Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with library

Delicious for pdfs?

furious — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:55:40 -0800

How can I organize offline pdfs on windows so that they're easy to find offline using a standard browser? In a perfect world, it would be like delicious, but for pdfs. Tags, sortable by tags, compact display. Endnote and Wordpress are the available tools. This is on Windows. There is an offline wordpress blog. There are a bunch of pdfs in folders on a shared drive. I wish I could have something like delicious, where anybody who has access to the shared drive could look for the pdfs by putting in tags. The listings brought up would be linked to the pdf files.

So with Endnote, Wordpress and a bunch of pdf files, how can I create an index that allows the pdfs to be searched for easily, by subject, tag, author, etc using a standard browser? A single page could be created on the wordpress blog with a list of all the pdfs, with keywords. A control+f search could be used to locate useful pdfs. But that would not be sortable. The wordpress blog already has entries, so entering each pdf as a separate entry would not work - tags would give you things other than links to the pdf files. An additional wordpress blog solely for the pdfs is not an option.

Example: person x says "I wonder about salamanders' tongues." Uses Internet Explorer or Firefox to go to the page. Tag search-animals. Nothing. Tag search amphibians. Tag search amphibians+anatomy. Brings up 5 locally linked pdfs. Person x wants more- tag search for salamander brings up 30 results. To get just recent results, tag search salamander+2009.

If there were some way to get some code from delicious, put it into a single page on the wordpress blog and have it mimic delicious, that would be perfect.

Any ideas? The process of entering in all the information will be arduous and time consuming, so I want the final product to be worth it.

Best LOC training games online

wowbobwow — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:27:02 -0800

What online quizzes or tools do you know of that train people in the dark arts of LOC call number sorting and shelving? The trainees are university students who work here a few hours per week. We only have a demo version of LC Easy, and I don't have the purchaing power to get the full version. The demo quits out after 5 minutes, so the trainee has to restart several times. Rather disruptive and annoying. Are there any free programs or websites that are really comprehensive and useful for teaching this stuff? Not holding my breath, but I guessed maybe one of you might have some tips.

Last Chance to See ... VHS

dhartung — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:15:31 -0800

My local library is ditching VHS -- in one swell foop. They're going to sell the inventory next month. What should I salvage? There will a be a pre-sale for Friends of the Library members to get first pick.

Obviously, "stuff I like" is one answer, and I'll work on that. Another obvious one would be "stuff that hasn't been released on DVD". Tips in that vein would help. But basically anything hard to find would be good. I'd like to have a list that I can pre-check with the electronic catalog and pare down to what I expect to be there and allow for not getting some stuff.

I'm going to start with this MeCha thread: Movies you never get tired of watching, so anything in there will be considered if I don't already have it.

What I like: science fiction and action, yes, thrillers and mysteries, yes, but also personal films like Heavenly Creatures or The Sweet Hereafter, modern auteur stuff such as the Coen Bros., and (often lesser-known) black and white classics like I Know Where I'm Going. Acting tour de forces such as The Verdict. Documentaries sometimes. Not many musicals. Upscale comedies such as Kind Hearts and Coronets or What's Up, Doc?

Library and indie bookstore acquisitions help

bitter-girl.com — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:32:02 -0800

Library and indie bookstore acquisitions -- help? Tell me how new titles are chosen and if this plan might work. My colleagues and I write books on a popular (though niche-y) topic (fiber arts/knitting), and many of us have started publishing our own books. One of us who never went with the big publisher system is now making more annually with her self-published knitting books than I have earned over 10+ big publisher advances combined. It happens to be a book category that is easy to do well as a small publisher, and has a large built-in audience. All good things.

I would like to approach both large library systems and smaller, independent bookstores about stocking our respective books. If you work in library acquisitions or at an indie bookstore, can you tell me more about how the acquisitions process works for you?

Would a well-written letter with relevant information get tossed on the junkpile or...? We're thinking of making it a group presentation akin to this form of cooperative knitting magazine advertising, but in letter format. So...

* intro, who we are
* what's on offer -- info on the individual books
* format info -- print or, in some cases, digital options
* how to order/get additional information

I hate the thought of being overly cheesy or sales-y, I just love libraries and small bookstores, and think that some of the traditional means of distribution leave a lot to be desired (though we of course have access to those, too).

