#the ​librarian

[icarus-suraki]

So Fox News ran a story about how they think libraries are turning into drug-infested sex dens and I am shocked, shocked that I was never offered any drugs during my 15+ years working in libraries.

[nando161mando]

oops! it seems i tripped and dropped several million free books, papers, and other resources

https://annas-archive.org

https://sci-hub.se

https://z-lib.is

https://libgen.is

https://libgen.rs

https://www.pdfdrive.com

https://library.memoryoftheworld.org

https://monoskop.org/Monoskop

https://libcom.org

https://libretexts.org

http://classics.mit.edu

https://librivox.org

https://standardebooks.org

https://www.gutenberg.org

https://core.ac.uk

[booksinmythorax]

"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.

[zilmart]

"My Lord, you are coming back, aren't you?"

Insta | Twitter

[sentient-forest-boy]

As a young librarian, I started trying to figure out why more young people aren't ever coming in; 90% of our demographic are the elderly and parents of children, and the rest are a rough mix of the kids and teenagers who come in just for school projects. As a result, I've been attempting different ways to get the Youth TM to come into libraries, but first I wanted to see why they don't come in. Please reblog to get this poll out to more people! <3

[noodles-and-tea]

Back at it with my enchanted merthur shenanigans

[jesse-is-inarguably-purple]

imagine ur garthy o’brien, just trying to fuck this hot ranger you met at your brothel that you own, except her teenage kids/wards/bosses keep knocking on the door to your bedroom and interrupting you guys and THEN you learn that she’s actually in a committed relationship but didn’t tell you, so THAT sucks but THEN one of the teens comes and finds you in the middle of the night yelling about how his friend is gone and they can’t find him and he might be in danger, so you help him teleport to his friend, and then when they all get back, looking extremely upset and dejected, you apologize to the ranger’s daughter for making her feel uncomfortable by fucking her mother and in the process SHE reveals to you that her mom’s boyfriend is actually this really cool werewolf guy that you KNOW and have fucked on multiple occasions

[mysharona1987]

[driftbit]

my two favorite pieces of hbomberguy's video were these two tests/rules he has for video essays and making media:

"When I think a video is being lazy, I do a little test. I check what sources the video used... and I compare it with the sources you would get if you went to the Wikipedia page for the topic." (Hbomberguy, 55:07)

"I have a little rule for quoting that other creators seem to use as well. If someone saw a clip of your video out of context, would it be possible for them to tell you're quoting someone and where it's from?" (Hbomberguy, 48:18)

These rules I think can be applied to both the act of watching and creating. If you're creating something not intended to be cursory in nature, where are you getting your sources? After that first wikipedia search we all love to do, where do you go from there?

If you're consuming something, and it is intended to be informative in nature, can you go to a random time in it and understand where their sources are coming from?

Sources:

“Plagiarism and You(Tube).” Youtube, uploaded by hbomberguy,2 December 2023, https://youtu.be/yDp3cB5fHXQ?t=3307. Accessed 4 December 2023.

[garadinervi]

Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024, A Preliminary Report from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (LAP), February 1, 2024 (pdf here)

Plus: A Talk About Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, by ArabLit Staff, ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly, February 8, 2024

(image: «This is what remains of my younger brother's home library. My brother is an extraordinary scholar of Arabic language grammar and was about to earn his PhD and who has introduced six books into the Arabic language rich collection of scholarly books.» – Mosab Abu-Toha)

[transannabeth]

btw if you borrow dvds or cds from library you can rip them onto your own blanks or onto your hard drive or whatever. librarians don’t care and they won’t know if you do it or not

[shiftythrifting]

[bugghutt]

I have learned many important things from my librarian spouse, and I will now share six of them with my fellow non-librarians

Public libraries are not the perfectly silent buttoned down places of scholarship movies make them out to be. They're a place for everyone to access everything, from Minecraft to garbage romance novels to picture books. And everyone includes people who make noise. And that is okay and good actually.

They are also for buttoned down scholarship and they can help you with that. They actually really like helping you find information.

Libraries often have way, WAY more than just books. Movies, of course, but also telescopes and tools and 3D printers and board games and I heard of one that even has an apple press!

Being a librarian is pretty much never "sitting around reading books until you're needed." Maybe if you're at a niche private collection that happens? But no, not for public librarians. There is so much that has to be done every day. Sorry to everyone who thought that was a thing.

Put the books you pick up on the return carts if you don't check them out, this has some kind of positive effect on the collection. I don't know why, but do it or else

The best way to support your library is to use your library! And vote for library funding whenever you can. But mostly just use the dang library!

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[fangtastic-vampyra]

buying books & reading books..two different hobbies.

[burins]

I know this is the Take Personal Responsibility for Systemic Issues website, but I keep seeing weirdly guilt trippy posts about libraries and ebook licenses, which are a labyrinth from hell and not actually something you personally need to feel guilty about. here are a few facts about ebook licenses you may not know:

in Libby/Overdrive, which currently operates in most US public libraries, ebook licenses vary widely in how much they cost and what their terms are. some ebooks get charged per use, some have a set number of uses before the license runs out, and others have a period of time they're good for (usually 1-2 years) with unlimited checkouts during that period before they expire. these terms are set by the publisher and can also vary from book to book (for instance, a publisher might offer two types of licenses for a book, and we might buy one copy of a book with a set number of uses we want to have but know won't move as much, and another copy with a one year unlimited license for a new bestseller we know will be really moving this year.)

you as a patron have NO way of knowing which is which.

ebook licenses are very expensive compared to physical books! on average they run about 60 bucks a pop, where the same physical book would cost us $10-15 and last us five to ten years (or much longer, if it's a hardcover that doesn't get read a lot.)

if your library uses Hoopla instead, those are all pay per use, which is why many libraries cap checkouts at anywhere between 2-10 per month.

however.

this doesn't mean you shouldn't use ebooks. this doesn't mean you should feel guilty about checking things out! we buy ebook licenses for people to use them, because we know that ebook formats are easier for a lot of people (more accessible, more convenient, easier for people with schedules that don't let them get into the library.) these are resources the library buys for you. this is why we exist. you don't need to feel guilty about using them!

things that are responsible for libraries being underfunded and having to stretch their resources:

government priorities and systemic underfunding of social services that don't turn a profit and aren't easily quantified

our society's failure to value learning and pleasure reading for their own sake

predatory ebook licensing models

things that are not responsible for libraries being underfunded:

individual patron behavior

I promise promise promise that your personal library use is not making or breaking your library's budget. your local politicians are doing that. capitalism is doing that. you are fine.

(if you want to help your local library, the number one thing you can do is to advocate for us! talk to your city or county government about how much you like the library. or call or write emails or letters. advocate for us locally. make sure your state reps know how important the library is to you. there are local advocacy groups in pretty much every state pushing for library priorities. or just ask your local librarian. we like to answer questions!

also, if you're in Massachusetts, bill h3239 would make a huge difference in letting us negotiate ebook prices more fairly. tell your rep to vote for it!)