I do! It's over there in that section with the numbers on it next to the other books that have words on the side. ;)

My public library is the only one in town. So, we offer up our services to over 55,000 folks. It's a lot for a little library. I find myself doing more research-based projects in my branch than the other cities that have 3-4 branches in their town.

I fell into my librarianship. I started volunteering when I was 12 and never stopped working at the library. I found myself actually seeing how the library operated, what the staff did there, and how much it took to make the library run... and I loved it. I love collection development, I love teaching people how to use the library... I love my job.

My ex-husband used to tell me "I don't understand why you're tired. All you do is sit on your a$$ all day, look at a computer screen, point your finger at people to 'shush' them, and read all day." Not only when we were married.... but even now after we're divorced. He likes to tell me (and when we were in court, the judge) that it wasn't a "real" job. I always challenged him to come into the library to see WHAT I did and HOW I did it. I told him that my job was not as easy as it looked and that answering questions all day was not all I did. And... I wish I could read all day. It would make the annoying questions a lot more palatable if I lazily pulled my head up from my book and said "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear your question." and then pushed my head right back into it again.

It is more than books, it's more than sitting on ones a$$, it's a business of books and media. One has to have the savvy to balance good customer service, intelligent searches, and making sure your branch has quality resources to offer the patrons.

You can make a very good case that for many librarian jobs that generally require an MLS, that it isn't really necessary. In fact, in library school I wrote a paper taking this position.

That said, it is generally not a job where someone can just walk in and start doing it. In the absence of a degree requirement, it would have to work on an apprenticeship/develpoment model.

There is a lot of specialized knowledge that goes into the job and it takes time to learn it all. It requires a degree for much the same reason that other professional degrees (lawyers, nurses, teachers, etc.) require or encourage them. Not so much because it requires knowledge that can only be gained in a university but because a degree program provides the necessary time to simply sit down and learn what needs to be learned. It is easier for a public library to simply require that people come in already knowing this stuff rather than each library having its own staff devleopment.

Also, there are many fields within librarianship that are much more academically oriented than what most people see at the public library reference desk.

libraryvixen, where did you get your MLS? I have to admit that collection development is something I hated (but I really do miss academic reference work; too bad the pay is crap).

Heehee, Traci. :)

We do not hate people with fines. We hate people that deny that they have overdue books and yell "are you calling me a liar??". Then they go back to the car and a moment later come back in with the book in their hands.

Librarians are the worst regarding returning books. But if we have fines, we pay them. It's just a donation anyway. I do recommend you pay yours, not because I'm a stickler librarian, but because you might get sent to a collection agency. People get REALLY mad when it shows up on their credit report :eek:

Now regarding your situation...as others have said, your story is far too common to be hated, and there are much worse out there. The only thing I'd recommend is that next time don't say things like "I'm positive that's the name" because that's what makes great fodder for snarky librarian stories. She must've said "I'm positive" at least 4 times! You should have seen the look on her face when she realized she was wrong... Yeah, I admit, snarky librarian stories are prevalent at the workplace.

The librarian's dogged determination to find your book is standard procedure. Alex is right, it isn't about books, it's about information, and she was going to figure out what you meant. The chase is what the job is all about.

I'm applying to San Jose State. Through my library, I can apply as a librarian trainee. My system will pay for a nice hunk of my master's degree and when I graduate with my MLS, I have to work for them for (I think) 2 ro 3 years.

My collection development training was more from a lazy librarian who didn't want to do it. *shrug* I guess I just like to do unsavory library tasks! lol

Oh, I would never yell. I'm much more likely to wait to return the books until they've given up (I do eventually return them :blush: ) and then never return to that library. Sadly, the collections people already know my name. :( I'm glad to know that other book lovers return things late. I love the library, and I do want to support them. I promise to do better with this library!

Tee-hee. I really was sure it started with an H. That's a well earned story for her. It really did seem like a quest to her. I claim the victory though, as I'm the one that suggested Google and gave her the search parameters. :p

SJSU has a good program, good luck with your schooling. I assume you're thinking to specialize in reference work?

I almost went into a cataloging track (it really is fascinating at the structures level) but there are just so few places where you can really do pure cataloging any more that it seemed too limiting. If you decide you'd rather live in Hawaii for two years, let me know and I can hook you up with some good people in that program.

If you like the unsavory tasks, I assume you volunteer to shelf read? In one of my papers in grad school I included a point that reference librarians should spend at least an hour or two shelf reading in their assigned topics. Not only because it will keep things organized but also build up their familiarity with their collection. The professor thought this a wonderful suggestion. None of my fellow students (or working librarians I mentioned it to) were so keen on it. I love shelf reading, myself.

Well, one thing other people in need of finding something have done - they call my cell phone. ;)

Yes, this was really the heart of my question. Why there isn't just extensive on the job training. Which you've answered quite well, thank you. I'm assuming when you say "library school" you just mean college?

Well, I mean a graduate MLS or MLIS program. So not just college in general, but a specific degree program or school (mine was an individual school within the college).