Is there some secret formula to get the acquisition department's attention? Would we be better served doing an ad in a library trade mag (or a combo of all of the above?)

Thanks in advance.

How do I get through library school?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:42:55 -0800

I think graduate school was a mistake. Drop out, seek new program, or persevere? I just started a library job and grad school a few months ago. Love the library. Hate library school.

I graduated from college 10 years ago. I’m now getting my MLS. This is my first semester as a grad student. I’m taking two classes (one is online). I also work 40 hours a week. I’m also planning my wedding (which doesn’t dominate my entire but is still somewhat time-consuming).

I’ve heard that graduate school is nothing like undergrad (which I liked for the most part and where I thrived); fine. But I’ve just been feeling totally disconnected. Most of the people in my class are full-time students, and work part-time if at all. They’re able to have study groups when I’m at work (including weekends). One of my classes is okay, if not especially interesting. My other class is unbearable; the content feels boring and impossible, taught by a man who just can’t communicate the material. Our coursework is literally the size of two large phonebooks. He wrote the textbook we use so there’s no relief or enlightenment there. I have an advisor I have yet to meet. I should have been more aggressive in getting a new one who might actually answer an email with more than one sentence or return a phone call, but here I am.

So many people say library school is a hoop you have to jump through. I’ve taken out financial aid for this (including a private loan that fortunately, I haven’t had to touch yet) and am just wondering if it’s worth it. I’m generally happy but school has diminished some of pleasure I take in things. I don’t have time to cook or write. My fiancé and I have less time together. My library is always busy so there’s no down time to study.

I love books, and reading, and the sense of community that a library gives. I pursued a degree because I live in a city where an MLS can lead to well-paying jobs (I may want to leave the public library system in a few years). However, there’s a part of me that wonders if I’m wasting my time. If it’s not going to get better until a year and a half from now, I’d almost rather cut my losses and be happy now instead of looking forward to some bliss moment that may not happen.
So I guess I’m asking, how did you make it through grad school? Or did you drop out and find something even better? I’ve also thought of taking just one course at a time (maybe more in the summer), to get a little of my sanity back. After trying out a couple of different careers, I think librarianship is something may actually be able to do happily and long-term. But I’m really resenting school right now.

Because the Librarian Action Figure is overdone

midatlanticwanderer — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:44:03 -0800

Librarians: what do you want for gifts this holiday season? (Not at your libraries, but you personally). I have several librarians or librarians-to-be in my life. Including a law-librarian-to-be. Any ideas on genius gifts for Christmas? I've looked here and here, but neither seem to fit the bill. First of all, the law-librarian-to-be is male. Second, he has a healthy sense of sarcasm/overall sense of humor. So, I need something either practical or amusing, but not something too cutesy, if that's a word. As evidence of his overall devotion/nerd-dom, I must say that he has impressive recall of small details of the Library of Congress K classmark for law [PDF].

Your ideas and witty library gift ideas (hopefully moderately priced) are much appreciated!

I need to organize all these books.

sugarfish — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:28:25 -0800

I have about a thousand books and a burning desire to reorganize them. I'm getting rid of my current bookshelves -- an Ikea Expedit and the several others I've had to buy since I bought my house -- to move to shelves that I can put along the wall. The Expedit was a room divider in a previous house and it's not working for me anymore. I figure while I've got all of the books off the shelf, I ought to cull (again. I do every year) and somehow make a database with everything I keep. This will help me avoid buying the same books over again. Plus I like the idea of having all that information in one place. I figure that my collection will only get larger from here since books follow me home.

So how do I do this? I have this vague idea that I can take pictures of the barcodes of my books with my iPhone camera and populate some magical database that way. Did I make that up? What about the CueCat? Where can I get one of those?

I have a Mac running Leopard and want to do this on the cheap.

Bonus question: I'm thinking of organizing everything alphabetically by author. Anyone want to convince me to use LoC or the Dewey Decimal system?

(I saw this question but it's from a while ago and I don't have MS Access.

How to make amends for disruptive behavior in a library?

