Little Known Librarian Duties

I am a librarian. Most of you think of librarians as book, and perhaps video and CD, dispensers, but I also dispense many other things:

• Highlighters
• Scotch Tape
• Post-it Notes
• Paper Clips
• Pens
• Pencils
• White-out
• Glue
• Scissors
• Change for $1.00 for laundry

I don't know why I find it so amusing that students ask me for these things. Perhaps because when one shows up at the library with a huge poster board, you'd think that person would also bring stuff with which to stick things onto said poster board. And other items with which to cut out pictures for the poster board. Etc.

But I loan these things out. I have yet to have something not returned (well, minus the items that would naturally not be returned). If, some day, we become known as the cheap way to get as many paper clips as you could possibly need, then I might re-evaluate. But for now, I'll dispense away.

Humorous Library Questions

I am not a public librarian and do not get nearly as many humorous questions from library patrons as the public libraries do, but I have greatly enjoyed a recent thread from a listserv I am on (LIBREF - archives here), asking for funny reference questions. The Star Beacon in Ashtabula, Ohio recently published a story that included some of these questions. It's definitely worth a read.

And some other humorous anecdotes can be found in the main story about the job of a reference librarian at Ashtabula County District Library here.