who commented for all your help!

Anyone have suggestions on where to donate 6 boxes of K-YA books? Assorted titles, good condition. Pick up or will deliver if within three miles of 90277.

Really looking forward to after-hours Loteria again. I’d also like to check out the Cheech if time permits.

Hi there. I am a library assistant who works primarily with teens. I go to the middle school library 2x per month early in the morning before school starts. Students have the option to hang out in the library before the bell rings. They primarily go there to play games and chat with their friends. I try to interact with as many students as possible. I have gone around with trivia, would you rather questions, a collaborative storytelling project, a make your own jack-o-lantern face poster to name a few. I am running out of ideas. The main catch is that because it is such a short period of time, I need something to do with students that only takes a minute or two so that I can reach 40+ students at a time. They are not interested in a big group game. They trickle in as they arrive for school in the morning. What else can I do with them? Budget is almost $0

I made a Letterboxd list of 11,589 films available on Kanopy through the Toronto Public Library:

https://letterboxd.com/chigurhman/list/kanopy-toronto-public-library-october-2026/

I wanted a simpler way to explore the collection, but making the list also gave me a much greater appreciation for how much film access TPL provides.

Hopefully it helps other people discover something through Kanopy—and encourages them to see what their own public libraries make available.

My other film lists and recommendations are here:

https://letterboxd.com/Chigurhman/

Hi!

So I was attempting to make a manga display for my library, and wanted to either use a clipping I found online of the manga panel, or edit the textbox and post it as a display. The image would not be sold, and would not be used to generate money. Is this fair use? Or should I cite the author and title of the manga?

TY, copyright law has always confused me and I don't want to cause any problems

I love hoopla. Saddened to hear that my local library cant keep subscriptions to the app no more due to rise of cost. Its understandable. Fk i hate this economy. In the said notice, they recommend us users to save our favorites before the end of this october. They prefer to support libby. I tried libby before, to me its jus too confusing for me to use.

1) how do i save my faves on hoopla?

2) will there be movies to rent on libby and more to explore and or improvements for us neurodivergent users?

3) i hope hoopla makes a come back in a year from now.

Edit: Thx u all for the replies. I'm def looking into it with my library.

Curious how others handle and manage patrons who ask for certain staff by name and/or description who are not in the vicinity.

Our staff will tell customers that a staff member is maybe out at lunch, has the day off or is even on vacation. This seems sketchy for a number of reasons.

It does not seem to matter how often staff is reminded not to do this, it is what they come back to. What strategies have worked for others?

Hi all!

I just started at a school library and I have been working in a public library for almost 2 years. We use WorkFlows at the public library and I get it and can ask colleagues for help as needed there

At the school we use LexWin. It is horrible so far. Not super intuitive, the help guide is bare bones and not informative. Google is not helpful either. I am running into problems with Divisions not taking when updating classes (turns to all uppercase and doesn't change, even though the card info is correct). Adding a new record does not show up when the barcode is scanned.

Has anyone worked with this software before and have any advice? I am only in the school one day a week and I just want things to work.

Hi! I just wanted to share my library's Haunted Library program social media video. We re-opened our library last year after some reconstruction (long story) and we had a big turn-out at that time. This year, after we started a social media video committee, we decided to try and make at least one video trying to promote it. It's a free program (of course), it's spooky fun, and it happens a week BEFORE Halloween so there's no conflicting with trick-or-treating/alternatives. Is your library doing one this year? Did you also do a video for it?

https://www.instagram.com/p/DejoVQjDTgC/