ILL is a funny old thing. Wouldnt it be great if all the needy deserving people out there knew about it? The ones who understand the term "due date" that is. Its possible to borrow just about ANY book because some library somewhere will have it and will be willing to share it.
On the other hand, there are some underlying realities and attitudes amongst borrowers that sabotage the system - to death, in my opinion.
The library exists to support the corporate mission, some movers and shakers have a project and need stuff NOW. No budget for book purchases, no charge for library services, so lets get this, this, this and this. Renew, renew.... "What book?"
Unlike regular library loans, where the computer applies the rules and we all blame it for saying "no" and "pay up", ILL Officers get to liaise with other ILL officers in a complex system of give and take. In my job, its mostly take... I am in a state of oblige-ed-ness a lot of the time.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Friday, October 1, 2010
known unknowns
School holidays, so all my library focus is on my city job. Ten weeks in and Im starting to feel on top of the basics. But Im also starting to realise how much I still have to learn. Such as recognising all the people who use the library (and their work and priorities), learning the collection and the whole knowledge specialisation of "transport", and getting familiar with the history of the library and the department which has led to some odd practises and behaviours (and the occasional mistake by me!)
Given that there are sixteen weeks left of my contract, I have to wonder how far Im going to get with some of this learning. Ive likened this job to a few people as being like mountain climbing... which has earnt me some strange looks. What I mean is: its challenging and possibly (ultimately) pointless but hopefully it'll end up be a satisfying experience.
In the meantime, I order books online from a dozen different sources and request Interlibrary loans and document deliveries from several dozen more. I pay with credit card, create orders, complete requisitions and reconcile the lot. Occasionally I send out a book or scan a journal for another library but the traffic is about 20:1 inwards (the catalogue is on the intranet but not internet or Libraries Australia). I spend about 1/3 of my time on desk where some of the enquiries have been doozies and which is where Im learning about all those unknowns...
Given that there are sixteen weeks left of my contract, I have to wonder how far Im going to get with some of this learning. Ive likened this job to a few people as being like mountain climbing... which has earnt me some strange looks. What I mean is: its challenging and possibly (ultimately) pointless but hopefully it'll end up be a satisfying experience.
In the meantime, I order books online from a dozen different sources and request Interlibrary loans and document deliveries from several dozen more. I pay with credit card, create orders, complete requisitions and reconcile the lot. Occasionally I send out a book or scan a journal for another library but the traffic is about 20:1 inwards (the catalogue is on the intranet but not internet or Libraries Australia). I spend about 1/3 of my time on desk where some of the enquiries have been doozies and which is where Im learning about all those unknowns...
Saturday, September 11, 2010
computers and stuff
I often think fondly of Rowland. Everyone needs an IT guy at one time or another. Someone who speaks your language and wants to help you....
BMI is a bit like home - the computers are not too old and not too new, so compatability isnt an issue. I can download and install interesting things like scanning software or audacity (to digitise audio tapes) whenever I want. The downside is there's no rescue if things go pear shaped and no advice.
At my other workplaces, the computers are seriously networked, supported and locked down... there's no ability to install anything or to make many changes at all. At one place we have Windows 7, which I dont like, which is OK because Ive never liked any new Microsoft product until Ive got used to it. Unfortunately, the library system doesnt like it much either - much crashing. At the other, the only browser option is ancient Internet Explorer 6 (pre tabbed browsing). One place completely blocks sites like gmail and facebook and the other allows gmail but limits access to sites like Youtube to 30mins per day - which is actually fairly civilised. Sometimes theres a genuine work reason to access such sites and some people want to access them in their own time.
Neither of them will allow a simple Firefox install. Firefox never does that thing where it says "I have encountered an problem and have to close". It never does that.
In other computer news, I quite like LotusNotes with its integrated email, calendar and databases and I still dislike DB Textworks (more than ever).
