Front-Line Librarianship Chandos Information Professional Series Series Editor: Ruth Rikowski (Email: rikowskigr@aol.com) Chandos’ new series of books is aimed at the busy information professional.They have been specially commissioned to provide the reader with an ­authoritative view of current thinking They are designed to provide easy-to-read and (most importantly) practical coverage of topics that are of interest to librarians and other information professionals If you would like a full listing of current and forthcoming titles, please visit www.chandospublishing.com New authors: We are always pleased to receive ideas for new titles; if you would like to write a book for Chandos, please contact Dr Glyn Jones on g.jones.2@elsevier.com or telephone +44 (0) 1865 843000 Chandos Information Professional Series Front-Line Librarianship Life on the Job for Today’s Librarians Guy Robertson Chandos Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier 50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, OX5 1GB, United Kingdom Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein) Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-08-102729-5 For information on all Chandos Publishing Press publications visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals Publisher: Glyn Jones Acquisition Editor: Glyn Jones Editorial Project Manager: Thomas Van Der Ploeg Production Project Manager: Debasish Ghosh Cover Designer: Mark Rogers Typeset by TNQ Technologies Contents Acknowledgmentsxv Introductionxvii Section A By Popular Demand: Various Genres and Tastes 1 Reading in season: how the yearly cycle affects your choice of books 1.1 Cottage and campground 1.2 Dickensian alternatives 1.3 On the road 1.4 Innocent? 1.5 Jack comes back 3 6 2 Mystery madness: understanding the demand for crime fiction in libraries 2.1 Death by demand 2.2 What the professor wants 2.3 Selection tools 2.4 Death on order 2.5 Matters of taste 9 10 10 11 12 3 Reaching the outer limits: science fiction in the library 3.1 Hugo’s achievement 3.2 Monsters and young men 3.3 Atwood’s handmaid 3.4 Fear of Goths 3.5 Safeway neuromancer 3.6 Rowling power 3.7 Join the club 13 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 4 Life enjoyed: the appeal of biography collections 4.1 Why so popular? 4.2 Imagining the life 4.3 Paris Hilton and Co. 4.4 Living collections 17 17 18 19 20 vi Contents 5 Travel collections: off the shelf, on the road 5.1 What guidebooks give 5.2 Atlases 5.3 Early travel literature 5.4 Enter the British 5.5 Not so painful 5.6 Rick does Europe 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 6 Blankets will not protect you! an overview of horror fiction 6.1 Older English horror 6.2 Victorian shivers 6.3 American classic 6.4 King of the genre 25 25 26 27 28 7 Making the Penguins fly: classics collections in public libraries 7.1 Broad interests 7.2 Life without Freud 7.3 Tapestry of wisdom 7.4 Questions and decisions 7.5 The politics of shelving 29 29 30 31 32 32 8 First love, printed and bound 8.1 Going Hobbit 8.2 Magic Kingdom 8.3 You can be a librarian 8.4 Personal passion in the workplace 8.5 Reading for eternity 35 35 36 37 38 39 Section B Social Studies 41 9 Alternative librarianship: voices from the field 43 10 Life at the cellular level: dealing with wireless communications in libraries 10.1 Kids and parents 10.2 A cell-free zone 47 47 48 11 Moonlight sonata: librarians discuss their work after work 11.1 Debt management and fitness 11.2 The rotten nest egg 11.3 Food for thought 11.4 Beethoven for adult amateurs 11.5 Getting sweaty for fun and profit 51 51 52 52 53 53 Contents vii 12 Manual matters: developing successful guidelines and losing priceless boredom 55 13 Keeping up appearances: looking like a librarian in an age of paranoia 13.1 The customs of the country 13.2 Helpful dandruff 13.3 Librarians, beards, etc. 13.4 Star power 59 59 60 61 61 14 Surviving hard times: how libraries can deal with recessions 63 