Category: Ask The Librarian
Plumfield Library Membership Cards
When we started this library journey, I thought that since we lived way out in the woods, no one would want to drive out here very often. I assumed that I was going to need to drive the books into town and do meet-ups with patrons. That still may happen, but so far, every time I propose it to my patrons, I am met with shock. “No! I want my kids to have a real library experience!” After hearing this half a dozen times, I knew that people were coming here for the kind of experience that I had at Spies Public Library. And, I knew that we would need library cards.
What is another way to organize and shelve picture books?
I gave most of my picture books away over the years. I kept the best ones for the future, but as my children aged out of them, I shared the rest with friends to make room for my growing collection of chapter and middle grade books. Because of that, when I set up my library, I decided to organize my picture books really differently than most of the other librarians I was following. And, so far, it’s been working really, really well for us.
How do you handle library discards that already have stickers, stamps, and bar codes?
And by the way, librarians who stamp large DISCARD stamps over the print in a discarded book should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Too bad there is no law against huge, black (or red) DISCARD stamps.
Why Libraries?
This article was originally written in three parts and published in The Wyoming News Chronicle in the spring of 2023. Andrew Carnegie, born in Scotland in 1835, emigrated with his parents to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was twelve years old. His life is an almost unbelievable rags-to-riches story. He went from working as a bobbin…
How do you make your own dust jacket or paper book cover for a book that doesn’t have a book jacket?
To make your own book jacket that will cover, beautify, and protect a jacket-less book, try the following steps.
With limited shelf space, how do I decide which books to collect and keep?
Even if it is easily found elsewhere, like the public library, is it one that someone in my family or some of my library patrons will love and want easy, frequent access to? If that’s the case, then it’s worth shelf space to me.
How and why do librarians cover their dust jackets with plastic?
Some people find book jackets, aka dust jackets or dust covers, annoying, but most librarians want to keep and protect these covers on the books that have them for several reasons.
Where do I find affordable living books to add to my library?
Don’t get in a hurry to grow your library. Try some of the above techniques and places for finding good books, and add the books, a few at a time, to your library for the benefit of your own family and the families of your library patrons or future patrons. Just be patient and diligent as God gives the increase.
How do I begin to acquire more books for my library?
You may have been collecting books for a long time before you’re ready to open a lending library. If so, you may indeed know almost all of the tricks of the trade. But just maybe there are a few ideas for finding good, true, and beautiful books that you didn’t know.
Shelving Geography and Non-Fiction History – Sandy Hall
Question: How can I shelve and organize nonfiction history and geography books? This answer is one of several of our featured answers. To see the other answers, click here. Sandy Hall of Hall’s Living Library Here’s my list of categories. Basically, it follows the DD system, just by category rather than numbers. Then I alphabetize…
How can I shelve and organize nonfiction history and geography books?
However, some of us like inventing and reinventing, or we want to do things just a little differently from the way Melvil Dewey shelved his books. SO here a few other possible organizational schemes.
What are some sample fees and policies for private lending libraries?
It is well to be clear in communicating your expectations for payment of fees or fines and of book care and handling to prospective library patrons. Here are a few samples of what various librarians expect from the patrons who borrow books from their private lending libraries. From Elizabeth Jones, Covenant Family Library, West Virginia…
What is a List of 101 Basic Living Books for a Starter Collection?
This list is not a list of books required to start a lending library or books that must be in every library, but if you want to start collecting, these are 101 books that are good, true, beautiful, and in demand. Most of these books are not prohibitively expensive to purchase or hard to find,…
How do I move an entire library or put it in storage for a while?
From Kathy Twitchell, librarian at Literary Lantern Bearers in Kingfield, Maine. Do you need to move your library? Do you find the need to store some of your collection elsewhere? There are a few things one might consider if one needs to move or store a significant quantity of books. One thing to consider is Distance….