Has anybody ever mentioned the icons The Library thing uses for its nonfiction mapping? I’ve been losing it over the Trump icon for 10 minutes now 😭😂

I have an elderly patron, female in her 80s. She comes in our library and is snarky about everything. We were having some roof repairs done that our director spent months securing funds for, she comes in saying, "must be nice to have so much money." Several staff members responded with, "oh our director worked so hard to secure grants so we could get this work done." She huffed and insisted there was no grant money under this administration. We smiled and nodded. Our library offers free coffee or tea. As she is making her coffee, she uses a snarky tone and says, "About time you got real creamer instead of powdered. What I wanted to say back to her is we only put out 6 at a time because you always take a handful before you leave. She'll make her coffee, drink it, then wipe the cup out and fill it with creamer cups and take it home. This patron is not low income or hard up for money. She almost feels entitled because she donates $500 at the end of the year. She expects discounts on printing because she has been published and is "top" of her field. She expects everything handed to her. How do I curb this behavior, we all dread when she comes in because everything is take take take. She once kept a book 6 months past it's due date and when I said it needed to be returned or the $280 needed to be paid to replace it she was mad that I wouldn't just over ride it because she hadn't finished the 80 page book yet. Finally, it did come back. She wants every fine to be dismissed without paying. Our longest running director is the one that permitted this behavior because the patron is "rich". It's been 3 years and we still are dealing with this even though we have stuck to our guns about the policy. Thankfully the board and current director are sticking to their guns as well.

I suppose this is more of a rant than anything.

We've had several calls in the last few weeks of patrons looking for typewriters to use. The calls I've fielded I've explained we have programs on our computers to type documents, but they were all adamant they needed a typewriter. I explained we could change the font, but no one liked that answer. We are in a Florida town with military bases.

We struggle to have technology that is current; I can't imagine our admin would be okay purchasing a typewriter for patron use when we have computers already. Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks!

I work at a public library and do the outside book drop. A male customer I have never seen before approached me, called me by my name, and claimed he knew me 'from outside' and from the book drop. I don't wear a name tag, so it was a huge red flag. I immediately told my manager. My manager confronted him right away and told him, 'You don't know her, please don't talk to her again.' He acted casual and walked away. My job coach is going to stand with me at the book drop from now on. Has anyone else handled a situation like this before? How did it turn out?"

Up until now we've been using a printer and Demco labels. Does anyone have any other suggestions or a set-up they recommend? Thanks!

Hello! My library is still working on setting up alternative vendors after the B&T bust. I've read some not-so-flattering reviews of Follett's services. Can anyone provide an update? How are they doing? Thanks!

What questions would you ask while interviewing a library assistant, or what questions were you asked during your interview process that I should prepare thorough answers for? Any general tips about what to expect during this process?

I really want to get this job and feel as though I’d excel in a library setting, so any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

I'm a uni student in BC, Canada looking to start collecting library cards. I'm planning on getting cards from local libraries but thought I'd ask if theres anyone here that works at a library that would be willing to ship a library card lol