What's it like working in a library?

[SquashedFlyBiscuit]

Im considering applying for a job with my local library -its a small local library rather than a main library. The job includes kids rhyme time and saturday crafts.

I used to be a teacher so would happily do the groups. I dont know vast amounts about what its actually like day to do. In my case I guess it depends how well you get on with the one other colleague you'd had!

I havent got a great return to proper work plan and this was part time and looked interesting. I dont think previously recruited well internally as it involved Saturday mornings. I think I can do that, I just have to get my head around holiday childcare!

I worked briefly as library information assistant while I went through redeployment. I was responsible for customer enquiries, reshelving returns and misplaced books, arranging customer reservations to go out to other branch libraries and putting aside those that had been delivered for reservations from other branches. I spent a lot of time helping people use the computers and printers too.
It was a very busy library but the work wasn't challenging although people would often ask for "that book that's been made into a film" and expect you to know.

I volunteered in a library. I thought there would be some interaction with customers and staff, but all I did was to reshelve and tidy books. Good work out, all that bending and stretching. Boring though. Once I recovered some books.

I wasn’t allowed to use the computers, look up information, speak to customers or anything else. I’m sure it would be different if it was was a paid job though.

There's only 2 staff in the library so it would be the rhyme time/helping customers/ etc. I don't know if it would get boring though.

I work in a library and love the library work. However we also have to do all the council work too, which I don't like so much. But yeah, making sure books are in order, placing reservations, rotating stock to other libraries, hunting for missing books, loaning out books and dvds, helping people on computers/photocopier.

When I worked in a library it was before the Internet really took off, but towards the end I was increasingly asked to help people write their CVs. These days there's a lot of requests for help with benefits and, I've seen more than one person taken away by police after they eventually logged in to find they were too late and their benefits were suspended and took it out on the staff. The dwp, banks etc assume staff will help people to do what they need to and that can be difficult.

Not all the time of course but no one else has mentioned that on your thread.

Do you like it Stuck?

I would love to work in a library. I'd probably be sacked for hiding in a corner and reading though!

I used to love working in libraries, although I did prefer the busy ones. The small on I worked in did get boring. Tbh it's a bit difficult to say what it's like as they are all different. Normally it's the variety I loved, the fact that you didn't know from one minute to the next what questions you'd be asked by whom. Is it on the edge of a park in an urban area? If so you will have lots of kids wandering in without their parents looking to cause trouble. Probably not much for you if you were a teacher, but you don't have the ability to trace them or the back up of a system. Or is it in a naice rural area with well-behaved kids?
Bear in mind libraries are shutting everywhere, so there will be lots of competition for the post. You could go in and meet the staff - nothing stopping that in a public space - and ask them what sort of questions they ask at interview - role of library in community, how to best help disadvantaged groups, or something else. Ime they were very scripted and you had to know the correct answers.
And yes if we get volunteers we'd have them tidying up all day given the chance, as having a tidy library is the only way you find what you're looking for but no one will pay staff to keep it that way any more.

The dwp, banks etc assume staff will help people to do what they need to and that can be difficult.

Lots of assumptions about library roles. We're the catch-all of last resort, expected to know everything about everything and be able to help anyone with anything - except they're closing us down, and we were never well-paid or well-resourced to start with.

Quite. It can be difficult but can also be rewarding.
Sorry if my post appeared to be only negative stuff!

My year spent working as a Librarian in a failing secondary school was hell on toast... but I have no reason to believe working in a Library where people actually want to use it for the intended purpose, as opposed to using it as a place to do anything other than read or do homework wouldn't be absolutely lovely! I really enjoyed interacting with the circa 20 or so students that loved the school library and got a lot out of helping them choose books, write book reviews and have them suggest new titles and help maintain the collection.

Im happy to help with cvs and benefits etc. I like helping people...

The random behaviour does worry me a little, but its not the main big library. Area isnt posh though...!

I worked in two different schools as the Librarian. It was challenging , as one of the schools was turned into an Academy and it became a nightmare. I enjoyed many aspects of it but found the lack of funding and lack of literacy among teachers very depressing. Most of the teachers just didn't really read much and had little interest in encouraging pupils.

I think a council library may be a different experience.

Umm yes and no. I do wish it was just a library instead of a contact centre too, it would be ideal. I am looking for something else though because I dislike the council stuff so much :(

I've worked in a lot of libraries and have generally enjoyed it. It can be very repetitive sometimes (especially in small local libraries IME) and there can be quite a lot of strange people/abusive behaviour (again, including small local libraries).

Where I worked, there was a serious morale problem amongst staff due to senior management. That's obviously very specific but the general underfunding of libraries has had a major impact.

Working with the kids was one of my favourite parts of the job though. I moved into a different field in the end as there simply wasn't any job progression in libraries and I felt very undervalued.

I dont think Id mind the helping groups stuff, in fact that would add variety to the day (I did like the pace in school as a teacher, and worry my brain gets bored easily.... "ooh shiny!") Speaking to different people would be an appeal, as I do like that about adult ed.

They seem happy in my local library...but who knows. I will go in again for another chat! Id like the kids stuff.

Progression ought to be a worry. I'm 40 with degrees, but also anxiety and found teaching wasnt for me so half of me wants a new proper career and the other half something I can just "do", meet people and go home....

Does being "on" all day get draining - you cant really hide behind a computer/ in an office? I guess its like retail for that.... can you have down time? Faff?

