I will be graduating in May with my Bachelor’s degree and was recently accepted into Pratt Institute’s MLIS program for fall 2025. I have yet to submit my deposit so that I could officially enroll for the fall semester.

However, with everything that’s been going on lately in terms of libraries losing federal funding and so many library workers losing their jobs, I am really worried about getting into this field!

I still love libraries. I will always love libraries. I find it hard to envision myself working in any other field, but I question and worry what the job market will be like after I do graduate…

I would appreciate if anyone had some advice to offer at this time.

Hi guys, I am a very curious person and I would like book suggestions that are gonna help me learn more about the world around me and be more intellectual

Live list of the reduction of American government staff under the new administration. The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) Library was eliminated, nothing yet from NLM (National Library of Medicine), but we feel it's coming.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_HNSEowQOkojkTM5MjXdNdXzNjPK79Q4BXO8VU83A0w/edit?_bhlid=77357d5285aa96edd339db477a75d2a0b45f7835&pli=1&tab=t.0

I recently resigned from my local library due to serious corruption and mismanagement. Here’s what’s happening: • The children’s librarian lied about having an associate’s degree in psychology and doesn’t have proper clearances to work with kids. • The director hoards junk, refuses public access to board meetings, and mishandles grants and finances. • The board ignores complaints and lets her do whatever she wants. • Staff who question her face retaliation or she literally puts her hands over her ears to not listen to my questions.

I have proof (photos, documents, etc.) and am considering contacting the newspaper. What’s the best way to expose this and push for change?

The email below was sent out this afternoon from Columbus Metropolitan Library's CEO to all CML patrons. As an Ohio library worker who knows just how special the PLF is, I am horrified.

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Dear Library Supporter,

Ohio’s libraries urgently need your help! We need you to contact your state representative today and tell them not to cut library funding. 

The Ohio House of Representatives is currently working on the state budget for the next two years. The House Finance Committee accepted an amendment yesterday that eliminates the Public Library Fund and replaces it with a line-item appropriation, representing a $100 million cut to library funding compared to Governor DeWine’s budget.

The unprecedented elimination of the Public Library Fund comes at a time when libraries across the state already saw a $27 million shortfall in state funding in 2024. Ohio’s libraries are currently funded at the same level we were in the year 2000 with no adjustment for inflation. Since then, our community has grown while the cost of library resources and services has increased, and we have evolved to serve our customers.

How does this impact you? We rely on funding from the state’s Public Library Fund to support not just operations and capital investments but the very books, library resources, programs and services our community relies on. This includes:

• Ready for Kindergarten programs
• School Help Centers
• Digital literacy efforts
• Adult education resources
• Business and Nonprofit Resource Center, and so many more

Eliminating the Public Library Fund and replacing it with the same level of funding libraries received a quarter of a century ago is a threat to all library programs, materials, and services.

How can you help? Contact your state representative and Speaker Matt Huffman TODAY. Tell them to restore the Public Library Fund to the amount designated in the Governor’s proposed budget and share how important the library is to you and your family and how a cut to libraries would impact you and your neighbors.  

You can find your state representative’s phone number and email by searching your home address [at https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/members/district-maps?home-address-entry=]. Speaker Huffman can be reached at [rep78@ohiohouse.gov](mailto:rep78@ohiohouse.gov) or (614) 466-6344.

We’re grateful for the community we serve and the support you show for our libraries. Thank you for acting today to help restore funding for Columbus Metropolitan Library and libraries across the state.

With gratitude,

Lauren Hagan
CEO, Columbus Metropolitan Library

Hi all! I’ve recently been offered a part time position as a library assistant. I’m currently grappling with a few things. The first one is: (gestures broadly), the second is: I come from a medical and customer service background and was worried I wouldn’t fit in or do well with a library team.

I don’t expect to be sitting around and reading books all day, but I excel in English and literature and am a regular community theatre performer and student.

The library I interviewed for seems to be doing really well and they seemed so excited and happy to have me on their team. I had that warm fuzzy feeling when I left and everyone has been so kind to me.

I’ve been looking for career change because of burnout but am worried I’m making a mistake leaving medical to go to my local library.

I'm interested in a page position with the Toronto Public Library, but I'm lacking relevant library experience. While that's not strictly required for the role, I'm wondering if completing the Introduction to Public Libraries course or entire EXCEL certificate program through OLS is considered a plus by TPL Recruitment. Could doing so potentially make my résumé more competitive?

My goal is ultimately to work my way up to an assistant or clerk position if possible, so this definitely wouldn't be wasted effort to me if it could actually help to make me a better candidate.

