Word of the day: Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary loan is like magic, a patron makes a wish for information or a book and we make it appear. Magic!

1. A.K.A. (ILL) The process through which a library borrows material from another library or organization.¹
2. The most under appreciated unit in the library.
3. The best place to work in the library
4. My job and I love it!

(1) http://library.uww.edu/guides/tutorial/glossary.html#I

Word of the day: Catalog

Look It Up!

1. A list of items such as books, periodicals, maps and/or videos arranged in a defined order. The list usually records, describes and indexes the resources of a collection, a library or a group of libraries.¹
2. The thing that graduate students claim they have never heard of nor used in their entire educational experience; which is why they come to the circulation desk day after day to ask how to find a book.
3. The only thing on God’s green Earth a patron will claim they don’t understand as we search the OPAC for them.

(1) http://library.boisestate.edu/Reference/BBRIN/jargon.htm

I love this picture. I think many librarians and library staff enjoy the hard arse attitude portrayed in the image. Yeah, we bad, we bad, we know it!

Word of the day: Barcode Number

Lending patrons can be easier than lending to patrons

1. The 14-digit number found on your I.D. or on the back of each book.
2. The thing on the back of the book you try to scan at least 20 times before finally giving up because a line of ticked off patrons has started to circle around the circulation desk.

Has anyone else noticed how happy the guy with the barcode scanner appears to be? Not just happy, but… well… more than happy. Happy in the “Hi! My name is Corkey! Can we play?” type of way. Anybody remember that gem of a show? Life goes on and for Corkey it was a never ending adventure.

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da,
Life goes on, bra
La la how the life goes on…

Word of the day: Paraprofessional

Why all the fuss? I'm only asking you to take the circulation desk for two hours!

1. Someone who can do the work of a librarian but without the title, pay or security.