Jpfed — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:13:22 -0800

A group of 11-year-old kids under my wife's supervision got out of control and were disruptive to the library they were meeting in. How can we make it up to the library/ its patrons, and ensure that something like this doesn't happen again? My wife is a newly-minted Girl Scout leader (in the last couple months or so). The troop that she leads has been meeting at a nearby library for some time (for a few years). At their last meeting, the girls got very loud; their sounds carried from their closed room to the farthest corners of the library. The people working at the library were not happy with the situation, but they gave no indication that the troop was no longer welcome at the library. My wife apologized for their conduct, but she's still mortified, and is too embarrassed to go to the library again without making some sort of change to the situation- either a new method of interacting with the girls, some sort of gesture to the library, or both. She may attempt to find a new meeting spot for the girls, but she still wants to make amends to the library.

Some background (please note that this is almost entirely second-hand through my wife):

The girls are mostly a set of mutual friends that don't see each other much outside of Girl Scouts. They don't seem to see Girl Scouts as a vehicle for learning/ new activities, so much as an opportunity to socialize. An appreciable number of them seem to compete to be the center of attention, resulting in escalating loudness pretty much whereever they go. Among the girls in the troop is my stepdaughter, who is a little loud herself, though by no means the loudest or least controlled of the group.

My wife is frustrated that, for years now, this particular troop hasn't focused around building skills or developing character or anything that she thought the Girl Scouts were about. She's been frustrated with the previous Girl Scout leaders and what she thought was their incompetence, but now that she's in the leadership position herself, she admits that she still has learning to do about how to get these kids to behave more appropriately.

So, back to the question. I suggested to my wife that perhaps she could kill a few birds with one stone by getting the kids to organize a book drive for the library, but after reading this, I'm not sure that's a good idea. What can we do to make it up to the library and avoid causing problems for them in the future? If it's something that encourages personal development for the girls, that's a great bonus, but it's not a necessary component of the question. This question is intended to be fairly open-ended; if you feel the need to question my premises or address something that you feel I haven't given due attention to, that's okay by me. This is my first post to AskMe, so I apologize in advance if this is poorly worded or inappropriate.

Cost- and effort-effective way to end up with a large HD full of lossless classical music, legally.

Your Time Machine Sucks — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:58:22 -0800

Cost- and effort-effective way to end up with a large HD full of lossless classical music, legally. Well, after my question here, I'm still not quite satisfied with the quality of my worktime music listening. I'm over my requirement for enjoyable-to-listen-to DJs, which isn't happening in combination with playlists I like, but I'm starting to get annoyed by the digital compression of internet radio. So, I was wondering if it is possible to provide my own classical radio, to myself, by stocking my work HD with large amounts of music I'm likely to enjoy hearing but haven't heard all of before, at lossless or near-lossless quality. Given the following conditions:

1. My fantasy: I would be happy to hear any non-symphonic, non-opera composition written by any European composer known or unknown during the centuries 12-19. Rather than excluding anything out of hand that fits those conditions, I would love the opportunity to hear it and if I hate it I'll take it out of the queue. Hearing some symphonic music or opera isn't a problem, but getting it into the playlist is not a goal of this undertaking. Non-operatic vocal music and proto-opera like Camerata is fine.

2. I'd like to do it legally, without individually purchasing vast amounts of CDs and ripping vast amounts of CDs. I don't have the time or money to build up a new digital music library one CD at a time. I also can't afford to pay for a big classical music library recording-by-recording on iTunes. I don't want to specify what would be too expensive, other than to say that a retail per-album payment approach to creating a radio-station-sized playlist or bigger will be too expensive.

3. Any top-tier performers, any high-fidelity recordings are fine with me. I'm OK with quirks of analog recording, so I guess that pretty much any high-quality recording after the late 50s is going to fit the bill. Please restrict commentary on my total lack of standards about important things combined with freakish pickiness about unimportant things to Memail.

4. I'm up to the task of getting any sound format into one I need for my own setup in an automated fashion. If something is available in a country that I'm not in, I'll do the legwork of figuring out whether it's an option.

OK. So, obviously what I've just described is not even remotely possible. There is no "legally purchase an enormous hard drive full of a single good example of every non-operatic, non-symphonic composition written by a European composer between the 12th and 19th century, performed by anyone acknowledged to be good, recorded decently, in lossless format" product. I doubt it would fit on even a 2TB drive in any case.

My question: what is the closest I can get (even if it's very, very far away), for the least money, as a result of investing the least effort? Examples I could imagine would be: sources of lossless (or at least top-quality lossy) public domain recordings (lots of link-clicking is not excessive effort), labels that sell drives full of their back-catalog releases for much less than the cost of purchasing them at retail, download services that have bulk download deals of recordings that are not the latest and hottest with lossless (or at least top-quality lossy) formats. Thank you for any suggestions!

