Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Up, Warming it

A good reference librarian should be courteous to his or her colleagues by warming the seat of the chair at the reference desk during a shift. Your fellow librarians will thank you for the posterior warmth your inactivity provides.

Be careful not to take this advice too far... no one wants to sit in a sweat-soaked seat. If your ass sweats when you answer reference questions, bring a towel.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Up, Beaming yourself

It is never, under any circumstances, appropriate for a librarian to come to work dressed in a Star Trek uniform.

Monday, May 04, 2009

Web site, Designing your library

When redesigning a library web site, libraries can make up for their lack of a real web designer by assembling a committee of librarians to tackle the job. Five or six untrained, tasteless, design-illiterate people can surely tackle the task of site architecture, user interface, and graphic design.

Ask the readers: Got a library web site that was designed by committee? Share it (and your commentary) in the comments below.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Overdue notices, Sending

Libraries should use the threat of overdue fines to create a sense of power over their patrons. Nothing says, "I am a force to be reckoned with!" like a generic system-generated email/postcard/letter demanding 25-cents.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Parties, Throwing

Final exams week is a great time to host an impromptu party at your library. But don't invite your security folks. They will confiscate uncovered drinks and/or spray your students in the face with mace.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Mug, Your ugly

Librarians should choose clever coffee mugs to express themselves creatively around the workplace. A person's mug says a lot about him or her. For example, your "An oyster a day keeps the Viagra away!" mug explains to your library colleagues both your bad breath and your boners.

Ask the readers: What's the best/worst coffee mug used at your library?

Thursday, April 23, 2009

In, Blending

Librarians should not wear clothes with pictures of books on them. This "library-camouflage" may hide you as you wander in the stacks, but it makes you a target for nerdhunters as soon as you walk out the library's front door.