14.1 Balance required 63 14.2 ERM 64 14.3 More management and why not 64 14.4 If it ain’t broke…65 14.5 Boxes of bargains 65 14.6 What we fear most 66 14.7 Recovery, eventually 66 15 What goes down: library experiences of the urban poor 15.1 Sleeping in the streets 15.2 A couple of users 15.3 A former colleague 15.4 What’s in the bag 67 67 68 69 70 16 Keynoting: an honest overview 16.1 The gang’s all here 16.2 The winning smile 16.3 For the camera 16.4 Fly for cover 16.5 Please drop in 16.6 Moment of truth 71 71 72 72 73 74 74 17 Quote us freely: British librarians speak out about recent cutbacks 17.1 Cooking with new technology 17.2 Grime 17.3 The rebellious spirit 17.4 Caveat: maggie 17.5 Angry students 17.6 Perseverance 17.7 Damn the pigeons 75 75 76 77 77 78 79 79 18 For your eyes only: love and disorder in our domestic libraries 18.1 The lure of the sofa 18.2 Serendipity 81 81 82 viii Contents 18.3 Swedish equipment 18.4 He came in through the bedroom window 18.5 Neurosis 82 83 84 19 Who’s next door? Living with your library’s neighbors 19.1 Something in the air 19.2 Good woman 19.3 Unhappy hour 19.4 Banking on cooperation 19.5 The pain of divorce, the pleasures of chai 87 87 88 89 90 91 20 Worldwide weeding: when books no longer furnish a room 20.1 Manner of disposal 20.2 More fiction than ever 20.3 Dinosaurs choose Proust 20.4 New uses for space 20.5 Back to 007 93 93 94 95 96 96 21 What care ye for raiment? Dress codes and styles in our libraries 99 21.1 Slob alert 99 21.2 First the shirts, and then …100 21.3 Hair off the spectrum 100 21.4 High-altitude footwear 101 21.5 Footwear, cont 102 21.6 Watch for icicles 102 22 Circulation counter service in public and academic libraries: dealing face-to-face with patrons 22.1 Bronzino 22.2 Put on hold 22.3 In the wet 22.4 A matter of qualifications 22.5 Security 22.6 The case of the missing molars, cont. 105 105 106 107 107 108 109 Section C Visiting the Library: People and Programs 111 23 Gold, Frankincense, and Murder: the wise bookseller’s guide to corporate gifts 113 24 “It’s not just the books!” Wheelchair patrons speak out 24.1 Safe spots 24.2 Library attitudes 24.3 Independence on wheels 117 117 118 119 Contents 24.4 When to ignore the rules 24.5 Individual respect ix 119 120 25 What’s cooking at your library: a special event 25.1 Getting started 25.2 Cook it and they will come 25.3 Finding a presenter 25.4 Setting a date 25.5 Getting the word out 25.6 Signing up 25.7 Final preparations 25.8 Signage 25.9 Day of reckoning 25.10 Troubleshooting 25.11 A savory conclusion 121 121 121 122 122 122 123 123 123 124 124 125 26 Abroad in your library: what tourists want, what they get 127 27 Here’s looking at you, kid: what special visitors want when they tour your library 27.1 The vision 27.2 Location, location 27.3 On the outside 27.4 Staff workspace 27.5 For the public 27.6 Shelving 27.7 Your influence 131 131 132 132 132 133 133 134 28 Discover your inner elf: Christmas programs for public libraries 28.1 Deck the hall 28.2 Scrooge, etc. 28.3 Annually, or else 28.4 Facilities management 135 135 136 137 137 29 Boo! Halloween in our libraries 29.1 Plastic bats 29.2 Storytime 29.3 Adult fiction 29.4 Costumes will be worn 29.5 Ghoulish Donald 29.6 Off the wall 139 139 140 141 142 142 143 30 Confessions of a library Santa 145 ... at the same time of year Front-Line Librarianship https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102729-5.00001-3 Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved 4 Front-Line Librarianship For example,... those days, and we wanted Front-Line Librarianship https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102729-5.00002-5 Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved 10 Front-Line Librarianship to keep our... kind of front-line work for many academic librarians and related information professionals (Besides, as one anglophile college librarian assured me, if research in the United Kingdom is not front-line