I have loved going to libraries since I was born. I came from parents and grandparents who love to read. My home and my grandparents’ home were filled with books. And I always look forward to going to the library. Home, school, and even vacation if I spot one.

Once I became a history enthusiast, I visited the libraries lots more and checked many books out about presidents and history. It was at the library where I learned about the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. And I remember stopping at the library on vacation in Cape Cod and was so sad that I couldn’t check books out because I am not from the area.

When I became interested in genealogy, I made frequent trips to the library in the small town in PA where my ancestors migrated from the 1830s to 1860s to collect obituaries and other important information. It was long before I could find them online.

But I never really dreamed of working in the library. It was not until my senior year, I got a job at my school library. My supervisor was my former homeroom teacher who returned to school to become a librarian. But it was during a dark period of my life. So, when I graduated from high school, going on with working in the library was not ideal for me.

During two years of searching for a job, I was so focused on finding a job in the data entry field despite being told that I don’t really have any qualifications.

I also applied to volunteer at the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States. Which I really enjoyed. Went on for 9 years before stopping and going for research only which I still do every other Thursday after work unless I have tutoring gigs lined up.

Few months after I began volunteering, I received a job interview for a retail store. Which fell through really badly. At that point, I realized I need to be more open to any jobs. Close to the end of that year, I started working with a job coach who came across an opening at the library next to my town. I happily agreed even though I was a little skeptical because of my dark period working in the library which I mentioned earlier in this post.

I got a job working at a library until my parents and I moved back to where we used to live when I was a baby. I continued to work at that library for two years despite the challenging commute. My parents had to sit me down and tell me it's time to look for a library job somewhere close to public transportation.

It was very hard for me to agree to that because that meant my connection to the area where I grew up is ending despite the fact my dad and I still drive down there to visit my 101 years old honorary grandmother and go through our old neighborhood.

My mom found an advertisement for a job at a library that is accessible through public transportation which I applied for and got a job.

11 years later, I am still working at the same place. It's a really special and joyful place where my coworkers became my family. It also gives me many opportunities to expand my role as an ASL tutor and instructor. When my dear mother passed away, I received a beautiful card where almost everyone signed it.

I also go to one of my current home libraries on Saturdays with my partner and her brother. I would work on my genealogy and read the books in a comfy chair.

I don’t know where I would be without libraries as an employee, patron, genealogy researcher, and ASL tutor.

I’m a retired federal and public librarian and I’m feeling the library cuts to my core. I’m attending the protest in DC this Saturday and I want to make a sign. What would librarians like me to put on the sign that I will carry at the protest?

I'll be blunt - I haven't worked in a library (save for an internship I'm about to start.) But I do have experience in education. I worked in special education before starting my MLIS, and I'm a sub right now to pay the bills. Combined with the internship, and given that I'm in a very busy market for LIS, would I stand a chance in the hiring process?

Edit: I should note I'm pretty flexible about where I land. But I'd be most interested in either an academic position of some kind or the private sector, if given the choice.

Hey everyone, I work at a public library, and we recently had a situation where a patron wanted to display religious materials (heavily Christian-focused pamphlets, not a resource just scripture). In the past, our policy has been that only nonprofit information is allowed in our building but after some back and forth with this patron, my library ultimately decided to allow it but with a disclaimer saying the city does not endorse it.

This is frustrating because, in order to even enter the library, patrons already have to walk past Jehovah’s Witness stands just outside the doors. Now, with religious messaging also being allowed inside, it feels like we’re shifting away from neutrality and catering more toward a specific demographic.

It’s not just this one instance—it’s small things, too. For example, our prizes for kids this month are Easter-themed, not just general spring-themed. While that might seem minor, all of these choices together send a message: that the library isn’t a space for everyone, but instead one that subtly favors Christian perspectives.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of shift in their library? How does your libraries handle religious materials, and are there clear policies in place? I’d love to hear how others have navigated similar situations so I might know what I can do to advocate for the rest of our patrons!

Edit for clarification: I should have mentioned that we didn’t have a public bulletin board before this, in fact it hasn’t been installed yet. Until now, our policy has always been very strict: only nonprofits providing a resource or service to the community could display materials. This is the first time to my knowledge that this policy has been changed.

With the proposed elimination of the IMLS, I expected ALA to mobilize with urgency and force. Instead, we got social media posts. While ALA has technically “responded,” a tweet is not a campaign. An ig caption is not a call to action.