TeachingFilter

bad grammar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:25:07 -0800

Is it normal or is it the symptom of a serious cognitive / psychological disorder that I don't like teaching? I have never had a diagnosis, and I'm an adult now, but I think I may have Asperger Syndrome. I am highly introverted, I love research, I am comfortable with a high level of detail, and I don't really care what other people think. I don't perceive social cues well, and when I start doing anything that takes a high level of focus, the rest of the world goes away.

This makes me terrible as a teacher. I don't perceive my students' social cues until they become blatant, hence I'm not sure when I am losing them. I do not get the reward that good teachers get from the back-and-forth with their students. I furthermore am alienated and get angry when students goof off or are disrespectful.

I have learned not to spam other people with an Asperger level of detail (think horror vacui; I used to read the dictionary for fun). But I don't instinctively empathize with what other people consider a normal (low) level of detail for instruction. It seems "dumb" to me. I could follow the cookbook (rely on other teachers' research and worksheets) but I would be bored with it. There's no there, there.

I bailed out of of one career (academic) because I couldn't teach. I now am looking for a librarian position that won't involve user instruction or too much work with the public. I don't mind IT, research, or day-to-day administration.

Library-Related Trivia?

Jaybo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:48:28 -0800

Library-Related Trivia? I'm helping to plan a fun, informal gathering for the professional librarians who work at my mid-sized Canadian public library system. For one activity, I'd like to have some library-related trivia questions.

These don't have to be 100% accurate. For example, Q: Anecdotally, this is the most stolen book in public libraries. A: What is "Sex" by Madonna (I would also accept "Joy of Sex"). Another one is "This is the most written-about historic figure in public library holdings." Who is Jesus.

The main thing I'm looking for is questions that most librarians would have a reasonable shot at answering. (I'll avoid the "What's the Dewey number for books on Platypus mating habits?")

iTunes + new hard drive = headache

jlkr — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:58:22 -0800

MrR moved my music drive (to a larger hard drive yay!) and iTunes is not handling this gracefully at all. (He hates iTunes, will not use it, and therefore did not follow any of the procedures detailed in the answers to this question.) The directory trees are all the same, the only change is the drive letter. How do I get iTunes to look in the right place without losing all the metadata (ratings, play dates/frequency)? (PC; iTunes does not organise my library; the old drive is already removed from my computer and wiped. Changing each file path individually is functionally not acceptable (30K files!), nor is changing the drive letter.)

Destroy or Merely Throw Out?

aswego — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:49:41 -0800

Committing the great library sin...which of these is a better way to get rid of some books? My library is disposing of a large number of volumes, and is locked into a particular moving/storage/disposal company by our institutional parents. Our choices are "standard disposal" (basically tossing the volumes into a landfill) or "certified destruction (which seems to involve removing pages from spines and eventual incineration), which is a bit more expensive.

The company's only advertised reasons for the more expensive option are privacy and public relations. Our materials are not sensitive, so I don't think we have any privacy concerns. In addition, while it might be bad PR to have someone discover one of our books while roaming a landfill and then telling anyone they know how wasteful we are, I can't imagine it would be too likely.

The company doesn't make any claims that one method is more environmentally friendly than the other. Is there any reason I may be missing for choosing the destruction/incineration option?

Obviously I know there are other methods some libraries (including us in the past) use to get rid of books, but they don't seem to be an option this time. I'd hope the discussion wouldn't go that way.

Sexy Library!

chara — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:15:46 -0800

Costume-filter: I would like to dress as a library for Halloween. How can I accomplish this in an inexpensive, recognizable, maneuverable/non-bulky way (aside from sticking random books to my bum?) When perusing for costume ideas for bespectacled folks, I came across the "sexy librarian" idea over and over again. I've decided to give it a twist and dress instead as a "sexy library". I figure the 'sexy' part isn't so difficult, it's the 'library' part that I haven't quite worked out logistically.

The actual costume doesn't have to be sexy, per se; I'm probably just going to throw some ridiculous lingerie over the top of whatever I wear.

