Thread:Calatore/@comment-28502446-20160520220158/@comment-27247829-20160610143445

Start reading. Doesn't matter what, just do it. A librarian does not sit at the counter and look intelligent (even though you probably will, but please add some cool glasses if you do), students and others will actually phone you and ask if certain reference books they wanted is currently on the library. So I guess brush up on that damn social skill.

...well, I guess you also need to have a good memory. But if you just move around the library looking for books to read so that you can look intelligent at the counter, you will eventually remember what book exists in the library without even cataloguing it, sometimes you'll even remember the exact quantities. I kinda cheated by working in a library where each 'type' of books was separated in several rooms (I managed the room containing plays, literary classics, and a few comic books on the side), but you will have to remember when asked if the library stocked a certain book on, for example, enema treatment even if you're not interested in conducting enema or wanted to be enema'd yourself, because they don't care about your interest; being a librarian means knowing where to find what, how to handle visitors, and the like.

And when I say handle, I mean it. Sometimes you'll encounter visitors who hasn't returned a book for long. In which case, you have to find a way to discover their identity and contact them to demand the book. As I said, social skills. Or if some irresponsible kids starts to get noisy. Or if someone started to use a section of your library to conduct something else, like drug dealing, by hiding them and the payment in a fake book while hiding the book it disguised as somewhere else. Yeah, that happened once, but rare. As I said, social skills.

Grumpiness of a rock is optional, but you have to deal with some stupidly serious inquiries ("Excuse me, I need to borrow a book on agriculture." "You know this is the so-called 'Entertainment and Culture' section, right? The room is on the west wing, nearby the entrance. Should I take you there and aid you? I have time.") or some seriously stupid bullshit ("Hey, uh, I have an exam tomorrow, but I had something else to do. Can you do my homework for me?" "Get the hell out."), just like that.