How do you build a good relationship with your local library? - Page 2

[luv-my-boys]

Flaterry...seriously I think it got us a long way with our librarian. We have a smaller branch library that can get books thru other neighboring libraries but we prefer the one closet to our house which simply cant hold that many books. But we started off going to storytime and then some of their kids activities. I think over time we have become known as frequenters there. I made it a point for the kids to tell the librarian that they appreciated the work she put into it (and she put it a lot of time/effort as some of the things were really awesome programs)

I started to ask the librarians about book suggestions on subjects or ideas that the kids had, again it was a smaller library so often they were thrilled to help us look stuff up and order it or even point out things they had there.


I also started keeping a list of books that we were no longer using or interested in keeping and occasssionally bring by the librarian. I'd ask her if there was anything the librarian would consider for donation. Most of the popular fiction (dh's books) were big hits so they were always glad to get those in as they were asked for frequently. Plus we'd donate whatever is left over to the library book sale for funds to sponser things like the kids programs and senior book mobiles.

I was little apprehensive how they'd take to us because were hser but I think after they started to see us and knew that we wanted to support our local library it went a long way to making us (well me) feel more comfortable there.

[mom2ponygirl]

Originally Posted by SashaBreeze

We live in a small town with a small library. The selection is not great but they can of course get the books we will need through inter library loan, so I dont think that will be a problem.

Just a quick note of caution - our library has started charging for interlibrary loan - $1/requested item. Also you can't always renew a book you have through interlibrary loan, so you have to be finished with it in 2 weeks. Since it can take many weeks to get an item (for us) it can make planning interesting.

[ZanZansMommy]

Originally Posted by IntuitiveJamie

I think in this day and age, learning someone's name and using it goes a very long way. Greeting them with their name and learning a little something about them is always nice. Do they have kids? How old? This works just about anywhere...the bank, the grocery store etc.
I also agree with being very respectful of library rules and returning books in good condition etc. I don't see how you can go wrong if you do that.
Btw, I'm all about breaking stereotypes, which it sounds to me is the underlying message of your family at the library....like "don't judge a book by it's cover"
(well that was appropriate wasn't it. lol)

Exactly! I found that most people at our library rarely chatted or called the librarians by name. When I started doing that, they all took a second look at us & after 2 years they know us very well.In fact, they'll see what I have on hold sometimes & pull extra books for us, just in case we may be interested. We ended up bringing them some chocolate covered pretzels for librarian day in April & they Loved being acknowledged.

I also look very different from my fellow neighbors, but the librarians have been very kind to us, as we are respectful of them & the library. We practically live there it's so much fun.

[Narmowen]

Talk to the director. Chances are s/he handles all of the collections, and will be able to tell you if they'll put any/some of your books on the shelves (if that's what you want). There's usually a written (or mental) policy of what their population needs. They might not need the parenting/breastfeeding etc books. The patrons might use the ILL (interlibrary loan) to get those, leaving room on the shelves for more circulated materials. If something goes out once or twice a year, and another goes out 30 times a year, they're going to concentrate on the thing/category that goes out 30 times a year, and have just a couple of the ones that don't circulate that often.

The children's books will probably be added to the collection, maybe replacing worn copies that they have, older books that don't circulate, or out of date books that haven't been pulled.

If you want to get rid of them all to the library, talk to the director first. Let her know (if it's not a problem with you) that you don't care if they sell the books, trash the books (it happens!), donate the books to another source (I had a whole collection that I donated go to a University library, from my small public library) or add the books to their collection.

Mohawks wouldn't bother most librarians. My assistant director loves my fiance, who has a deathhawk (version of a mohawk). She doesn't even blink at his multiple earrings, the way he dresses etc.

[Savoir Faire]

Well, if our librarians can like me and my two "get crazy when we're there" kids, they can like anyone.

We've been in our current town a year and they knew us pretty well within the first few months. We go to events, we visit the library weekly and just try to be polite.

You know, "how you doing, any good books," blah blah blah.