BMI is a bit like home - the computers are not too old and not too new, so compatability isnt an issue. I can download and install interesting things like scanning software or audacity (to digitise audio tapes) whenever I want. The downside is there's no rescue if things go pear shaped and no advice.
At my other workplaces, the computers are seriously networked, supported and locked down... there's no ability to install anything or to make many changes at all. At one place we have Windows 7, which I dont like, which is OK because Ive never liked any new Microsoft product until Ive got used to it. Unfortunately, the library system doesnt like it much either - much crashing. At the other, the only browser option is ancient Internet Explorer 6 (pre tabbed browsing). One place completely blocks sites like gmail and facebook and the other allows gmail but limits access to sites like Youtube to 30mins per day - which is actually fairly civilised. Sometimes theres a genuine work reason to access such sites and some people want to access them in their own time.
Neither of them will allow a simple Firefox install. Firefox never does that thing where it says "I have encountered an problem and have to close". It never does that.
In other computer news, I quite like LotusNotes with its integrated email, calendar and databases and I still dislike DB Textworks (more than ever).
Friday, August 27, 2010
Punters
Library patrons - ya gotta love em. If you want there to be a library at all, that is. Reading some library blogs from the US here and, more confrontingly, here reminded of some of the crazies Ive met in public libraries over the years. The alien abduction survivor, the ordinary looking porn viewer, the "feel like a fight, lets go to the library" crowd, the conspiracy theorists, the mentally ill and the common or garden idiots....
Havent seen one for ages. I guess they come around about 1 in every 200 punters which could be every day in a public library but might take me a year in the government library. Hope so!
Yesterday at school, I listened to a year 9 student interrogate a staff member about loan conditions. "Yes I know its a 2 week loan but what about renewals, fines, borrowing blocks etc?" She asked in a nice way but you could tell that she was going to push the boundaries (you rarely get sugar coating from this generation). Good on her, I reckon, if youre going to be REAL library user, you need to know the fine print.
I spend a lot of time at DOT requesting ILLs from other libraries. Some books but mostly journal articles. These requests come and go by email and I havent met any of the requestors in person yet. At this stage, every request is as important and urgent as every other request, which probably isnt very efficient. But I suppose I'll learn as a go.
Dont get me started on the temptation to access information in ways that I shouldnt - if librarians weren't so law abiding, the journal aggregating business would be in the same position as the recorded music industry.
Havent seen one for ages. I guess they come around about 1 in every 200 punters which could be every day in a public library but might take me a year in the government library. Hope so!
Yesterday at school, I listened to a year 9 student interrogate a staff member about loan conditions. "Yes I know its a 2 week loan but what about renewals, fines, borrowing blocks etc?" She asked in a nice way but you could tell that she was going to push the boundaries (you rarely get sugar coating from this generation). Good on her, I reckon, if youre going to be REAL library user, you need to know the fine print.
I spend a lot of time at DOT requesting ILLs from other libraries. Some books but mostly journal articles. These requests come and go by email and I havent met any of the requestors in person yet. At this stage, every request is as important and urgent as every other request, which probably isnt very efficient. But I suppose I'll learn as a go.
Dont get me started on the temptation to access information in ways that I shouldnt - if librarians weren't so law abiding, the journal aggregating business would be in the same position as the recorded music industry.
Friday, August 13, 2010
A day in the life
Ive just finished week 3 of my new job at the Department of Transport library, so I thought Id update you about how its going. Im working Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until Feb 2011.
I get up (much) earlier than Im accustomed to :-) and get out of the house as soon after 7 as pos. I park in the new north carpark at Berwick station (plenty of room) and catch either the 7.24 or the 7.37 train, both get me to work well before 9, unless there is major train stuff up. No big deal about being late - just make up the time. The trip in is not bad. I get a seat and bury my head in a book. Normal workday hours are 9 - 5.06 with a half hour lunch. If I start early enough, I try to catch the 5.19 train home from Parliament station which gets me home at 6.30ish.The trip home is very ordinary. No seat and any sort of train glitch means the carriages are PACKED. Already some trips have been pretty bad and Ive only gone 9 days!
