Libraries are a necessity

Libraries are portals to all of the world’s knowledge. Librarians make sure that knowledge continues to be recorded and saved for the future, even as information-storage devices and formats change.

The information kept in libraries helps everyday people start their own small businesses, which helps grow the economy.

 Some of the world’s smartest and richest people (such as Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates) poured their time and money into Libraries.

 Librarians are trained to do high-level research, which supports scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors, writers, government officials, and other important professionals every single day.

 Without the aide of librarians, all of these people would be making decisions without having all of the relevant knowledge they need on their topics.

Libraries are economically efficient. Their model of sharing allows them to serve many people with few resources. And they often join to create consortia in order to buy hardware, software, and information at lower group prices. Libraries often have exceptionally high rates of Return on Investment; some have been measured at more than 600% ROI. This means that librarians are excellent stewards of public monies; they use their budgets carefully and get the most value out of every dollar. Contrast this to the way many corporations waste money.

 Many public libraries offer online services that they subscribe to in order to support students’ learning.

 Librarians have always been major defenders of intellectual freedom, long before most people even knew what it was. This means that they are watchdogs on topics like free speech, copyright, privacy, and the right to know what governments and corporations are doing. They and their associations lobby for these rights and fight alongside other citizens to preserve them.


 Librarians have actually saved lives by providing information to doctors who were dealing with difficult cases.

 Only a tiny fraction of the world’s information is available for free on the internet. But all of it is available through libraries.

Libraries stop wars, and build countries. They form the basis of the economy. They build the foundation of what is good and right for society. They are holders national treasure, the power and the knowledge of Intellect and what is right in our life. They are beacons for all kinds of information.

 Librarians are the original, and  the best, search engines.

 Libraries have always been “green,” because they purchase a limited number of items that many people can share. For instance, people can borrow DVDs, magazines, and books rather than every person having to buy his or her own copy. Likewise, people can use shared computers, photocopiers, fax machines, and even meeting rooms.

 Libraries serve a vital social service by helping bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots, especially when it comes to literacy and computer skills training.

 Libraries offer services and products that level  intellect. That means that they allow people of any income level or background to access high-quality information, to use computers, or to borrow what they want. The existence of libraries ensures that knowledge and technology are available to everyone, not just to those who can afford their own. This is more than charity work; this helps raise the education levels of society as a whole.

 Studies have shown that the presence of libraries is good for towns and cities; people find more value in areas that have libraries nearby.

 Libraries have been around for 5,000 years. If they were not essential institutions, they would have died out long ago.

 Libraries change lives.

 Libraries are spaces where people of all ages can practice lifelong learning.

 Some say that the internet and e-books have taken over libraries, but that is still a debatable topic.

Have a passion for your work

The first idea of becoming a Librarian came to my mind while i was at school, unfortunately my sister's friend had an idea to study Librarianship and she was the most brilliant girl at school. So that in a way put my idea a notch down then came the news that the University was asking for extremely high grades. How could i go there?  I asked myself.It was in fact the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Imagine that years later I would goto that very same place to study for my Masters in Library and Information Studies. 

I guess that it is only things that dreams are made of, because after that my career took a different path. 

Often when you are young you wonder what you really want to do with your career. What is that you want to spend years studying and then put that into practice. As all of us at that age have stars in our eyes. Our interests are social and whom you meet and talk with will probably influence you for the rest of your life.

My life turned from a love of books to a love of film. Both are a form of Communication. But I guess one is static whilst the other is in motion.

Books are only static visually, once opened, they become to the reader a treasure trove of rare and unimaginable wealth and precious knowledge.  I had the idea that if i was able to make films somehow i could change the world. Most film-makers want to do this by the way. They are film-makers by day but philosophers by night.  They are closeted philanthropists who want to use their art to do good for society.

So off i went to study Communication Studies - Media Degree in my favourite part of the world...Wales. of course it rained everyday but  a little bit of rain never dettered me becuase  I had grown up in a Lincolnshire steel town, where the grey clouds hung over you persistently gloomily.

Once you step into the world of work, it seems there is no control about how or where you will work. Suddenly others have complete control. Within a couple of years I had found my self working in  a Library. Much as I loved books It was a whole new ballgame.

But in stepped my Fairy Godmother in the way of a Nigearian colleague who wispered open sesame and again i had stepped into a magical room of books and knowledge and finding things. Everyday was a fantastic magical day finding information, knowledge.

Being a librarian is like being on a treasure hunt every day.  You never know what you’ll be working on from day to day and hour to hour.  I enjoyed the fast past nature (switching from topic to topic), as well as constantly learning.  I picked up information for fun as it was like helping people–I was learning.

Now I see the role as an Educator.  My perspective has shifted over the years from being “just a librarian” who helps find information to being a teacher.  I routinely teach people how to interact with information (e.g. how to search for information, how to find it, how to legally and ethically use it, how to produce it).  I try to teach concepts that will last a life time, but address the immediate information needs of individuals at the same time.

As time went on I realised that I had a passion for finding information. For teaching Information Literacy. 

Having a profession that you love is a challenge, and if you love it with a passion it will in turn give you its due returns. I promise you!

Watch out...funny...but could this be true?

CIA facebook programme

Digitizing an Image Collection

There are many pros to digitizing an Image collection. The main advantage is that you centralize a collection and instead of having hard copies of negatives and greying photos of different sizes. You can have all pictures on a CD or hard disk or server. And the requester or researcher can have the pictures within minutes of requesting their need for  pictures.

However, one of the cons of digitization is   which Electronic conversion management system will you decide to put all the pictures on.


Who will do all the conversion?
How you will convert all the images?
What criteria will you use to define the duplicate singularization?
Who will index and catalogue the collection?
An additional problem is how the original images came to you in the first place, were they already indexed, catalogued, tagged, and described/captioned in full?

If indeed you are able to answer the above mentioned questions, then you are ready to embark on your digitization project.


Digitizing Images is a Librarian's electronic archiving project, the most successful part is being able to retrieve the images after  scanning and storage.

The Straight Librarian can also be insuting....

Ewwww.... Librarians can be a little too blunt as this video shows.

Star Trek...a Librarians job is definetly more challenging

Librarians job is more challenging...  I love this and I am sure all librarians will also.

Funny Library

It is truly not funny when the library you are working in is a busy library and there is a constant stream of people with nothing better to do, and no where else to go.

Our library does have a stimulating environment though, especially as there is free coffee, but there is no de-caff.

No weeding has been done for 20 years so it has an extensive collection. Maintaining the archives means that several hundred boxes of old papers need filing.

Recently however we advertised a post in the library and we found that a challenging position meant that no one usually stays more than 12 months.

We decided that the new candidate should have appropriate qualifications, though at the end of the day that won't be considered in our decision - we just go on gut feeling here.

They will have various library duties, but because there is insufficient staff, they will have to do the job of 3 people.

The clientele is sometimes difficult, so new staff have to focus on people oriented services. New staff should be team orientated. All decisions are made by the supervisor; and are not open to discussion, amendment or review.

We wanted someone to be well organised because things are so chaotic here, someone has to sort out all the mess.  Even though everyone has the ability to communicate, it does seem that staff are at each others throat.


 A candidate should provide 3 referees including current employer, because we know your current employer will be so annoyed at your leaving, they will give us a complete run-down of all your shortcomings.