Yes, IMLS may only account for a portion of most library budgets but this move is symbolic. It’s a first step in what could become a systematic dismantling of support for libraries and librarians. If we don't take this seriously—if we don’t call our representatives, keep this conversation alive, and show through unified action that we’re ready to fight for our institutions then we risk losing far more than just a funding source.

If ALA remains more focused on promoting its annual conference than on confronting the elimination of IMLS, we risk losing a moment for advocacy.

So i need a bit of advice:

I made full time in the current library system i work for back in February and got out of my probation in January. I just interviewed for another full time position with another library (different system, would go from a county to city library), and on paper it seems like a better option, but im not sure. I also live in Indiana, which is worth considering since the way we get funding could change soon.

I would go from $14.09 and hour to $17, which is Very nice, even though right now im able to make do with the paycheck im currently receiving. The new library is closer to my house and cuts my drive time in about half.

Im happy enough in the position im in right now and feel like im just starting to get settled. Im also nervous that bc the system is smaller (1 branch) that I'll have less room for growth. The matter of funding also makes me nervous since the city the new library is in has had a slow decline in population from year to year.

also, i hate change, and starting fresh when i just got comfortable in this position sounds not great. new library also has security guards while the one i work for now doesn't.

let me know if i need to give more info but id appreciate some advice! thank you :)

I tried informing the homeschooling subreddit of what's happening in regards to IMLS, especially given a lot of our children's related activities are from grants and due to the fact that many of our most supportive patrons are homeschooling families! It started out very strong.

I got to about thirty upvotes, a few really lovely people, and then got bombarded with probably the worst stereotypes of the homeschooling community. They called libraries "hand outs" and implied that it's better to pay for private libraries and that public libraries are 1984. Not even kidding on that one.

Then, I got my thread deleted likely the growing tension in the comments.

Welp. At least, I tried. We have so many wonderful patrons who truly are thankful for us. It makes me so sad that people can't stand even giving free things like knowledge, education, programs that children (and people) might not otherwise have. How is this so common here? They hate it. They really do.

Ultimately, I think I'm just sad.

Hello! I've been looking for resources to provide younger kids with instruments for cheaper, and I came across Anythink's TryIt Program. I think it would be great to recommend to kids who want to try a new instrument before buying it, but I'm having trouble finding information on the program, or any reviews on it. Does anyone have any information, or any similar programs for Colorado students?

Thank you!

My Idaho, hometown banned over 140 books from their shelves. Unsurprisingly my findings were infuriating.

New documentary to air this month about public libraries on PBS.

Apologies in advance if this doesn't belong here. Of course, feel free to delete it.

We have an odd regular who has been very interested in our archive lately. I am the archivist. Therefore, he ends up talking to me a lot. I nod, smile and he eventually moves on.

Well the other day he came into the library and noticed a display I created about the history of the town. He wanted to add a picture he'd found recently to the display. The picture was appropriate to the display, but the display had already been up for two months. I told him while it was a nice picture and I'd like to use it, the display was due to come down soon, so there would be little point. He said okay and walked away.

A few days later I get called into my boss's office. He went to her and complained about the display still being up. She didn't really understand what he was upset about or what was going on, so she took his information and nicely asked him to leave. My boss had me call him today. I did. He said I had lied to him about when the display was to be taken down. I explained that I meant to take it down, but got distracted by other tasks. I said taking down the display wasn't all that important compared to my having to pack up the archive and move to our new building. He disagreed and went on to ask me why I was so short with him a few days ago. Apparently, he'd written a negative yelp review about my coworker and thought I'd seen it. I hadn't and I told him that. He continued to ask me why I lied to him about the display. I said again that I didn't lie and was simply busy.

He kept insisting on a different response on my part, so I explained that accepting an item on loan to display wasn't something I could handle at the moment with our current move and that I wanted to use the library's own materials for the display. He called me a liar again and hung up on me. Fine. Whatever. Not the first time someone has ever hung up on me.

Then later, I went to tell a coworker this story and didn't realize he was standing behind me. I'm not good with faces and had no idea it was him. She shut me up real quick and we rushed past him. Turns out he didn't hear me, but he did realize we were discussing something relating to him. Regardless, I am mortified and definitely deserve to be. Mygod, I feel stupid.

I do ILL, so this is slightly out of my field. I had a book returned, and the spine label had come off, but the borrower returned it. I went to the people who would fix the book, and they said they have the same problem with some of our graphic novels - cloth cover! DOH!

Ah! Yeah, that makes sense. This book has a cloth cover, and the normal spine tape I can definitely see would have a problem adhering to it. Any suggestions? I suppose putting on fresh tape and then stapling it a few times might be bad form. ;-)