9. Why Do You Love Books?
Slirt is a librarian by day, car nut by night. He was kind enough to answer some questions I've always had about public libraries. I've learned a lot, and I think you will too! 1. Tell us about your background as a librarian. I did not grow up as a big reader, nor go the public library very often as a child, only on school trips; in fact, i do not recall my parents (both college-educated) ever taking me. 2. How has technology-- cheap and easily accessible books via Amazon and Kindle, for example-- affected libraries? Libraries have been offering ebooks for a decade or more now, but the problems with ebooks right now is the lack of industry standards (different file types for different devices/OS, DRM, etc) and the battle between authors, publishers, and retailers. Libraries aren't really in that mix, and we'll just have to roll with the evolution as it happens.
I'm sure we've lost some users to the ease & convenience of online ebooks, but since we offer them for free, including Kindle titles, I'm sure we've also gained some new users as well. And now some libraries are starting to circulate e-readers (hardware) too, so libraries are adapting as we always have (see above). My system's ebook downloads are now more numerous than our busiest location's physical circulation, so it's obviously in demand and been embraced by our users. Besides ebooks, my system also offers downloadable music, digital magazines, and even streaming movies - all for free. 3. What is the state of the Dewey Decimal System? Are there strong competitors? Is there a move by librarians to improve or replace the system? The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system is 138 years old and still in very wide use by English-language libraries the world over for cataloging non-fiction works (fiction is most often just alphabetical by author name).
4. Besides loud talkers, what are some other pet peeves of librarians? Leading with a stereotype now? Another pet peeve is people "forgetting" their library card; I don't care that they "know the number," everything is much easier with a physical card since we have scanners, so keystrokes and related errors are avoidable. 5. Many libraries have homeless people using the restrooms. I imagine most librarians are sympathetic, but how do they combat this issue? Public libraries have an open-to-all policy across the board, so what it comes down to is behavior, and as long as an individual is not violating any behavioral policy, then all are treated equally. It is not an issue to "combat," it is an issue that needs clear and realistic policies written and enforced. Library restrooms are for all for their intended use, not for loitering, clothes washing, or bathing (behaviors), so most libraries (should) have written policies to address this. 6. When I was a kid in the 1980s, public libraries were open ten hours a day, six days a week.
A library now is lucky to be open 20 or 30 hours a week due to budget cuts. Will this be the new normal? 7. If a patron carelessly sticks a book in the shelves out of order, how does it get re-shelved properly? Does a librarian manually go through the entire collection regularly to pick out mis-shelved books? It could stay mis-shelved for quite awhile, or hopefully an observant page (shelver) will notice it out of place when shelving nearby or when they are shelf-reading, a regular task to ensure shelving accuracy and designed to catch such errors. Or, when it is requested and cannot be found, it gets set to Missing status, and then a Missing Report is run periodically and the items searched for. Best case scenario is a library that has its collection RFID tagged and then the shelf is just scanned and the scanner will find the misplaced items: technology to the rescue yet again!
8. How can we, as the public, best support our local libraries? And then VOTE for funding when on the ballot. And libraries love volunteers, too. 9. Why do you love books? I'm a TV guy, actually. Sure i read and love a good book, but I didn't become a librarian because I "love books." I love information, regardless of the format. I like that libraries provide free access to media that I do not want or need to own (fiction, DVDs) and/or cannot afford (e.g. coffee table books, LOTS of music CDs). 10. You are a car guy. Tell us about your cars. 1985 VW Cabriolet (my L.A. ALL MANUALS (except the scooter). 11. Why do you love cars? As a small child in the early '70s my earliest car memories are liking the Jaguar E-Type, MGB-GT, Opel GT and Ford Capri. So I'd say I like cars for their aesthetics, exterior design, first and foremost. While my dad was not a "gearhead" per se, he liked cars and did note yearly model changes which we discussed, and he had a friend who bought a very early 240Z, which I thought supercool.