I'd say just be polite and go often and they'll be smiling soon enough. (Of course, I know some librarians are pretty crotchety-- but hopefully, yours will chill out soon enough.)

And yes, the flattery and being nice does work. I've had one librarian give me a heads up about a possible job opening (she remembered me once saying I wanted to work there) and another lets me go into her "saved" books she keeps for holidays-- you know, the books they line the tops of shelves with?

[Rivka5]

We built great relationships with our library's children's librarians just by going to the library all the time. They know my kids by name and are interested in their development.

A few things that I think are helpful for homeschoolers who are heavy library users:
- If you're going to need personalized service (for example, if you will need books from closed stacks), find out when the less-busy times are and go then. I would never go in with my request list right after story hour or on Saturday morning.
- If you have a list of requests, organize it. I put title, author, and call number and the librarians really appreciate it.
- Don't take out all the books on a topic. It's not so nice for anyone else who wants to read about that topic. Especially important for things like holiday studies.

[AnnR33]

See if they have a "Friends of the Library" group. That's what I did. We came from an outstanding library system to a tiny town library with fewer non fiction titles than I have for kids.

BUT, I joined the Friends group-they were THRILLED to have me since it was old old ladies except for one other woman my age. Now I get to help decide what gets purchased Yes, I had ulterior motives but who cares?

They have no books on CD for kids so I get to pick anything I want/think the kids would like and they'll buy it-how's that for excitement!? LOL

I also get to help with the annual book sale which is quite good for such a small town-we have lots of homeschoolers in the area. I get first picks since I'm helping which is a nice perk.

I also volunteer to help with kids programs sometimes too.

Now I'm a "fixture" at the library and even though the book selection isn't great, I can get most of what I need through loan and enjoy being a part of the library.

It's not really that much of a time commitment either-maybe 3hrs per month.

[Momma Aimee]

another thought. i have the e-mail address of our director. i e-mail her requests

"what do you have on _______"

or

"can you get _______ on ILL?"

or whatever (our catologe is not searchable on the Net)

so she can deal with it when she has time. this is a big help to BOTH of us as i have young kids and they can't handle standing around if she and I talk about stuff liek that.

that can help -- letting them research stuff, look stuff up, and getting back to you later

[AAK]

Originally Posted by Rivka5

We built great relationships with our library's children's librarians just by going to the library all the time. They know my kids by name and are interested in their development.

A few things that I think are helpful for homeschoolers who are heavy library users:
- If you're going to need personalized service (for example, if you will need books from closed stacks), find out when the less-busy times are and go then. I would never go in with my request list right after story hour or on Saturday morning.
- If you have a list of requests, organize it. I put title, author, and call number and the librarians really appreciate it.
- Don't take out all the books on a topic. It's not so nice for anyone else who wants to read about that topic. Especially important for things like holiday studies.

I've been following this thread since in my former life, I was the librarian that many homeschoolers went to. Everyone has had really good advice, but here are a couple things not mentioned.

Ask the librarian how she prefers to be addressed. I liked the kids using my first name, but I worked with several who preferred to be addressed more formally. It is great to have a say in this.

Most librarians really do love to help, but if you need extensive help don't expect it to all be done immediately. Leave your list with a phone number. I loved having these to work on during less busy times.

If your librarian recommends a book that you (or your child) reads and enjoys, go back and let them know that you liked it. It is nice to know. It gave me such a good feeling to know that I helped them find a great book.

Please don't dump the teaching responsibilities on the librarian. Most don't, but I had one hs family that did this and it became annoying to see them. They were nice, wonderful people BUT I was not supposed to be giving one on one instruction to a seven year old about computer usage. I like helping him, pointing him to sites or games or books, but then he needed to take it from there.

I did like teaching children how to use the library though, and if a parent thought ahead to schedule a time with me or to come at a slower time, I would go over everything and give the child a chance to practice finding things too.

Also, respect the closing times of the library. Same family. . .dad would rush in to use the internet 10 min to close. This library system wasn't all that high tech and the librarians had to personally "kick" people off the machines. He was very difficult and eventually got mad at us (15 min after closing) and told his family that they couldn't use our branch anymore.

