To be shocked the librarian was so poorly read?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

In the library recently reserving some books for dd. Librarian had not heard of A Handmaid’s Tale and did not know that As you Like It was written by Shakespeare.

These are not exactly obscure books!

AIBU?

@StyleAndLasers

Not really. How do I know the person working in the library or bookshop has the same taste in reading materials that I do? They might love books written in the first person, or books where you hop back and forth across multiple timelines. They might love Mervyn Peake's novels, or think that Captain Corelli's Mandolin was a wonderful book. All personal opinions..

But that is the point. In an ideal world (not this one where libraries are facing massive cuts) a librarian would be able to recommend books to someone based on what that person likes, not what they like. And to do that they need a reasonable knowledge of books in general. I try to do that with my son even though his tastes aren't mine - and there are plenty of the "liked this? then you might like that" type websites and books.

When I was 11 a librarian recommended Over Sea Under Stone to me, and it introduced me to the whole Dark is Rising series which I have loved my whole life.

Yes exactly @StyleAndLasers our old librarian would suggest books to dd after finding out what she had previously enjoyed. Some great books which she had not thought of looking at.

I don't think you are a snob OP. When opening hours were very limited last year, our local library offered a recommendation service. You told them books you had previously enjoyed and they found others you might like.

@Nightbear

I’m shocked that you still have a library that’s open and staffed.

Our library is self-serve most days, scan your card to get in and scan books in or out.

I was in WH Smith the other day and two people who worked there were discussing this weird woman who had come in and asked for "Some book about a cat who walks? By Mr Kipling?" They were expressing their bafflement about how the "cake man" might have written any books, and laughing at the woman who obviously had "got it wrong".

I know WH Smith doesn't only sell books but I find it a bit gobsmacking that they haven't heard of Rudyard Kipling.

@TinaYouFatLard

It’s THE Handmaid’s Tale.

🤣🤣🤣

OP you shot yourself in the foot there I’m afraid 🤣🤣🤣 you’re obviously also poorly read 🤣🤣🤣

I have a 1st in English & was recently turned down for a job as a ‘customer service assistant’ at a library.

@StyleAndLasers

Not really. How do I know the person working in the library or bookshop has the same taste in reading materials that I do? They might love books written in the first person, or books where you hop back and forth across multiple timelines. They might love Mervyn Peake's novels, or think that Captain Corelli's Mandolin was a wonderful book. All personal opinions..

But that is the point. In an ideal world (not this one where libraries are facing massive cuts) a librarian would be able to recommend books to someone based on what that person likes, not what they like. And to do that they need a reasonable knowledge of books in general. I try to do that with my son even though his tastes aren't mine - and there are plenty of the "liked this? then you might like that" type websites and books.

When I was 11 a librarian recommended Over Sea Under Stone to me, and it introduced me to the whole Dark is Rising series which I have loved my whole life.

But there's hundreds of themes and genres of books! Define reasonable knowledge? I could do it with battle novels, sports autobiographies, classics and male written romantic comedies. Couldn't tell you a thing about sci-fi or crime which are two huge genres. A good librarian couldn't know all that either but they should be able to help you find a suggested author in a genre through a manual or IT driven solution.

And what if you didn't like "Over Sea Under Stone"? Then it wouldn't have introduced you to a series of books.

@bendmeoverbackwards

Surely part of the job is recommending books to library users? I would expect that in either a library or a bookshop.

No I wouldn't.

I'm an adult, I can choose my own books. I'd hate someone recommending what they think I should/would enjoy.

Just leave me alone!

@nosyupnorth
This is fair, but I would say she didn’t really let me explain why my love of reading would be an asset on the customer service front just interrupted me to tell me that I couldn’t read at work which isn’t what I was saying. As my first ever interview experience it wasn’t particularly useful.

Apologies for getting the title wrong. My dd has read it, I haven’t. But I’ve heard of it and know the author.

I've not heard of it until this thread

@Donitta

I doubt you spoke to a proper librarian with a postgraduate education. The person was probably a min wage library assistant or possibly even an unpaid volunteer.

Yes but also a qualified librarian trained in things like cataloguing, licencing, and information management etc... They don't sit there reading books all day.

@GirlCrush

and Shakespeare is dull.....has it been removed from the gcse curriculum yet?

Far more interesting than the turgid Handmaiden's Tale, in my opinion and that's what it's all about, we all have different opinions. Were we all the same how boring life would be.

We had this saved to the desktop of our PCs when I worked in a public library www.whatshouldireadnext.com/

Might be useful to those of you missing the old school (well paid, professionally trained) public library staff of yore. Unfortunately they don’t exist anymore.

Librarians still exist OP, they just work more behind the scenes selecting stock, cataloguing, managing the budgets etc. Depends on the size of the library as well tbh. As other people have pointed out, libraries do a lot more nowadays than house books.

Here you are, from 2019-20:

Top 10 most borrowed print titles:

1. The Midnight Line: (Jack Reacher 22) by Lee Child
2. The World’s Worst Children by David Walliams
3. NYPD Red by James Patterson
4. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
5. Past Tense: (Jack Reacher 23) by Lee Child
6. Dead if You Don’t by Peter James
7. Night School: (Jack Reacher 21) by Lee Child
8. Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves
9. Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly

10. Origin by Dan Brown

That person you’re looking down on may have read every single one of these for all you know.

You dont have to be Wordsworth or Picasso to put a few books on a bookshelf

OP you shot yourself in the foot there I’m afraid 🤣🤣🤣 you’re obviously also poorly read 🤣🤣🤣

And you are quite spiteful, no?

I am not disputing that we all have different tastes in books. And that not everyone wants recommendations. But some people do and I would have thought a library would be a good place to start. And there is a difference between being well read and having some awareness of classic books, both old and modern, even if you haven’t read them.

@KeyboardWorriers

Most councils got rid of all their fabulous trained librarians and have replaced them with unskilled staff and / or volunteers.

Massive shame.

This. Consider yourself lucky the library is still open at all...

@bendmeoverbackwards

Well hats off to the volunteers.

But even applications for voluntary jobs are massively over subscribed surely? I’m currently waiting to hear about a voluntary job in a museum. You can’t just walk into any job, voluntary or other, without being suitable.

Do you have a degree in Museums and gallery management then? What do you know about the nat curriculum at each stage, are you a qualified teacher? If not forget it as they need people who are suitable, you can't just walk into any job without being suitable, even voluntary. "The Handmaid's Tale" It's on the extra reading list for A level English. Can you not read?

@bendmeoverbackwards

In the library recently reserving some books for dd. Librarian had not heard of A Handmaid’s Tale and did not know that As you Like It was written by Shakespeare.

These are not exactly obscure books!

AIBU?

Why were you interrogating her anyway? Was it a quiz?!

I do feel lucky we still have our library. It was even refurbished a few years ago.

I read up to 200 books a year some years. I consider myself a keen reader. I do not do Shakespeare. I can recommend you a lot of books but none of them are Shakespeare. Not everyone enjoys the classics. Don't be so snooty.

Cuts. Many libraries 'deprofessionalised' even books not chosen by librarians but supplied by booksellers.
Many books thrown away.