Where can I get affordable online access to academic journals?

algal — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:16:27 -0800

Where can I get affordable online access to many academic journals? Generally only large university libraries have paid the expensive subscriptions for electronic access to academic journals. Sometimes these libraries let users access the journals online. But I am not affiliated with any university. Are there any libraries I can join by paying a fee, that would give me online access to many online journals? I need journals in biological and physical sciences.

Stories of local and national shennanigans

reenum — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:07:17 -0800

I want to read investigative reports exposing corruption or scandal on a local or national level. Please provide me with links. Over the past few months, I've become obsessed with investigative and explanatory journalism. I'm currently plowing through the Pulitzer Prize winning stories I can find in each category.

I've read story after story dealing with corruption, shady dealings, abuses of power, etc. and I want more on an ongoing basis. Examples include the FPP post on the Blue I submitted yesterday, the Tampa Tribune's investigation into Scientology, the Seattle Times' look at improper sealing of court records, and the like,

I've been going around to different newspaper websites in an effort to try and build a collection of links to their investigations or special reports sections. Problem is, a lot of these papers have buried these stories deep in the website.

This is where you guys come in. I'd like links to as many magazine and newspaper investigations or special reports you can muster. Ideally, the link will be a repository of such stories (such as this). But, links to individual investigations, blogs that document these sorts of stories, anthologies, books, etc. are also appreciated.

I know we have a few librarians in here, and your expertise would be most appreciated as well.

Thanks to all!

How do I prepare a new book?

carterk — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:10:05 -0800

I was once shown how to prepare a brand new book before reading it– it had something to do with opening the book at various places and smoothing down the pages. Supposedly it would make the binding last longer. Does this actually work, and if so, could anyone describe the process clearly? Any other advice on good book care and repair for this new librarian would be greatly appreciated.

Library book inventory management that's not library elf

Lucinda — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:20:22 -0800

I'm looking for a computer program to keep track of the library books I have taken out. Difficulty level: Can't use Library Books. I've tried Library Elf and I hate it. I loved, loved, loved Library Books for the Mac - just click the star in the menu bar and every single book you've taken out from the library is there, with the date it's due next to it- but I recently switched to Linux.

I tried putting an RSS feed from Library Elf in my Firefox bookmark bar, but when I click on it, I still have to log into the Library Elf website (it doesn't keep my user info, even though I've told it to), and then I have to pick "daily snapshot" (and hope that it's been updated in time) to see what library books are out, and which are due.

I know that I can have Library Elf send me e-mails; I have that set up with my library system directly. I end up ignoring them.

So I guess my questions are: am I doing something wrong with Library Elf that's making me jump through so many hoops just to see what's due, and, if that's the way Library Elf runs, is there another program that will give me the "one click and you see EVERYTHING" list I crave?

Indestructible / unstealable stationery for busy library.

KMH — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:35:16 -0800

Is there a UK supplier of stationery designed to remain, erm, stationary? We need some for students to use in the academic library but don't want it to be broken or, ahem, grow legs. I'm thinking stuff you can literally bolt or chain to a desk, or even a ready-made unit including staplers, hole punches, pens on chains, parper guillotines etc etc for the usual scholarly desk work. I've looked on Gresswell.com but it all looks very flimsy and not very nailed down.

The little library that could

Dandeson Coates, Sec'y — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:25:58 -0800

Mini-libraryFilter: My small gallery has a reading room, with probably a couple of hundred books. I want a cataloguing and lending system that can turn these books into a real library. I'm ideally looking for a web-based system that will let me enter published and unpublished books, have a publicly-available online catalogue, and let me easily keep track of what's been lent out and who has it. LibraryThing seemed like the trick, but there's no lending system, and the only workaround seems to involve a lot of futzing around with private comments and the like. As I'm not going to be the one using the system most of the time, I'd like it to be easier than that.

The other online services I've found seem to involve lending to other users only. We're on Ubuntu, so Delicious Library is out, even if it could publish an online catalogue. At the moment we're dangling over the precipice of a spreadsheet, and no one wants that.

If anyone has any suggestions, fire away! You can come to our next opening and have wine.

Is there a nice academic library in Chicago that is open to the public on evenings and weekends?

pitseleh — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:58:56 -0800

Is there a nice academic library in Chicago that is open to the public on evenings and weekends? I often have work to do during evenings and weekends, and I think I'd enjoy doing that work in a university library setting. (I don't actually need anything in the library, other than a desk and chair.) Unfortunately, all the libraries I've researched are either entirely closed to the public, or are open to the public only on weekdays, 9-5. I'm looking for something easy to travel to from the downtown area (either by car or el). Any ideas?