I work as a peak relief librarian, so I fill in at any library in my area whenever needed. These range from the small village library in my own village, to the main city library, which is very large.

I much prefer the village library & also volunteer there once a week. Like yours, there are 2 staff at any one time. Both muck in & do something of everything, from crafts & rhyme time to shelving books to customer queries. We also host community talks once a month, book groups etc & have to sort out refreshments for these. The librarians also set up special events for eg half term & run those. What I enjoy most about village library work is that you really get to know the customers & can spend time talking to the old gent who comes in because he wouldn't see anybody else that week or the stressed mum with 3 tiny DC or the small children who love books & discovering them. It is so satisfying for me & not at all boring.

I thoroughly recommend library work. My only gripe would be that we are poorly paid (not much above minimum wage)!

One other thing- I find it to be quite a physical job, which surprises people. I'm constantly on my feet helping people with the photocopier, shelving books, filling displays etc. There is also no seat at our desk. Also, libraries these days are not the quiet place they traditionally were, especially when they are children's events on!

Most libraries are under threat of closure or being solely run by volunteers. V little job security.

My first Saturday job was in a library, I loved it. Did it as a holiday job all the way through uni.

Apologies for poor formatting, I'm on the phone. What I thought about the job:

Great company from the other staff.

Mostly the customers were polite (which I think would differ from retail, although I've never worked outside the public/ third sector so no first hand experience). Some were mentally unstable, but there was always support from other staff in dealing with potential problems. I was there for years and hardly anyone was an actual threat, just a bit difficult to get a logical conversation out of.

Pay and conditions were very good: all casual staff treated as permanent, full-time equivalents so we got holiday pay, overtime, very good breaks (20 minutes after 2 hours, hour for lunch, all paid). Decent pension provision etc.

Great variety in tasks, not monotonous at all. Some time shelf stacking, which was ok when you wanted a break from chatting to people. Doing children's activities. Showing people how to use the computers. On the front desk answering enquiries. Supervising community activities. Helping with a bit of English support (unofficial) for people who needed to fill in forms - I wasn't expected to be an expert, just literate in English. I was in a main library for the borough but the staff sometimes cover for absences at other branches so I spent time on the mobile library, in the reference library, in the local museum, and in smaller branch libraries.

To get any real progression you needed postgrad qualifications in the relevant field, which I wasn't interested in, so I don't know what the progression would have been like if I'd gone down that route. Up to branch manager/ senior librarian still spent a lot of time in branch and got to see people. Managers above that worked in the town hall and were rarely seen (the only time I remember was during negotiations over an industrial dispute we had) so didn't get to spend any time with the public.

Re career op, once you have learnt the ropes in the village library would you consider looking into working in a university library for career progression?

I volunteered in a library one morning a week for a year. I loved it. There was always something to do and that was a small branch library.

I was sad when I got a paid job elsewhere and could no longer fit it in.

Thanks for all the replies :)
The physcial side does worry me a little. Im quite sedentary (large/fatigue). The exercise would be good but I do take time to sit regularly usually in the day. There's no chair at the desk...

I love the idea of anything communitg based. Id love to run groups and things, which is not exactly the library job, but it would be in the community and its a busy library. We are v lucky in our area all the branh libraries remained when there were all the cuts and each one just closes a day now.

Would I be able to get the odd afternoon off to see kids plays etc? Presumably you book leave? Obviously I might not get it but really appreciating thinking it through.

I used to, but in honesty the pay and progression wasn't great, but I did love it. I found that although there's a lot of variety in the job, it's also very repetitive. All that I have worked in used an hourly timetable so you knew what you were doing, the main jobs being:

Shelving: as it sounds, taking the trolley of returns and putting them in the correct places on the shelves. They should provide a trolley, and depending on the size of the library, if you sort the trolley prior to starting you don't have to be walking back and forth. However, you might need to do some bending and reaching. Everyone I worked with worked at a different pace, not because anyone was lazy, just obviously some people were as quick physically; this was never an issue, so I wouldn't let it put you off.

Manning the desk: as it sounds- answering enquiries, this could be anything from book recommendations to council and the local area questions. Obviously though if you don't know the answers, can either Google or ask someone else. You get to know the kind of enquiries you are likely to get, we were by a bus stop and used to have lots of people asking for the times as they couldn't read the tiny writing; so we had a drawer full of timetables printed in large print ready. This also involves joining new members and processing fines etc, you need to be able to use a computer but not to a particularly high level, you will be trained.

Assisting people on the computers: this is a huge part of library work now, and as they provide free computer and internet usage, you get asked a lot to help with applications and printing etc. It's good to know a bit about computers, but if you don't know a lot about certain processes, eg housing sites then there's normally leaflets or services to signpost people to. However, you will get asked the same questions over and over again, but it's lovely being able to support people, especially when they come back and let you know they've got the job.

Rhyme time: I enjoyed rhyme time, but no one else did so I ended up doing them all, which was fine, but it was daunting and nerve wracking to begin with. There are usually other activities and initiatives to get involved with as well, if you enjoy that kind of thing.

Misc: things like processing new stock and reservations, which is usually sitting down and you'll be trained in what to do. Also assisting with the self service machines.

Quite long, but I've worked for different councils and these seem to be common aspects of the job. A lot of staff are being replaced by volunteers, but there should still be the need for paid staff (hopefully), as volunteers can't use the computer system, for example, due to data protection (hence why volunteering is mainly just shelving).