So, settling into the city worker routine (mostly black clothes, walk briskly, head down), I arrive at 121 Exhibition St. They call it SX1 - apparently because it used to be the site of the Southern Cross hotel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Cross_Tower
The DOT library is on the 5th floor. Its quite large with a collection that reflects various govt dept changes over the years (transport, infrastructure, planning and community development, and heritage). Its open to the public so theres a desk to be staffed all day. Lots of nice spaces (for sitting, meeting and studying), even free coffee (of the nasty brewed variety).
My work with Acquisitions and Interlibrary loans is quite interesting because I havent done much of it before, but it also includes a bewildering array of procedures, forms and databases to be filled in and updated. Theres a lot to learn and an element of being chucked in the deep end but its not brain surgery (nothing that cant be fixed!). Theres been a lot of talk about the amalgamating libraries thing but itll be a slow process - some changes have happened already but (for example) no new library system before next Feb...Stuck with DBTextworks til then :-(
I get up (much) earlier than Im accustomed to :-) and get out of the house as soon after 7 as pos. I park in the new north carpark at Berwick station (plenty of room) and catch either the 7.24 or the 7.37 train, both get me to work well before 9, unless there is major train stuff up. No big deal about being late - just make up the time. The trip in is not bad. I get a seat and bury my head in a book. Normal workday hours are 9 - 5.06 with a half hour lunch. If I start early enough, I try to catch the 5.19 train home from Parliament station which gets me home at 6.30ish.The trip home is very ordinary. No seat and any sort of train glitch means the carriages are PACKED. Already some trips have been pretty bad and Ive only gone 9 days!
So, settling into the city worker routine (mostly black clothes, walk briskly, head down), I arrive at 121 Exhibition St. They call it SX1 - apparently because it used to be the site of the Southern Cross hotel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Cross_Tower
The DOT library is on the 5th floor. Its quite large with a collection that reflects various govt dept changes over the years (transport, infrastructure, planning and community development, and heritage). Its open to the public so theres a desk to be staffed all day. Lots of nice spaces (for sitting, meeting and studying), even free coffee (of the nasty brewed variety).
My work with Acquisitions and Interlibrary loans is quite interesting because I havent done much of it before, but it also includes a bewildering array of procedures, forms and databases to be filled in and updated. Theres a lot to learn and an element of being chucked in the deep end but its not brain surgery (nothing that cant be fixed!). Theres been a lot of talk about the amalgamating libraries thing but itll be a slow process - some changes have happened already but (for example) no new library system before next Feb...Stuck with DBTextworks til then :-(
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
New library job
Today I started a new (paying) job in library land. Almost 1 year exactly since leaving my last (paying) library job in public libraries, this new one is in a government library. My responsibilities will include acquisitions and inter-library loans. Tomorrow I have a 3 hour training session called 'Introduction to procurement'! Today I spent a fair bit of time understanding the departmental name changes and organisational reshuffles that have occured over the last few years. The current reorg is the biggest - govt libraries are amalgamating into a 'whole of government' 'shared service provider' thingy... moving to shared systems, procedures etc. Threatening and irritating for existing staff but interesting and challenging for us newcomers.
The commute is a shocker!
I also have 2 other library jobs (of the non-paying variety) in a high school and a historical/lending library. All part time, luckily. Im interested in where libraries are going in these days of tight funding, ebooks and all the other web 2(3?) stuff. What will those digital natives do to our ancient institutions?
The commute is a shocker!
I also have 2 other library jobs (of the non-paying variety) in a high school and a historical/lending library. All part time, luckily. Im interested in where libraries are going in these days of tight funding, ebooks and all the other web 2(3?) stuff. What will those digital natives do to our ancient institutions?
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