What music should I play at the teen Halloween dance?

40 Watt — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:54:20 -0800

I've volunteered to DJ a teen Halloween dance/costume event sponsored by the library I work at, and held at the local art museum. Unfortunately, I didn't quite think about what that meant in terms of music, and now I'm stumped as to what kinds of music I should bring. My usual DJ sets are electronic and ambient music, and (NOT TOP40-IST) I never listen to the radio so I'm blissfully ignorant of what teh kidz are listening to these days. What should I play at this dance that your average teen is going to like? This event usually draws about 150 kids, ages 13-18 and spanning a pretty wide range of high school archetypes and social/economic strata, as might be expected from an average-sized semi-urban Midwestern town. I know I'm not going to please everyone, but I need to feel like I'm doing my job and have at least a good fraction of the kids dancing for most of this thing.

I found a few older AskMe threads (here for example), and while I've already gotten some of those songs (Cha-Cha Slide, here we come!) I'm thinking even a few years can make a huge difference in what kids like at these things. I'm asked my Teen Advisory Board and teen patrons for suggestions but didn't get many. I turn to you, AskMe denizens, for help rocking the proverbial house.

Bonus points will be given for songs which won't get me fired or strung up by my library board or the public at large.

Quiet places to study in Edinburgh?

tyris33 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:29:54 -0800

Quiet pubs and cafes for a student to study in Edinburgh I'm currently on a year long exchange in Edinburgh, and I'm looking to find quiet places to study--they don't have to be dead silent just no loud music playing and loud conversations at the table next to me. I know noisy cafes are great for hanging out with friends, but I'd like a place where I can focus on what I'm reading. If you know of any pubs, cafes, parks, libraries, etc., that would be great. Bonus points for old places with lots of atmosphere (fireplaces, comfy chairs, etc).

How do I keep those durn' kids off my lawn?

codacorolla — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:40:59 -0800

Is there a way to control skateboarding on public grounds while being fair to skateboarders and not causing them to feel persecuted? I browsed the archives first, and came across this:
Why prevent skateboarding?

This particular question seems to come from the perspective of the skater. Recently I've started working for a public library where skateboarding is a concern. Our parking lot draws local skaters, and it eats up a lot of staff time asking them to leave. In fact, if I remember myself from my teenaged years, the constant badgering probably makes them want to do it even more.

The branch manager has asked for a 'no skateboarding' sign on a few occasions, but upper management wants to phrase it in a more positive manner before they pay for signs.

Our branch is about a 1/4 mile from the middle school, which means our building is a hot-spot for kids from 3 o'clock to around 5. The best solution to the problem would be to have a skatepark within distance of the school, but that probably won't happen given the current economic climate, and the general conservative nature of our community.

We don't even mind the boarders so long as they're using their boards as a means of conveyance; but they tend to congregate in one spot in the parking lot to do tricks and hang out. This, of course, creates a huge liability for us if someone ever got hit by a car, and is dangerous for the boarders.

The first solutions that come to my mind are: creating an informative program that gives out our policies while offering something entertaining for the kids (good luck on getting attendance though), just buckling down and yelling at the kids every time they break the rules (engenders bad feelings, and might make the problem worse), putting in no-skate measures (probably too expensive, also might make the problem worse).

I was wondering if anyone has any creative solutions for the problem, or has ever had to deal with a similar situation.

Libraries are awesome

serazin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:11:52 -0800

I've taken responsibility for a very small children's library and I'd love your ideas for making it awesome. My kid is going to a tiny little school where every parent takes a volunteer job. I chose the job of managing the small library. I'm supposed to keep it organized and accessible, and to create displays and possibly events. I'm also supposed to coordinate a Scholastic book fair (I'm sure everyone would be open to some alternative to Scholastic - so suggestions welcome on that score as well.)

I don't have a ton of time, and the school doesn't have a ton of money. Given those limitations, I'd love to hear any ideas you have for making the library useful, attractive and vibrant.

(Note that I admire and respect librarians, and recognize that I am not one! I wish all schools had a paid librarian, but this school doesn't - it only has two paid staff people all together - so I hope to do my best with what's available.)