“Can you help me find some mystery books?””Yes, I’d be happy to. What kind of mysteries are you looking for?””The kind where someone is killed, and then they figure out who did it.”Okay…In the mystery fiction section, I tried this. “There are differe…
Continue readingTag: becoming a librarian
wmtc: mississauga library workers vote overwhelmingly to strike
Yesterday, the members of CUPE Local 1989, Mississauga Library Workers Union, voted overwhelmingly to strike. Amid massive turnout in three separate meetings, 96% of the members in attendance said they are willing to take strike action in order to win …
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #21
Visibly anxious and upset customer: Can you please help me? Something is wrong with this computer!I go over to take a look. The public computer is still starting up, and Internet Explorer (sadly, the default browser) is slowly opening.Me (pointing to t…
Continue readingwmtc: awful library books and why we remove them from our shelves
A while back, I blogged about weeding, every library’s not-so-dirty little not-so-secret. Daniel Gross, writing in The New Yorker, looks at weeding, too – from a library-users’ revolt in Berkeley, California to the hilarious Awful Library Books blog: W…
Continue readingwmtc: library workers are precarious workers
Local 4948, Toronto Public Library Workers Union, a/k/a the most kickass library workers’ union in North America, produced two videos about the state of library work today. Here’s the short, humourous version.And here’s the longer documentary version; …
Continue readingwmtc: vancouver, day four
Our last day in Vancouver was a full one. It included a library, great art, a meet-up with an activist-friend… and noodles!I didn’t want another breakfast at the hotel, so we poked around a bit online and found something nearby. This place didn’t ope…
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from ola 2016, part 2: libraries and prisons
I’ve had a longstanding interest in prison libraries, and was happy to meet another librarian-friend who shares this. But I was very pleasantly surprised at the large turnout for the talk Prisons and Libraries: A Relationship Worth Incubating at t…
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from ola 2016, part 1: choosing to walk a path
I attended OLA* for only one day this year, partly because I’m already missing so much work for bargaining and other union business, and partly because one day is often enough. There’s a huge lineup of presentations, poster sessions, book signings, ven…
Continue readingwmtc: in which i continue to hate christmas even though i can’t be bothered right now
Right now I’m so busy, between work and union, that I barely have time to hate Christmas. As I’ve found in recent years, a combination of circumstances – getting out of the office worker environment, streaming-only TV and movies (ad-free!), discovering…
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: digital divide edition (#20)
In library school we talked a lot about the digital divide, the ever-increasing gap between those who have access to information and communication technology, and those who do not. Public libraries are one of the very few institutions that exist to bri…
Continue readingwmtc: blue jays vs. royals, library style
Library smackdown? Toronto Public Library vs. Kansas City Library, via Twitter.
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #19
A mother and her young son enter the library, returning a big stack of books for beginning readers. A conversation is already in progress. Imagine this in a voice – no, a whine – of pure sadness. “But why do I have to return it?” “Because it’s not yours. It
Continue readingwmtc: votepopup: voter education at the library
On the long list of anti-democratic policies the majority Harper Government has enacted, the Orwellian-named Fair Elections Act ranks near the top. More properly called a voter suppression law, the Act effectively disenfranchise tens of thousands of Canadians. The Council of Canadians has taken the issue to court, including an
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #18
As I’ve mentioned, my current branch is located in a community centre. Here’s an example of why that’s so great. A customer came to the desk, an older man, speaking heavily accented English, clutching a piece of paper. It was difficult to figure out what he wanted. He kept repeating,
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #17
A customer comes to the reference desk to ask about Zinio. I tell him that Zinio allows him to get full access to hundreds of magazines, all at zero cost, through his library account. His eyes light up. “This is all free?” “Yes, it’s completely free. Do you use a
Continue readingwmtc: to ottawa for the 2015 cupe library conference
At this very moment I am on the train from Toronto to Ottawa, en route to the CUPE Library Workers Conference. This will be my first time attending this annual event. I don’t know what to expect, but I’m super excited! Last week I was off work for a few
Continue readingwmtc: i survive another march break and live to tell the tale
I’m still providing library services to teens, and I’m still loving my job. March Break is one of our big-ticket items. I’m expected to plan and provide a week-long lineup of free programs for teens. I strive for a variety of programming – some tech-y, some crafty, some movement, some
Continue readingwmtc: follow up: a brighter picture on ebooks and libraries, in some cases
Last summer, I blogged about the very bad arrangement between publishers and public libraries regarding ebooks, and suggested that library users could help their libraries by not borrowing ebooks. I’ve discovered some additional information that works in favour of libraries. This also answers the question asked in comments here. The
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from the community of readers’ advisors: r.a. in a day 2014
Last week I attended “R.A. in a Day,” an annual one-day mini-conference on readers’ advisory – that is, finding books for readers. It happens that the manager of my own “Readers’ Den” department is one of the principal hosts of the conference, and the Mississauga Library was well-represented in the
Continue readingwmtc: coming full circle: my sixth-grade obsession meets my teen book club
Continuing on the young-adult fiction theme, it’s been about six months since I blathered about my absolute favourite part of my job: teen book club. Our monthly gathering is still going strong, a small but dedicated group of young readers who love books, and love to talk about books. My
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