Oh, and if you don't have certain "schedules" set in stone. . . the librarian usually knows when the schools all do reports on _____ topic. So, if you want to not compete with all the public school kids for books about pandas (or whatever), ask the librarian. We anticipated when the Catholic schools would do their "saint reports" and when the public schools required science projects, etc.

Amy

[reesecoli]

Originally Posted by AAK

I've been following this thread since in my former life, I was the librarian that many homeschoolers went to. Everyone has had really good advice, but here are a couple things not mentioned.

Most librarians really do love to help, but if you need extensive help don't expect it to all be done immediately. Leave your list with a phone number. I loved having these to work on during less busy times.
Amy

This is sooo helpful! I have 2 little little kids and going to the library to look for books is sometimes daunting - the card catalog is on computer and it is frankly difficult to navigate and it is impossible to keep an eye on my toddlers while I am doing this. At the same time I haven't wanted to just hand the librarian a list and say "do you have these?" But this is a great idea! Are you sure it isn't an imposition to leave a list for them to look up at their leisure?

Also I remember coming across a website that had a link "find this book at your local library." Now of course I can't find it. But does anyone know of an online resource like that - where I could look up a list of books from home and see which libraries in my area carry them? That way I could know which my library has and which to ask for interlibrary loan and which I might need to purchase.

Thanks!

[reesecoli]

Originally Posted by Rivka5

We built great relationships with our library's children's librarians just by going to the library all the time. They know my kids by name and are interested in their development.

A few things that I think are helpful for homeschoolers who are heavy library users:
- If you're going to need personalized service (for example, if you will need books from closed stacks), find out when the less-busy times are and go then. I would never go in with my request list right after story hour or on Saturday morning.
- If you have a list of requests, organize it. I put title, author, and call number and the librarians really appreciate it.
- Don't take out all the books on a topic. It's not so nice for anyone else who wants to read about that topic. Especially important for things like holiday studies.

This is super helpful too! I can easily make a list for the librarian and drop it off during a non-busy time and then check back later so she/he can look stuff up at their convenience. I am getting excited about using the library again!!! Thanks!

[lmonter]

I do a lot of online requests (our library is in a 12+ library network in two counties) since they have an online catalog. I also have a big stack of pink request slips for other random books they just don't have in the system. I fill out a batch at a time (I use an Amazon wishlist for this purpose), and just go in and drop off my request slips as needed.
Plus this way the books I want aren't lost on the shelf or anything - the librarians call me when something comes in or is pulled from the shelf so I just have to go in and wait in line for a second or a few minutes rather than wander the library - with or without all my little, not so quiet, shadows.

For a while there, the hippie looking librarian guy started recognizing me, but then kids started cramping my habits so to speak, so alas. He would always comment on what a great book that looked like or that he liked that particular gardening book and so on, it was neat. Apparently I gave several of them ideas over the years.

Also, the way my library works donations? They have a "friends of the library" sale closet out front. It's like $.50/book or a bag for $3 sometimes. They sell donated books to purchase other books for the collections. Of course, I've just donated boxes upon boxes of my mom's romance novels over the years (nice extra tax credit in my state!), so I'm not as attached to those as I might be other books.

[AAK]

Originally Posted by reesecoli

This is sooo helpful! I have 2 little little kids and going to the library to look for books is sometimes daunting - the card catalog is on computer and it is frankly difficult to navigate and it is impossible to keep an eye on my toddlers while I am doing this. At the same time I haven't wanted to just hand the librarian a list and say "do you have these?" But this is a great idea! Are you sure it isn't an imposition to leave a list for them to look up at their leisure?

I am positive! I've worked in a couple library systems and this was always welcomed. If the list was long, we might work on it 15-20 min at a time throughout the day (depending on how busy the day was). However, if the person were to need them all "right now", it would be frustrating because we rarely had 40 min to devote to just one patron. So, when you give the list--include your phone number and/or library card number so she can contact you when she is done.

Amy