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[O hai. It's December Days time, and this year, I'm taking requests, since it's been a while and I have new people on the list and it's 2020, the year where everyone is both closer to and more distant from their friends and family. So if you have a thought you'd like me to talk about on one of these days, let me know and I'll work it into the schedule. That includes things like further asks about anything in a previous December Days tag, if you have any questions on that regard.]
A variation on a previous theme of December Days, and based on a question that I asked elsewhere in a completely different context, which has nothing to do with public libraries.
( And your answers. )
So those are the two most common errors that people have about public library work. It's not a cathedral of silence where there's all sorts of spare time to read books and improve upon our reader's advisory skills by knowing the collection better. It's also not the place where profound and deep questions that require research and resources tend to get asked, at all. So the public is disappointed that their stereotypes are wrong, and the librarians find out a lot of what they learned in school while they were paying attention doesn't turn out to have a lot of use when confronted by the reality of their assignment. (Or, at least, it's not useful in the ways it was taught to them. A lot of those skills are useful and helpful all the same, but in forms that are very different than the way they were taught or introduced.) It's a fun time for everbody!
A variation on a previous theme of December Days, and based on a question that I asked elsewhere in a completely different context, which has nothing to do with public libraries.
What are things people understand the least about working in a public library?
( And your answers. )
So those are the two most common errors that people have about public library work. It's not a cathedral of silence where there's all sorts of spare time to read books and improve upon our reader's advisory skills by knowing the collection better. It's also not the place where profound and deep questions that require research and resources tend to get asked, at all. So the public is disappointed that their stereotypes are wrong, and the librarians find out a lot of what they learned in school while they were paying attention doesn't turn out to have a lot of use when confronted by the reality of their assignment. (Or, at least, it's not useful in the ways it was taught to them. A lot of those skills are useful and helpful all the same, but in forms that are very different than the way they were taught or introduced.) It's a fun time for everbody!
